Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2023/ib/paper-2/9e/b/ii/solution

Count pairs where is a Sylow -subgroup fixing . Each of the seven point stabilizers contains three such subgroups, giving 21 pairs. Conversely, a -group acting on seven points has a fixed point, and a Sylow -subgroup cannot fix two points because a two-point stabilizer has order four. Hence every Sylow -subgroup occurs in exactly one pair, so
Similarly, each point stabilizer contains four Sylow -subgroups, giving 28 pairs. A group of order three acting on seven points has a fixed point, and it cannot fix two because a two-point stabilizer is a -group. Thus
The Sylow congruence and divisibility conditions give . Regard the faithful action as an embedding . If , its Sylow -subgroup is normal, so . The stated fact gives , impossible for a subgroup of order 168. Hence
These are the Sylow counts in a faithful degree-seven action with S4 point stabilizers.

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