Finite Gelfand pairs and cracking points of the symmetric groups (Q2211952)

Let \(\Gamma\) be a finite group. Let \(S_n\) denote the symmetric group of permutations of the set \(\{1,\dots, n\}\). Let us denote the wreath product \(\Gamma \wr S_n\) by \(G_n\). Then the product group \(K_n:=\Delta_n \times S_n\), where \(\Delta_n\) is the diagonal subgroup of \(\Gamma^n\), is a subgroup of \(\Gamma^n\). It is an open question to determine for which \(n\) and \(\Gamma\) the subgroup \(K_n \leqslant G_n\) is a Gelfand subgroup. Here, a subgroup \(K\leqslant G\) is called a Gelfand subgroup if the induced trivial representation \(\mathrm{ind}_K^G (\mathbf{1}_K)\) is a multiplicity-free representation of \(G\). \textit{K. Aker} and \textit{M. B. Can} [Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 140, No. 4, 1113--1124 (2012; Zbl 1254.20011)] showed that if \(\Gamma\) is an abelian group, then for every positive integer \(n\), the \(K_n\) is a Gelfand subgroup of \(G_n\). \textit{C. Benson} and \textit{G. Ratcliff} [Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 192, No. 4, 719--740 (2013; Zbl 1405.43008)] showed that if \(\Gamma\) is a non-abelian group of order \(d\), then \(K_d\) is not a Gelfand subgroup of \(G_d\). Also, they proved the interesting fact that there is some integer \(N(\Gamma) \in \{3,\dots, d\}\) such that for every \(n < N(\Gamma)\), \(K_n\) is a Gelfand subgroup of \(G_n\), and for every \(n \geq N(\Gamma)\), \(K_n\) is not a Gelfand subgroup of \(G_n\). In the current article under review, the authors call this integer \(N(\Gamma)\) the cracking point of \(\Gamma\). The main result of their article is the following beautiful theorem, which solves the aforementioned open problem when \(\Gamma\) is a symmetric group. Theorem. Let \(n\) and \(k\) be two positive integers. Let \(G_n\) denote the wreath product \(S_k \wr S_n\), and let \(K_n\) denote its subgroup \(\Delta_n \times S_n\), where \(\Delta_n\) is the diagonal subgroup of \(S_k^n\). Then the following assertions hold: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] If \(k\geq 5\), then the cracking point of \(S_k\) is \(3\). \item[2.] If \(k=4\), then the cracking point of \(S_k\) is 4. \item[3.] If \(k=3\), then the cracking point of \(S_k\) is 6. \end{itemize}