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The nontrivial center of a finite p-group theorem implies that the center of a group of order $p^2$ has order $p$ or $p^2$. If it has order $p$, the quotient by the center has prime order and is cyclic; a cyclic quotient by the center forces the whole group to be abelian, contradicting the assumed size of its center. Thus the group is abelian. An element of order $p^2$ makes it cyclic. Otherwise choose $a\ne 1$ and $b\notin ⟨a⟩$; their order-$p$ cyclic subgroups intersect trivially and generate the direct product of groups $C_p\times C_p$. The two possibilities are nonisomorphic because only the cyclic one has an element of order $p^2$.

For the centralizer of a subset, the identity commutes with every $h\in A$. If $g,k$ commute with each member of $A$, then for every such $h$,Also $gh=hg$ implies $g^{-1}h=h{g}^{-1}$ after multiplication by $g^{-1}$ on both sides. Thus identity, products and inverses lie in $C(A)$, proving that it is a subgroup.

For the conjugation action, identity acts trivially, andThese are the defining laws of a left group action. Its orbits of a group action are the conjugacy classes. The stabilizer of $h$ is exactly its centralizer, since $gh{g}^{-1}=h$ if and only if $gh=hg$. The orbit-stabilizer theorem therefore givesA class has one element exactly when that element commutes with all of $G$, so the singleton classes are precisely the elements of $C(G)$, the centre of a group. Partitioning $G$ into all its conjugacy classes now proves the class equationFor $|G|=p^r$, Lagrange's theorem for finite groups makes every class size a power of $p$. A nonsingleton class has size at least $p$ and is therefore divisible by $p$. Reducing the class equation modulo $p$ yields $|C(G)|\equiv 0(\mathrm{mod}p)$, because $r>0$. The identity lies in $C(G)$, so its order is positive and divisible by $p$. ConsequentlyThis proves the nontrivial center of a finite p-group directly from the conjugation classes.

The centre of a group is $Z(G)=\{z\in G:zg=gz\text{ for every }g\in G\}$. It is a normal subgroup. For $|G|=p^r$ with $r\ge 1$, let $G$ act on itself by conjugation. The orbit-stabilizer theorem makes the size of the conjugacy class of $g$ equal to $[G:C_G(g)]$, a power of $p$. A class has size one exactly when $g\in Z(G)$; every other class size is divisible by $p$. The class equation therefore givesso $p$ divides $|Z(G)|$. Since the identity belongs to the centre of a group, its size is a positive multiple of $p$. This proves the nontrivial center of a finite p-group.

If $G/Z(G)$ is cyclic, choose a representative $a$ of a generator. Every element is $a^{m}z$ for an integer $m$ and $z\in Z(G)$. Any two such elements commute, since their central factors commute with everything and their remaining factors are powers of the same element. Thus $G$ is an abelian group, $Z(G)=G$, and the cyclic quotient by the centre of a group is trivial.

For a non-abelian group of order $p^3$, the centre of a group has order $p$, $p^2$ or $p^3$ by the proved result and Lagrange's theorem. The last would make the group abelian. The middle would make $G/Z(G)$ have prime order and hence cyclic, also making $G$ abelian by the preceding argument. Therefore its centre has order $p$.

Finally write the given upper-unitriangular matrix as $M(a,b,c)$. Direct matrix multiplication givesIt commutes with every $M(a^{\prime },b^{\prime },c^{\prime })$ exactly when $a{c}^{\prime }=a^{\prime }c$ for all $a^{\prime },c^{\prime }\in F$. Taking $(a^{\prime },c^{\prime })=(0,1)$ forces $a=0$, and taking $(1,0)$ forces $c=0$; those conditions also suffice. Thus the centre of a group in this Heisenberg group over a prime field is

The conjugacy class of $x$ is its orbit under the conjugation action, and its stabilizer is the centralizer $C_G(x)$. The orbit-stabilizer theorem givesBy Lagrange's theorem, the order of the centralizer divides $p^n=|G|$, so the index is a power of $p$. A conjugacy class has size one exactly when its element belongs to the center of a group.

Separate these singleton classes in the class equation:where the sum takes one representative of each nonsingleton conjugacy class. Every summand is divisible by $p$. Thus $p\mid |Z(G)|$, and the identity ensures $|Z(G)|>0$. Consequently $|Z(G)|\ge p$. This is the nontrivial center of a finite p-group property.

The group $G$ is a nontrivial finite p-group, so the nontrivial center of a finite p-group gives $Z(G)\ne \{e\}$. If $Z(G)\ne G$, then $Z(G)$ is already a nontrivial proper normal subgroup, so $G$ is not a simple group. If $Z(G)=G$, then $G$ is abelian. By Cauchy's theorem for finite groups, it has a subgroup of order $p$; every subgroup of an abelian group is normal, and this subgroup is nontrivial and proper because $|G|=p^4$. Thus in every case