Proportions of elements with given 2-part order in finite classical groups of odd characteristic. (Q2376717)

For a positive integer \(n\), the 2-part of \(n\) is the largest power of 2 dividing \(n\). \textit{L. Babai, P. P. Pálfi} and \textit{J. Saxl} [LMS J. Comput. Math. 12, 82-119 (2009; Zbl 1225.20013)] proved that for a prime \(p\), the proportion of elements of order not divisible by \(p\) in a finite classical simple group \(G\) is at least \(1/2d\), where \(d\) is the dimension of the natural module for \(G\). In particular, the proportion of odd order elements in \(G\) is at least \(1/2d\). In the present paper, the authors prove lower bounds on the proportion of elements in finite classical groups of odd characteristic that have certain 2-part of orders. In particular, they show that the proportion of odd order elements in the symplectic and orthogonal groups is at least \(C/n^{3/4}\), where \(n\) is the Lie rank, and \(C\) is an explicit constant. They also prove positive constant lower bounds for the proportion of elements of certain 2-part of orders independent of the Lie rank. Furthermore, they describe how these results can be used to analyze part of Yalçinkaya's Black Box recognition algorithm for finite classical groups of odd characteristic.