A Boolean algebra of characteristic subgroups of a finite group. (Q636748)

Let \(G\) be a finite group. For \(H\leq G\), the authors define \(H_0\) to be the intersection of all maximal subgroups of \(G\) which do not contain \(H\) and study the set \(\Lambda(G)\) of all \(H\) such that the Frattini subgroup \(\Phi(G)\leq H\leq G\) and \(G=\langle H,H_0\rangle\). They first show that if \(\Phi(G)=1\), then \(G=\langle H,H_0\rangle\) if and only if \(G=H\times H_0\). Therefore an old theorem of Goursat on the subgroup lattice of such a direct product [see Theorem 1.6.1 of the reviewer's book `Subgroup lattices of groups'. De Gruyter Expositions in Mathematics 14. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter (1994; Zbl 0843.20003)] implies that \(G=\langle H,H_0\rangle \) if and only if \(G=H\times K\) for some subgroup \(K\) of \(G\) such that \(H\) and \(K\) are ``estranged'', as the authors say, that is, have no common nontrivial epimorphic image; and in that case, \(K=H_0\) and \(H=K_0\). They deduce that if \(G=H_1\times\cdots\times H_r\) is a largest possible decomposition of \(G\) into a direct product of pairwise estranged groups \(H_i\), then \(\Lambda(G)\) is the set of all products of some of the \(H_i\). It follows that (for an arbitrary finite group \(G\)) \(\Lambda(G)\) is a Boolean sublattice of the subgroup lattice \(L(G)\) consisting of characteristic subgroups of \(G\). In many cases, of course, \(\Lambda(G)\) just consists of \(G\) and \(\Phi(G)\); but if \(G\) is nilpotent, then \(\Lambda(G)\) is the set of preimages of the Hall subgroups of \(G/\Phi(G)\) in \(G\).