On the rank of a finite group of odd order with an involutory automorphism (Q2659835)

This short paper proves an interesting theorem on the rank of odd order finite groups that admit an involutory automorphism. Recall that the rank of a finite group \(G\) is the least number \(r\) such that each subgroup of \(G\) can be generated by at most \(r\) elements. \par Let \(G\) be an odd order finite group admitting an involutory automorphism \(\phi\), \(G_{-\phi}\) the set of elements of \(G\) mapped by \(\phi\) onto their inverses, and \([G, \phi]\) the subgroup generated by \(G_{-\phi}\). It is an old result of the second author that if \(G\) is such a group such that the rank of the fixed-point set of \(\phi\) is at most \(r\), then the rank of \([G,\phi]'\) is \(r\)-bounded. The main theorem of the paper under review can be thought of as a `dual' to this result. \par Let \(G\) be a finite group of odd order admitting an involutory automorphism \(\phi\). The authors prove that if each subgroup generated by a subset of \(G_{-\phi}\) can be generated by at most \(r\) elements, then the rank of \([G,\phi]\) is \(r\)-bounded.