Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2011/4/a/solution
Past exam of the algebra course of the University of Oxford 2011 4 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
If with , a Sylow subgroup for has order . Let be two such subgroups. The action of by left translation on has orbits of powers of , while is prime to . There is a fixed coset , giving ; equality follows from their orders. Thus all Sylow -subgroups are conjugate.
Let now act by conjugation on their set. If it fixes , then , so is a subgroup of -power order and must equal ; hence . The unique fixed point is itself and all other orbits have size divisible by . Consequently .
For the strengthened conclusion, the stabilizer of is . The product is a subgroup of -power order, so . If distinct Sylow subgroups meet trivially, then . Every other orbit therefore has the full size , givingConjugacy also gives , a divisor of .
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