Non-vanishing elements of finite groups. (Q2268834)

Let \(G\) be a finite group. An element \(g\in G\) is called non-vanishing if \(\chi(g)\neq 0\) for all irreducible (complex) characters \(\chi\) of \(G\). In [J. Algebra 222, No. 2, 413-423 (1999; Zbl 0959.20009)] \textit{I. M. Isaacs, G. Navarro} and \textit{T. R. Wolf} proved that if \(G\) is solvable, then all odd-order non-vanishing elements of \(G\) lie in the Fitting subgroup \(F(G)\) of \(G\). The paper under review obtains the following version of this result for arbitrary groups. Theorem A. If \(g\in G\) is non-vanishing of order coprime to 6, then \(g\in F(G)\). Some examples are provided of groups having non-vanishing elements outside of \(F(G)\) whose order divides 6. The proof of Theorem A uses the following result whose proof depends on CFSG. Theorem 2.3. Suppose that \(S\leq G\leq\Aut(S)\) for a nonabelian simple group \(S\). If \(x\in G\) is of odd order and fixes an element in every \(G\)-orbit on the irreducible characters of \(S\), then \(x\in S\).