Metabelian thin Beauville \(p\)-groups (Q1705159)

For a finite group \(G\) and elements \(x, y \in G\) define \(\Sigma(x, y) = \bigcup \{ \langle x \rangle^{g} \cup \langle y \rangle^{g} \cup \langle x y \rangle^{g} : g \in G\}\). The group \(G\) is said to be a Beauville group if is \(2\)-generated, and there are two generating sets \(\{ x_{1}, y_{1} \}\) and \(\{ x_{2}, y_{2} \}\) such that \(\Sigma( x_{1}, y_{1} ) \cap \Sigma( x_{2}, y_{2} ) = \{ 1 \}\). It can be shown that these groups are precisely the automorphism groups of certain Beauville surfaces. \textit{F. Catanese} [Am. J. Math. 122, No. 1, 1--44 (2000; Zbl 0983.14013)] has shown that the only finite abelian groups which are Beauville are the products of two cyclic groups of the same order \(n > 1\), such that \(\gcd(n, 6) = 1\). \textit{R. Guralnick} and \textit{G. Malle} [J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 85, No. 3, 694--721 (2012; Zbl 1255.20009)] and \textit{B. Fairbairn} et al. [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. (3) 107, No. 4, 744--798 (2013; Zbl 1286.20013); corrigendum 107, No. 5, 1220 (2013; Zbl 1287.20019)] have proved that every non-abelian finite simple group is a Beauville group, with the exception of \(A_{5}\). A non-cyclic, finite \(p\)-group \(G\) is said to be thin if the quotient of the lower central series have order at most \(p^{2}\), and every normal subgroup is contained between two consecutive terms of the lower central series. In the paper under review, the authors determine that the metabelian thin \(p\)-groups are Beauville.