Crossed product criteria and skew linear groups. II. (Q802757)

For any group \(G\), let \(\tau(G)\) denote its unique maximal locally finite normal subgroup and let \(\eta(G)\) be its Hirsch-Plotkin radical, that is its unique largest locally nilpotent normal subgroup. Furthermore, let \(\alpha(G)\) be the complete inverse image in \(G\) of the center of \(\eta(G/\tau(G))\). Thus \(\alpha(G)\) is a (locally finite)-by-abelian normal subgroup of \(G\). This paper is concerned with the class \(<P,L>({\mathcal A}{\mathcal F})\) of groups built from the classes \({\mathcal A}\) of abelian groups and \({\mathcal F}\) of finite groups by repeated use of the local and poly operators \(L\) and \(P\), transfinitely if necessary. The main result is essentially as follows: Let \(D\) be a division algebra over the field \(F\) and let \(G\) be a primitive subgroup of \(GL(n,D)\) with \(G\in <P,L>({\mathcal A}{\mathcal F})\). Then the \(F\)-subalgebra \(F[G]\) of the full matrix ring \(M_ n(D)\) generated by \(G\) is a crossed product of \(G\) over \(\alpha(G)\). That is, \(F[G]\) is free as a left and right \(F[\alpha(G)]\)-module with any transversal for \(\alpha(G)\) in \(G\) as a free basis. Results of this nature have a long history starting with the fundamental observations of \textit{A. E. Zalesskij} [in Dokl. Akad. Nauk BSSR 10, 728-731 (1966; Zbl 0148.26203)]. Such theorems are quite useful for understanding linear groups over division rings and, in particular, the main result here has numerous corollaries of interest. We remark that the proof depends ultimately on the classification of the finite simple groups in the weak form that only a finite number of sporadic groups exist.