For any prime set , every finite soluble group has Hall -subgroups, any two are conjugate, and every -subgroup lies in one. Induction uses an elementary abelian minimal normal subgroup of characteristic . If , the preimage of a quotient Hall subgroup is itself a Hall subgroup. If , coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup gives a conjugate class of complements in that preimage. The same complement conjugacy in the preimage of a smaller quotient subgroup gives the embedding assertion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 3 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A soluble group is one whose derived series terminates: , , and for some finite . Each factor of this series is abelian. Conversely, if a subnormal series has abelian factors, repeated commutation moves down the series, so the derived series terminates. This explains the usual alternative definition in terms of abelian factors. The least is the derived length.
Subgroups are soluble because ; quotients are soluble because a group homomorphism maps a derived subgroup onto the derived subgroup of its image. Solubility is also closed under extensions: if has derived length at most and has length at most , then and . Abelian and nilpotent groups are soluble; has derived subgroup and derived length two. In a finite group, solubility is equivalent to every composition factor being cyclic of prime order: simple soluble groups are abelian and therefore cyclic of prime order, while a composition series with these factors builds a soluble group by extensions. This need not give an ambient-normal series with cyclic prime-order factors, which is the stronger property of supersolubility.
A Hall subgroup for a prime set is a subgroup whose order uses only primes in and whose index uses only primes outside . Its order is the full -part of . Sylow's theorem is the singleton-prime case; solubility allows all prime sets, although Hall subgroups need not be normal, as the order-two subgroups of show.
Prove Hall subgroup existence in soluble groups by induction on . The trivial group is immediate. Choose a nontrivial minimal normal subgroup . It is elementary abelian of some prime characteristic : is characteristic in and normal in , so minimality and solubility force . A nontrivial Sylow subgroup of this finite abelian group is characteristic, making a p-group. The subgroup of pth powers is characteristic and proper, so minimality makes it trivial. This proves minimal normal subgroups of finite solvable groups are elementary abelian.
By induction has a Hall -subgroup . Let be its inverse image. Then is a -number. If , the whole is a -group and is the desired Hall subgroup. If , has order prime to . We now prove the required complement existence explicitly, rather than invoking a splitting theorem as a substitute.
Write additively as an -vector space. Choose representatives for with . Conjugation gives a well-defined action of on , because changing a representative by an element of the abelian group does not change that action. Define by . Associativity yieldsSince is invertible in , set . Sum the identity over and use the bijection to obtainChanging representatives to removes the multiplication error:Thus is a homomorphic section. Its image has order , intersects trivially, and complements in . This is coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup. Finally is a -number and is a -number, soOnly existence was needed here; the fuller Hall theorem also gives conjugacy and containment of arbitrary -subgroups. Solubility makes the elementary-abelian minimal-normal induction possible and cannot simply be omitted.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 1 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A Hall subgroup for a set of primes is a subgroup such that every prime divisor of belongs to , while no prime divisor of belongs to . Equivalently , the product of the full prime powers in belonging to .
The Hall conjugacy and embedding in finite soluble groups theorem says that, for every , a finite soluble group has a Hall -subgroup, any two such subgroups are conjugate, and every -subgroup is contained in one. We prove all three assertions together by induction, including the needed complement argument rather than assuming it.
First establish coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup. Suppose is an elementary Abelian -group and has order prime to . Write additively. Conjugation defines a well-defined action of on because is Abelian. Choose a section , with , and let its extension cocycle be defined by . Associativity givesSum over . With this becomesMultiplication by is invertible on , so setting gives . The new section has zero cocycle and is a homomorphism. Its image is a complement to , proving .
Every other complement has the form , with . Summing this identity over and putting gives . Hence , where , and the other complement is . The same argument applies on any subgroup : a subgroup intersecting trivially is a graph of such a one-cocycle over its image , so conjugation by an element of carries it into . This proves the complement-conjugacy and embedding assertions needed below.
Now let be finite soluble, and choose a minimal normal subgroup . It is elementary Abelian of some prime characteristic , by the minimal-normal argument in the series discussion. Induction gives Hall subgroups and the embedding and conjugacy assertions in . Let be a Hall -subgroup there and its full preimage.
If , then itself is a Hall -subgroup of . Every Hall -subgroup contains , since is a -subgroup and already has the largest possible -order. Thus is the full preimage of its image in , and quotient conjugacy lifts to conjugacy in . Given any -subgroup , induction puts its quotient image into some , whose preimage contains .
If , then has order prime to . The complement construction produces of order , hence a Hall subgroup of . Any Hall subgroup has trivial intersection with and a Hall image in . Conjugating two Hall subgroups first aligns these images, after which both are complements to in the same ; the complement-conjugacy argument then conjugates them by an element of . For an arbitrary -subgroup , quotient induction puts its image into some . Then and , so the embedding argument conjugates into the chosen complement . Equivalently lies in a conjugate of . This completes the induction and all three parts of the Hall theorem for soluble groups.
For the specific general linear group over a finite field, counting ordered bases givesThere are seven lines and seven planes in . The group is transitive on each family, so line and plane stabilizers both have order and index seven. To show that these exhaust the index-seven subgroups, let have order . It contains a Sylow -subgroup of order eight, which can be conjugated toThe group orbits of on the seven nonzero vectors areof sizes . An -orbit is a union of these. The group cannot be transitive on seven points, since seven does not divide . Therefore it has an orbit of size at most three. A size-one orbit fixes . A size-two orbit must be , whose vector sum is consequently fixed. A size-three orbit must be the union of the first two -orbits, the nonzero part of the plane , so that plane is invariant. In every case lies in a line or plane stabilizer, and equality follows from their equal orders.
The two stabilizer families are not conjugate. A line stabilizer fixes its nonzero vector and is transitive on the other six nonzero vectors: extend that fixed vector and either chosen other vector to a basis, and map one such basis to the other. Thus it has no invariant three-element subset of nonzero vectors and fixes no plane. In contrast a plane stabilizer fixes its defining plane. Conjugation sends line stabilizers to line stabilizers, so cannot send one to a plane stabilizer. We obtainThey are Hall subgroups for but are not conjugate. This explicitly shows why the solubility hypothesis of the Hall theorem for soluble groups matters.
Finally, an index-three subgroup would give a nontrivial transitive coset homomorphism . Its kernel is normal; the permitted simplicity of forces that kernel to be trivial, because the action is nontrivial. But an injective map from a group of order into one of order six is impossible. Hence has no subgroup of index three.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 2 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A soluble group is a group whose derived series , terminates at . Equivalently, it has a finite subnormal series with abelian factors. For the reverse implication, if has derived length , then ; if has derived length , then . Iterating this observation through the series proves the equivalence. For a finite group, refining the abelian factors to composition factors says that solubility is equivalent to all composition factors being cyclic of prime order.
Subgroups and quotient groups of soluble groups are soluble, since their derived series lie in, or are images of, the original series. The same calculation proves closure under group extensions. Finite p-groups are nilpotent groups, hence soluble: their nontrivial centers allow induction to construct a central series. Every finite nilpotent group is a direct product of groups of its Sylow subgroups. The converse fails: has the abelian-factor series , but its order-two Sylow subgroups are not normal. The symmetric group is also soluble, with series and abelian factors. A finite soluble group has elementary abelian minimal normal subgroups, by the argument in 1(c). In contrast, a nonabelian simple group is a perfect group and is not soluble.
The Fitting subgroup collects the normal nilpotent structure. For a nontrivial finite soluble group it is nontrivial, since it contains an elementary abelian minimal normal subgroup. Part 1(c) proves , so conjugation embeds in . This shows why controlling a soluble group through normal abelian or nilpotent layers is effective, even when the whole group is not a nilpotent group.
For a set of primes , a Hall subgroup of type has order divisible only by primes in and index divisible only by primes outside . The Hall theorem for soluble groups says that a finite soluble group has such subgroups, any two are conjugate, and every subgroup of -order is contained in one. These assertions generalize the Sylow theorems, which treat a single prime. Here is a proof of all three assertions.
First we need coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup. Suppose is an elementary abelian p-group and has order prime to . A section defines an action on and an additive factor set by . Associativity saysSumming over and dividing by in gives , where . Replacing by removes the factor set, giving a complement. Two complements differ by a map satisfying . Averaging over gives , so the complements are conjugate by an element of . This proves both splitting and conjugacy, without assuming that an arbitrary extension splits.
Induct on , taking an elementary abelian minimal normal subgroup of exponent . Choose a quotient Hall subgroup and let be its preimage. If , then itself is a Hall subgroup. If , the preceding splitting argument gives a complement to in , and that complement is a Hall subgroup of .
For conjugacy, the images of two Hall subgroups are quotient Hall subgroups, so induction allows them to have the same image and lie in the same . If , every Hall subgroup contains : its product with is a -subgroup and cannot be larger by the subgroup-order formula. Both are then . If , both are complements to in , so the averaging argument conjugates them.
Finally let be any -subgroup. By induction its image lies in a quotient Hall subgroup, so . If , is already a Hall subgroup containing . Otherwise write . In , both and the inverse image in of the image of are complements to . Complement conjugacy therefore places in a conjugate of . This proves embedding and completes the induction.
Thus existence, conjugacy and containment all hold for every prime set in a finite soluble group. The solubility hypothesis matters: has no Hall subgroup for . Such a subgroup would have index three; its coset action would give a nontrivial group homomorphism , impossible because is a simple group and has order . This example also distinguishes a Hall subgroup from a merely arbitrary subgroup whose order uses the chosen primes.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 1 6 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a set of primes , a Hall -subgroup of a finite group is a subgroup whose order uses only primes in and whose subgroup index uses only primes outside . Equivalently, is the full -part of . A Hall subgroup is a Hall -subgroup for some . The theorem of P. Hall for finite soluble groups states: Hall -subgroups exist for every , any two are conjugate, and every -subgroup is contained in a Hall -subgroup.
For the existence proof, first give the explicit coprime splitting calculation needed in the induction. Let be elementary abelian of field characteristic , normal in , with . Write and use additive notation on . A normalized section gives an action independent of its choice, since is abelian. Write . Associativity givesSum over , put , and divide by in the vector space . This is legitimate because . With one obtainsThe new section therefore has zero multiplication defect and is a group homomorphism. Its image is a complement to .
We will also need a single conjugation carrying one complement to the other. If two homomorphic sections differ by , their difference satisfies . Summing over gives , where . Thus the second section is . This proves, by explicit averaging, both coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup and the existence of such a conjugation by an element of .
Now induct on for Hall subgroup existence in soluble groups. A minimal normal subgroup of a finite soluble group is elementary abelian of some field characteristic . Indeed, is a characteristic subgroup of and normal in ; it cannot equal because is soluble, so it is trivial. In this abelian group, a nontrivial primary component is a characteristic subgroup, forcing a single prime, and the characteristic subgroup annihilated by that prime forces exponent .
By induction has a Hall -subgroup , with preimage . If , induction in supplies a Hall -subgroup of , which is also Hall in because is prime to all primes in . If , the quotient is a -group. When , itself is a -group. When , the averaging construction splits off , and its complement has order and is the required Hall -subgroup. This completes the existence proof, including the identity group and empty prime set.
A Sylow basis is a family containing one Sylow subgroup for each prime, with for each pair. This is permutability of subgroups, not commutation of all their elements. The product of any subfamily is a subgroup: commuting the factors as sets proves closure and closure under inversion. Inductively its order is the product of the prime-power orders, since the newly adjoined factor has trivial intersection with the earlier product. It is thus the corresponding Hall subgroup.
Prove existence of a Sylow basis by induction on , again using elementary abelian of field characteristic . Choose a basis of , taking if does not divide that quotient's order. The product is its Hall -subgroup. In its full preimage , the averaging lemma supplies a complement to , mapping isomorphically to . For , let be the inverse image of under this isomorphism within . Let be the full preimage of in . These are Sylow subgroups of . The other-prime pairs permute because they do so in . For and , their product is contained in the full preimage of the subgroup and has exactly that preimage's order . Equality follows, so the product is a subgroup and these two factors permute as well. This constructs a basis.
To obtain a simultaneous conjugation of two bases, take two bases. Their images in are bases: lies in every Sylow -subgroup, and the other-prime Sylow subgroups project injectively. By induction, conjugate one basis so that all corresponding images agree. The products of their non- factors are then two complements to in the same preimage of their common Hall -subgroup. The averaging lemma for complements supplies a single element of conjugating these complements. In the resulting common complement each corresponding Sylow subgroup is the unique lift of its agreed quotient subgroup, so all non- factors agree. The -factors already equal the full preimage of their common quotient factor and are preserved by conjugation from . Thus all Sylow bases of a finite soluble group are conjugate.
In there are three Sylow -subgroups of order eight: the action on the three pair-partitions of four points has kernel , and these subgroups are the preimages of the three order-two subgroups of . There are four Sylow -subgroups, one for each three-point support. Every choice has trivial intersection and product of cardinality , so . ThereforeFor , , the Sylow -subgroup is uniquely . In a Sylow basis the product is a Hall -subgroup, hence a complement to . Conversely, a basis of any complement together with is a basis of , because is normal. The averaging lemma makes all complements conjugate by . The stabilizer of the standard complement under this conjugation is : if a vector normalizes it, its group commutator with each complement element lies in both and that complement, hence is trivial. The fixed vectors under the natural coordinate permutation action are exactly , so . There are consequently complements, and each has twelve bases. The complement is uniquely recovered from its basis as , so no basis is counted twice. The counting Sylow bases in a coprime elementary abelian extension formula yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 2 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The Hall theorem for soluble groups says that for every prime set , a finite soluble group has Hall -subgroups; they are all conjugate, and every -subgroup is contained in one. A Hall -subgroup has only primes in in its order and no primes in in its index.
For a proof outline, induct on the group order and choose a minimal normal subgroup . In a finite soluble group this is elementary abelian of some characteristic : its derived subgroup is characteristic and solvability forces it to be trivial; primary components and the subgroup of elements of order dividing are then characteristic, so minimality gives an elementary abelian p-group. Choose a Hall -subgroup of and let be its preimage. If , is itself a Hall -subgroup. If , has order prime to and coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup supplies a complement to in , of the required Hall order.
Here the complement fact has a short averaging proof. Choose a section of and write its multiplication defect as , in additive notation. Associativity givesSince is invertible on , averaging over expresses the defect as ; adjusting the section by gives a homomorphic section. Two such complements differ by . Averaging this identity gives , so they are conjugate by . Inductive conjugacy in the quotient followed by this complement conjugacy proves Hall conjugacy. To embed an arbitrary -subgroup , first put its quotient inside the chosen quotient Hall subgroup. In the coprime case and the corresponding subgroup of a complement are both complements to inside , hence are -conjugate. In the other case directly. This proves Hall conjugacy and embedding in finite soluble groups as well as existence.
Now prove the assertion about maximal subgroups by induction on . Suppose a nontrivial normal subgroup is contained in . If , maximality gives , and since this gives . If , both and are maximal in ; induction yields either their product equal to or their conjugacy, lifting respectively to or to conjugacy of . The same applies with their roles reversed.
It remains to suppose that no nontrivial normal subgroup of lies in either maximum. Let be minimal normal, an elementary abelian p-group. Since lies in neither maximum, . The intersection is normalized by and by the abelian group , hence by ; it is therefore trivial. Likewise . Thus both and complement . Their action on is irreducible, since an invariant subspace would be a proper nontrivial normal subgroup of . It is also faithful: is normalized by and centralized by , so is a normal subgroup of contained in and must be trivial.
If , these assumptions force and to have prime order. Otherwise choose normal in with minimal normal in . It is an elementary abelian r-group. Under , its copy is a nontrivial normal subgroup of . The prime differs from : a p-group acting on the characteristic-p vector space has nonzero fixed points, by counting its orbits on modulo . Its fixed subspace would be -invariant, hence all of by irreducibility, contrary to faithfulness of .
Therefore and are Sylow r-subgroups of . They are conjugate in . Conjugate so that these intersections coincide as . Since , . It cannot equal , since would then be a nontrivial normal subgroup contained in . Maximality gives , and the same argument gives . The conjugated maxima are equal. HenceThis is the factorization-or-conjugacy property of maximal subgroups of a finite soluble group.
Sylow basis 2026-10-14
A Sylow basis consists of one Sylow subgroup for each prime dividing the group order, with any two of them permutable as subgroups. Permutable means , not elementwise commutation. Their product over any subset of primes is a Hall subgroup. Every finite soluble group has such a basis, and all bases are simultaneously conjugate. Induction over an elementary abelian minimal normal subgroup proves these facts using coprime splitting over an elementary abelian normal subgroup: lift the other-prime quotient basis into a complement, and lift the characteristic-prime Sylow subgroup by taking its full preimage.