Sharply 3-transitive groups. (Q890139)

The finite sharply 2-transitive and 3-transitive groups were classified by H. Zassenhaus in the 1930's and were shown to arise from so-called \textit{nearfields.} They essentially look like the groups of affine linear transformations \(x\mapsto ax+b\) or Möbius transformations \(x\mapsto\frac{ax+b}{cx+d}\). A sharply 2-transitive (finite or infinite) group \(G\) \textit{splits} if \(G\) has a nontrivial abelian normal subgroup \(N\). In this case there is a nearfield \(F\) such that \(G\) is isomorphic to \(\{x\mapsto ax+b\mid a\in F^*,\;b\in F\}\) and \(N\) can be identified with \(\{x\mapsto x+b\mid b\in F\}\). A sharply 3-transitive group \(G\) on a set \(\Omega\) splits if the point stabilizer \(G_\omega\) splits for every \(\omega\in\Omega\). In [\textit{A. I. Sozutov} and \textit{E. B. Durakov,} Algebra Logic 54, No. 1, 48-57 (2015); translation from Algebra Logika 54, No. 1, 70-84 (2015; Zbl 1330.20003)] it is proved that every sharply 3-transitive group with periodic point stabilizer splits. In this interesting paper the author builds the first example of a non-split sharply 3-transitive group. This is done using Theorem 2.1: Let \(G_0\) be a group in which all 3-cycles and all involutions, respectively, are conjugate and such that there exists a 3-cycle \(a\) and an involution \(t\) such that \(\langle a,t\rangle\simeq S_3\). Assume that \(G_0\) acts on a set \(\Omega_0\) in such a way that (1) all the 3-point stabilizers are trivial; (2) the involution \(t\in G_0\) fixes a unique point \(\omega_0\in\Omega_0\); (3) the 3-cycle \(a\in G_0\) is fixed point free; (4) we have \((\omega_0,\omega_0a,\omega_0a^2)=(\omega_0,\omega_0a,\omega_0at)\); (5) if \((\alpha,\beta,\gamma)\) is a triple in \(\Omega_0\) (\(\alpha\neq\beta\neq\gamma\neq\alpha\)) such that the point stabilizer in \(G_0\) is isomorphic to \(S_3\), then there is some \(g\in G_0\) with \((\alpha g,\beta g,\gamma g)=(\omega_0,\omega_0a,\omega_0a^2)\). Then we can extend \(G_0\) to a sharply 3-transitive action of \[ G=\Bigl(\bigl(\langle a\rangle\times F(U)\bigr)*_{\langle a\rangle}G_0*_{\langle t\rangle} \bigl((\langle t\rangle\times F(S))\bigr)\Bigr)*F(R) \] on a suitable set \(\Omega\supset\Omega_0\), where \(F(R)\), \(F(S)\) and \(F(U)\) are free groups on disjoint sets \(R\), \(S\), \(U\) and \(|R|=|S|=|U|=\max\{|G_0|,\aleph_0\}\). Note that \(S_3\), in its natural action on three elements, satisfies the assumptions of the previous theorem. It remains an open question whether there are non-split sharply 3-transitive groups that do not contain non-abelian free subgroups.