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We construct the two domains explicitly from seven congruent triangles. Let a scalene reference triangle have sides $a,b,c$ opposite its three labelled vertices. Choose its three side lengths in a small open neighbourhood of $(1,1,1)$, with a fixed strict ordering. Thus the three angles are distinct and lie between $\pi /4$ and $\pi /2$. Each copy keeps these side labels.

For the first assembly glue the following tile pairs, reflecting across the indicated side:Each coloured adjacency graph is a tree with central tile $7$ and three two-tile arms. Place tile $7$ in the plane and obtain every other tile by the prescribed reflections. At the equilateral reference shape the copies have disjoint interiors and form a polygonal disk; the same holds throughout a sufficiently small neighbourhood, since the only contacts between tiles are the prescribed edges and their incident vertices. In particular each assembly is a bounded connected planar domain.

To prove equality of spectra, index tiles by the seven nonzero vectors $x\in {\mathbb{F}}_2^3$, using $x=(x_1,x_2,x_3)$ with label $x_1+2x_2+4x_3$. LetThese involutions act on points by $x\mapsto s_{s}x$ and on nonzero covectors by $y\mapsto s_s^{-T}y=s_s^{T}y$. Their swaps are exactly the two columns of the table. Write $P_s,Q_s$ for the corresponding permutation matrices. The Fano plane incidence matrixsatisfies $B{P}_s=Q_{s}B$, since incidence is preserved by a linear transformation and its inverse transpose. Each point lies on three lines, while two different points have one common line. Thereforewhere $J$ is the all-ones matrix, proving that $B$ is invertible.

For the Dirichlet boundary condition, a glued side has a positive swap and an exposed side has diagonal entry $-1$. Both trees have the same bipartition, with sign matrixTheir signed reflection matrices are $M_s=-D{P}_{s}D$ and $N_s=-D{Q}_{s}D$. On a glued edge its endpoint signs are opposite, so the off-diagonal entries are $+1$; on an exposed edge the entry is $-1$. Consequently the invertible matrix $C=DBD$ satisfies

We spell out why this gives isospectrality. Pull each function back from the seven tiles to the reference triangle. Its seven boundary values along side $s$ form a vector $u_s$ satisfying $M_s{u}_s=u_s$: this imposes equal values at glued edges and zero values at exposed edges. Outward normal derivatives of a smooth eigenfunction satisfy $M_s{v}_s=-v_s$, giving opposite normal derivatives on glued edges. The identities above preserve both conditions under $u\mapsto Cu$. Since $C$ is constant, it also commutes with the scalar Laplacian on each triangle.

One can include all weak eigenfunctions without any corner regularity issue by orthogonalization of a transplantation matrix. The matrix $C^{T}C$ commutes with the symmetric $M_s$, so $O=C(C^{T}C{)}^{-1/2}$ is orthogonal and still intertwines $M_s,N_s$. On the disjoint tiles, $O$ preserves the $L^2$ norm and the sum of the Dirichlet energies; it maps the trace-matching form domain $H_0^1({\Omega }_P)$ bijectively to $H_0^1({\Omega }_L)$. Thus it is a unitary equivalence of the Dirichlet Laplacians, proving equality of every eigenvalue with its multiplicity.

Finally, the only reentrant vertices of either polygon are the three vertices of tile $7$, with interior angles four times the corresponding reference-triangle angles. All other boundary angles are less than $\pi$. These three distinct angles force any hypothetical isometry to map each labelled central vertex to its counterpart. An isometry between connected open planar domains is a restriction of a rigid motion: its derivative is orthogonal, and preservation of the flat Levi-Civita connection makes that derivative constant. After aligning the two central triangles, this rigid motion fixes three noncollinear points and is the identity. But the two domains do not coincide: the tile beyond side $a$ of the central triangle has its next attachment along $b$ in the point assembly and along $c$ in the line assembly. These occupy different open regions. This contradiction proves nonisometry.

Therefore the three freely varying side lengths give a three-parameter family of nonisometric Dirichlet-isospectral bounded planar domains. The parameters include scale; no congruence normalization removes it.

Here is an involution form of the double-coset criterion for a one-point extension. Embed $G$ in $\mathrm{Sym}(\Omega \cup \{\infty \})$ by fixing $\infty$, choose $a\in \Omega$, and put $H=G_a$. The necessary and sufficient condition is the existence of an involution $t$ such thatProducts in this part are compositions of maps, with the rightmost map applied first. The criterion is a finite test on permutations of the enlarged set; it does not presuppose that a larger group has already been found.

For sufficiency, put $K=G\cup GtG$. Multiplying a double coset by an element of $G$ on either side leaves it unchanged. A product of two elements of $GtG$ reduces to $g_{1}tgt{g}_2$. If $g\in H$, then $tgt\in H\le G$; otherwise the last condition puts it in $GtG$. Hence $K$ is closed under multiplication. It contains the identity and is closed under inverses, since $t^{-1}=t$, so it is a group.

Every element $g_{1}t{g}_2$ sends $\infty$ to $g_1(a)\in \Omega$, whereas elements of $G$ fix $\infty$. Thus $K_{\infty }=G$. Moreover the orbit of $\infty$ contains $a$ and then all of $\Omega$, so $K$ is transitive and is the desired one-point extension of a permutation group. For the order check, $G\cap tGt=H$: an element of the intersection fixes both $\infty$ and $a$, and the reverse containment follows from $tHt=H$. Consequently $|GtG|=|G{|}^2/|H|=|\Omega ||G|$, as required.

For necessity, let $K$ be an extension. It is doubly transitive group action, of order $|\Omega |(|\Omega |+1)|G_a|$, which is even. By Cauchy theorem for groups it contains a nontrivial involution, and a pair interchanged by this involution can be carried to $(\infty ,a)$ by double transitivity. Conjugating gives an involution $t$ interchanging these two points. Their common point stabilizer is $H$, so $tHt=H$. Finally $G$ has just two orbits on the enlarged set, namely $\{\infty \}$ and $\Omega$, giving $K=G\cup GtG$. More explicitly, for $k\in K\setminus G$, choose $g\in G$ with $g(a)=k(\infty )$; then $t{g}^{-1}k$ fixes $\infty$ and belongs to $G$. If $g\notin H$, the element $tgt$ moves $\infty$, so it belongs to $GtG$, completing necessity.

Adjoin $\infty$ to $\Omega =\{1,\dots ,n\}$ and take $G=A_n$ fixing it. Choose three distinct points $a,b,c\in \Omega$ and put $t=(\infty a)(bc)$. This is an even involution interchanging $\infty$ and $a$. Conjugation by it preserves $H=G_a$, because it permutes the remaining $n-1$ points and preserves parity. Thus $tHt=H$.

If $g\in G\setminus H$, the even permutation $k=tgt$ moves $\infty$ into $\Omega$. The alternating group $A_n$ is transitive for $n\ge 3$: a suitable 3-cycle carries any prescribed point to another. Choose $u\in G$ with $u(a)=k(\infty )$. Then $v=t{u}^{-1}k$ is even and fixes $\infty$, so $v\in G$ and $k=utv\in GtG$. All conditions of the double-coset criterion for a one-point extension hold, including when $n=3$ and $H$ is trivial.

The constructed extension lies in $A_{n+1}$ and has order $(n+1)|A_n|=(n+1)!/2$. Therefore

Relabel each duad of each synthematic total by the chosen transposition and compare the resulting synthematic total with the six labelled synthematic totals. For example, $(12)$ interchanges $T_1,T_2$, interchanges $T_3,T_4$, and interchanges $T_5,T_6$. Applying the same calculation to the other adjacent transpositions givesThese formulae use the PDF's numbering of the synthematic totals, which is essential for the particular fixed elements below. Compose permutations from left to right, consistently with the right action on synthematic totals. Multiplying the second and fourth images gives $(23)(45)$, while multiplying the third and fifth gives $(34)(56)$. Hence the two involutionsare fixed by the outer automorphism $\alpha$. Since $\alpha$ is a group automorphism, their product is fixed as well. Applying $u$ and then $v$ yieldsUnder right-to-left composition the product is the inverse cycle, which is also fixed; the displayed convention removes that ambiguity.

First determine when a group automorphism can carry a transposition to another type of involution. An involution in $S_n$ is a product of $k$ disjoint transpositions, and its conjugacy class has sizeAn automorphism preserves element orders and conjugacy-class sizes. Equality with the transposition-class size $n(n-1)/2$ requiresFor $k=2$ this says $(n-2)(n-3)=4$, which has no integral solution $n\ge 4$. For $k=3$, the minimum value of the left side, at $n=6$, is $4!=24=2^2\cdot 3!$; it increases strictly for larger $n$. For $k\ge 4$, even its minimum $(2k-2)!$ exceeds $2^{k-1}k!$: at $k=4$ this is $720>192$, and the ratio of these two quantities increases at the next step by $(2k)(2k-1)/(2(k+1))>1$. Thus only in degree six can the transposition class be exchanged with a different involution class, namely the triple transpositions.

We next prove that any automorphism preserving transpositions is an inner automorphism. Regard a transposition as an edge of the complete graph on the $n$ letters. Two distinct transpositions fail to commute exactly when their edges meet. Any family of pairwise intersecting edges is contained in a vertex star or a triangle: after choosing $\{a,b\}$ and $\{a,c\}$, an edge not containing $a$ must be $\{b,c\}$, which precludes any fourth edge. For $n\ge 5$, the stars are therefore distinguished as the maximal such families of size $n-1\ge 4$. An automorphism permutes stars, inducing a permutation $\pi$ of the letters; their pairwise intersections show that $(ij)$ is sent to $(\pi (i)\pi (j))$. Since transpositions generate $S_n$, this is conjugation by a permutation.

For $n=4$, stars and triangles both have three edges, but a star generates $S_4$ while a triangle generates a subgroup $S_3$. An automorphism preserves the order of the generated subgroup and hence still distinguishes stars. For $n=3$, every permutation of the three transpositions is induced by conjugation in $S_3$, since its conjugation action on them is faithful and has order six. The groups $S_1,S_2$ have trivial automorphism groups. This completes the small cases.

It follows that all automorphisms for $n\ne 6$ are inner. In degree six, an automorphism permutes the two involution classes of size 15; the kernel of this action consists precisely of the inner automorphisms. Therefore the automorphisms of the symmetric group satisfy

For each involution $t\in G$, its conjugacy class has size fifteen, so its centralizer $C_G(t)$ has order four. A group of order four is a cyclic group or a Klein four-group; the cyclic possibility would contain an element of order four, excluded by the geometric enumeration. Hence each $C_G(t)$ is a Klein four-group containing three involutions.

If $u$ is any of the three involutions in $C_G(t)$, the latter group is an abelian group and hence is contained in $C_G(u)$. Both centralizers have order four, so they are equal. It follows that the fifteen involutions partition into five triples, with five distinct centralizers. Conjugation by $G$ permutes these five subgroups and gives a group homomorphism $\theta :G\to S_5$. This action is nontrivial: otherwise each of these order-four subgroups would be a normal subgroup, contrary to simplicity. The kernel of $\theta$ is normal; since $G$ is simple and the action nontrivial, its kernel is trivial. Thus $\theta$ is injective.

The sign of $\theta (g)$ defines a homomorphism $G\to \{\pm 1\}$. If it were nontrivial, simplicity would make it injective, impossible for a group of order sixty mapping into one of order two. Hence every image permutation is even, and $\theta (G)\subseteq A_5$. Both groups have order sixty, so they are equal. This constructs the requested group isomorphism:

Use the following skew-symmetric matrix, whose columns reduce modulo three to four of the specified nonzero tetracode words:Set $B_{+}=3I+S$, $B_{-}=-3I+S$, and define the full Euclidean lattices $L_{\pm }^0=B_{\pm }{\mathbb{Z}}^4$. Their determinants have absolute value $144$, sinceFor arbitrary positive real numbers $a_1,\dots ,a_4$, put $D=\mathrm{diag}(\sqrt{a_1},\dots ,\sqrt{a_4})$ and $L_{\pm }=D{L}_{\pm }^0$. This is the tetracode length-isospectral lattice construction. We prove equality of the length multisets by an explicit bijection, not just equality of the shortest lengths.

Modulo three, both lattices have image $\mathrm{im}S=T$. The matrix $S$ has rank two over ${\mathbb{F}}_3$; its four column lines are precisely the four lines in $T$. Also $S^2=0$ modulo three, so $\ker S=\mathrm{im}S=T$. Each nonzero tetracode word has exactly one zero coordinate. Every $v\in L_{\pm }^0$ therefore has some coordinate divisible by three. Moreover, all four coordinates of $v$ have the same parity, because every entry of either $B_{\pm }$ is odd.

For $v\in L_{+}^0$, choose the least index $i$ with $3\mid v_i$ and set $w=v-2v_i{e}_i$. The coordinate reflection bijection for tetracode lattices will show that $w\in L_{-}^0$. First, $w\equiv v(\mathrm{mod}3)$, so $Sw\equiv 0(\mathrm{mod}3)$. Second, positive-lattice membership implies $Sv\equiv 3v\equiv -v(\mathrm{mod}4)$. HenceThe expression in parentheses has $i$th coordinate zero and every other coordinate $v_j+v_i{S}_{ji}$ even, by the common parity and $S_{ji}=\pm 1$. Thus $(I-S)w\equiv 0(\mathrm{mod}4)$. Together the congruences modulo three and four say $(-3I-S)w\equiv 0(\mathrm{mod}12)$, which is precisely $B_{-}^{-1}w\in {\mathbb{Z}}^4$.

Conversely, if $v\in L_{-}^0$, the same reflection has unchanged reduction modulo three, and now $Sv\equiv v(\mathrm{mod}4)$. ThusIts $i$th coordinate is $4v_i$ and its other coordinates are even multiples of two, so it vanishes modulo four; it vanishes modulo three as well. The reflected vector is in $L_{+}^0$. The chosen index is unchanged by reflection, including for vectors reducing to zero, so this map is an involution between the two lattices. It preserves every $|v_j|$ and therefore preserves $\Vert Dv{\Vert }^2={\sum }_j{a}_j{v}_j^2$. The two lattices have the same length spectrum, including every multiplicity, for every positive choice of weights.

To prove a genuine failure of isometry, chooseThese four numbers are linearly independent over $\mathbb{Q}$: changing the signs of the independent square roots in the multiquadratic field $\mathbb{Q}(\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3},\sqrt{5})$ isolates each coefficient of a rational relation. If an orthogonal transformation $O$ maps $L_{+}$ to $L_{-}$, thenand $P^T\mathrm{diag}(a_j)P=\mathrm{diag}(a_j)$. Comparing rational coefficients of the independent $a_j$ in the diagonal entries gives $P_{ji}^2={\delta }_{ji}$. Consequently $P$ is diagonal with entries $\pm 1$.

Such a coordinate sign change must preserve $T$ modulo three. For each zero coordinate $i$, there are exactly two opposite nonzero tetracode words. Preserving their line requires the other three signs to be equal. Taking two different zero coordinates forces all four signs to be equal. Thus $P=I$ or $P=-I$, either of which would imply $L_{+}^0=L_{-}^0$. ButThis contradiction proves $L_{+}$ and $L_{-}$ are not isometric. Allowing affine isometries changes nothing: translating the image of zero back to zero reduces them to the orthogonal case.

For the flat tori, take period lattices equal to the dual lattices:The standard spectrum of a flat torus lemma states that its characters of a real torus are indexed by the dual of its period lattice. Here they are $e^{2\pi i⟨v,x⟩}$ for $v\in L_{\pm }$, with Laplacian eigenvalue $4{\pi }^2\Vert v{\Vert }^2$. These characters give a complete orthogonal basis, so our length-preserving bijection proves that $X_{+}$ and $X_{-}$ are isospectral manifolds. The second standard lemma is that an isometry of flat tori lifts to an affine isometry of their Euclidean universal covers. Its orthogonal part maps the period lattices to one another, and therefore maps their dual lattices to one another. This would give the impossible isometry $L_{+}\cong L_{-}$. Hence $X_{+}$ and $X_{-}$ are isospectral non-isometric flat four-dimensional tori.

Write $\alpha ={\lambda }^{1/5}$, $M=\mathbb{Q}(\alpha )$ and $E=\mathbb{Q}({\zeta }_5)$. The Eisenstein criterion at $\lambda$ gives $[M:\mathbb{Q}]=5$, whereas the prime cyclotomic field degree gives $[E:\mathbb{Q}]=4$. The splitting field $F=E(\alpha )$ is a Galois extension of $E$, and an automorphism fixing $E$ sends $\alpha$ to ${\zeta }_5^b\alpha$. Thus its Galois group embeds in $C_5$. It is nontrivial, since $M$ cannot be contained in the degree-four field $E$. Therefore $[F:E]=5$ and $[F:\mathbb{Q}]=20$.

Index the five roots by $j\in {\mathbb{F}}_5$, with root ${\zeta }_5^j\alpha$. Every automorphism has the form ${\zeta }_5\mapsto {\zeta }_5^u$, $\alpha \mapsto {\zeta }_5^b\alpha$ and acts on indices as $j\mapsto uj+b$, with $u\in {\mathbb{F}}_5^{\times }$. This is a faithful inclusion of $G=\mathrm{Gal}(F/\mathbb{Q})$ into the affine group over a finite field, and both groups have order $20$, so it is an isomorphism. This is the affine Galois group of a prime-radical splitting field.

Let $D$ be the specified decomposition group. Its nonidentity element is an involution. If its linear coefficient were $1$, it would be a nontrivial translation, which has order $5$. Hence it acts as $j\mapsto -j+b$. There is exactly one fixed root, at $j=b/2$, and the other four roots form two pairs. By involution orbits in an affine group of odd prime degree, $D$ has three orbits on the five roots. Those roots identify with $G/\mathrm{Gal}(F/M)$, so the double-coset formula gives three primes in $M$.

For $E$, the embeddings identify with $G/\mathrm{Gal}(F/E)\simeq {\mathbb{F}}_5^{\times }$. The image of $D$ is $\{1,-1\}$ and acts by multiplication, giving the two orbits $\{1,-1\}$ and $\{2,-2\}$. ThereforeThe orbit argument counts primes whether or not $p$ is ramified; cyclicity of the given order-two decomposition group does not require that it be generated by an unramified Frobenius element.

A composition series is a subnormal chain whose nontrivial successive quotients are simple. The Jordan–Hölder theorem asserts that any two composition series of a finite group have the same length and the same multiset of simple factors, up to isomorphism. Existence follows by successively choosing maximal proper normal subgroups until the identity is reached.

For uniqueness, induct on the group order. Let $A,B$ be the penultimate terms of two series. If $A=B$, apply induction to that subgroup and add the common top factor. If $A\ne B$, their normality and maximality give $AB=G$. Put $C=A\cap B$. The isomorphism theorems giveBoth are simple. Take any composition series of $C$. Appending $A$ to it gives a series for $A$, so induction identifies the factors of the original series inside $A$ with the factors of $C$ together with $G/B$. Similarly the factors inside $B$ are those of $C$ together with $G/A$. Adding the respective top factors produces the same multiset in both cases. This proves uniqueness, including multiplicities and length.

A normal subgroup $K$ of order two is central because its automorphism group is trivial. By Jordan–Hölder, a composition series through $K$ leaves the simple quotient $G/K\cong A_5$. The image of $Z(G)$ in this quotient is central and hence trivial, since $A_5$ is nonabelian simple. ThusThe symmetric group $S_5$ has trivial group center: conjugation of each transposition by a central permutation must preserve its two-element support, forcing the permutation to fix every point. Since its Jordan–Hölder factors are $A_5$ and $C_2$, a normal subgroup of order two would equal that trivial group center, a contradiction.

Identify $C_2=\{1,-1\}$ and put $D=1\times A_5$ in $C_2\times S_5$. Its three maximal normal subgroups areThey are the three kernels of nonzero maps from the abelianization $C_2^2$ to $C_2$. There is no quotient $A_5$: a central $C_2$ must map trivially, while $S_5$ has no quotient $A_5$. The latter follows from its normal subgroups $1,A_5,S_5$, which can themselves be obtained by intersecting with the simple subgroup $A_5$ and using its trivial centralizer. The complete list of composition series isWithin $M_1$ the two direct factors are the only maximal normal subgroups; within each of $M_2,M_3\cong S_5$ the only such subgroup is its copy of $A_5$. Hence there are exactly four series.

For $S_5\times S_5$, put $D=A_5\times A_5$, $X=A_5\times 1$, $Y=1\times A_5$ andAgain these are exactly the maximal normal subgroups: they are the three cyclic quotient kernels, and there is no simple quotient $A_5$ of the whole product. All series aretogether withTo verify exhaustiveness, $M_L$ has maximal normal subgroups $D$ and $1\times S_5$, and $M_R$ has $D$ and $S_5\times 1$. A quotient $A_5$ of a direct product can receive a nontrivial image from only one simple factor, since the images commute and $A_5$ has trivial group center. The remaining maximal-normal possibility is $M_D$. Its derived subgroup is $D$, because both alternating factors are perfect. A hypothetical quotient $A_5$ would project one alternating factor isomorphically and kill the other, but conjugation by an odd diagonal element induces an outer automorphism on that surviving factor, impossible inside $A_5$. Odd conjugation is outer because otherwise an odd permutation times an even one would centralize $A_5$; a permutation commuting with every three-cycle fixes every three-element support and is the identity. Thus $D$ is the only maximal normal subgroup of $M_D$. Finally the only maximal normal subgroups of $D$ are $X,Y$: normal subgroups of a product of two centerless simple groups are products of the factors, as follows by commutating with each factor. This proves exactly eight series and the classification of composition chains in products with S5.

For $S{L}_2(5)$, commuting with both elementary upper and lower transvections forces a central matrix to be scalar. A scalar $\lambda I$ has determinant ${\lambda }^2$, soIf $g^2=I$, characteristic five makes $g$ diagonalizable with eigenvalues in $\{1,-1\}$. Determinant one rules out one of each, so the unique nonidentity involution is $-I$. An index-two subgroup would have order $60$ and, by the Cauchy theorem for groups, contain that involution and hence the group center. Its image in $PS{L}_2(5)$ would have index two. The simplicity and identification $PS{L}_2(5)\cong A_5$ are established by the independent matrix argument in Solution 4; a simple group has no proper index-two subgroup. Therefore $S{L}_2(5)$ has no subgroup of index two.