Transitive subgroups of primitive permutation groups (Q1841827)

The authors classify the primitive permutation groups \(G\) which possess a transitive subgroup which does not contain a nontrivial subnormal subgroup of \(G\). The conclusion is that such primitive groups are rather rare, and that their existence is intimately connected with factorisations of almost simple groups. The proof is a case by case analysis of the five types of primitive permutation groups [see for these types \textit{M. W. Liebeck, C. E. Praeger, J. Saxl}, J. Aust. Math. Soc., Ser. A 44, No. 3, 389-396 (1988; Zbl 0647.20005)]. The classification of finite simple groups is used and one part of the proof is heavily based on some new results on orders of subgroups of the finite simple groups. For instance they show and use that for almost every simple group \(T\), there is a collection \(\Pi\) consisting of two or three odd prime divisors of \(|T|\), such that if \(M\) is a subgroup of \(T\) of order divisible by the primes in \(\Pi\), then \(|M|\) is divisible by all the prime divisiors of \(|T|\); they also determine these subgroups \(M\).