Solvable groups in which every real element has prime power order (Q7239791)

Let \(G\) be a finite solvable group. An element \(x\in G\) is called real if it is \(G\)-conjugate to \(x^{-1}\). The real prime graph \(\Gamma_{\mathbb R}(G)\) has as vertices the primes \(p\) for which \(G\) contains a real element of order \(p\), and two vertices \(p,q\) are adjacent if \(G\) contains a real element of order \(pq\). Thus the condition that every real element of \(G\) has prime power order is equivalent to saying that all vertices of \(\Gamma_{\mathbb R}(G)\) are isolated.\N\NThe main structural result treats the case \(O_2(G)>1\). Under the hypotheses that \(O^{2'}(G)=G\), \(G\) is not a \(2\)-group, and \(N=O_2(G)>1\), Theorem A proves the equivalence between the following three conditions: every real element of \(G\) has prime power order; \(G\) is a \({2,p}\)-group, where \(p\) is an odd prime, and \(G=N\rtimes (K\rtimes Q)\) is a \(2\)-Frobenius group with \(K\) a cyclic \(p\)-group and \(Q\) a cyclic \(2\)-group; every element of \(G\) has prime power order. In this situation, if \(|Q|=2\), then \(K\rtimes Q\) is dihedral, and in all cases every element of \(K\) is real and inverted by the unique involution of \(Q\).\N\NThe paper also analyzes the case \(O_2(G)=1\). Although no full structural description is obtained in this case, the author constructs examples showing that the analogue of the \(\{2,p\}\)-group conclusion is false: there are finite solvable groups in which every real element has prime power order and for which the set of primes occurring as orders of real elements has size \(3\) or \(4\). Consequently, the real prime graph can have \(3\) or \(4\) connected components. This is compared with the three prime lemma of \textit{M.~S.~Lucido} [J. Group Theory 2, No. 2, 157-172 (1999; Zbl 0921.20020)], which implies that the Gruenberg-Kegel graph of a finite solvable group cannot contain three pairwise non-adjacent vertices. The examples in the paper show that the corresponding assertion for real elements fails. They also contrast with the corresponding bounds for the prime graph on real character degrees and for the prime graph on real class sizes, for which the number of connected components is at most \(2\).