Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/b/5/solution
Past exam of the algebra course of the University of Oxford 2009 B 5 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
For a finite group with and , a Sylow p-subgroup has order . The Sylow theorems assert existence, containment of every p-subgroup in a Sylow subgroup, conjugacy of all Sylow subgroups, and , .
For Sylow subgroups of A6, . Explicit choices areTheir elements are even permutations, and their orders are the largest powers of five and three dividing .
Every nonidentity element of is a five-cycle. There are five-cycles, and distinct subgroups of order five meet only at the identity. Each contributes four such elements, givingFor , each unordered partition of the six letters into two triples gives the subgroup generated by the two triple-cycles. It is independent of the chosen orientation of either cycle. There are such partitions. Different partitions give different subgroups, since the four single three-cycles in a subgroup identify the two triples. Every Sylow subgroup of order nine is conjugate to the displayed , so every one arises from a partition in this way. HenceThe normalizer is . Its definition makes normal in . If is a Sylow subgroup of , it is also a Sylow subgroup of , since leaves no room for a larger power of . The Sylow theorems make all Sylow subgroups of the normalizer conjugate there, and normality of makes every such conjugate equal to . Thus is the unique Sylow subgroup of its normalizer.
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