Are all isomorphic simply transitive subgroups of $S_n$ conjugate

group-theory

Let $S_n$ be the symmetric group on $n$ letters. Suppose $G,G'\le S_n$ are transitive subgroups of order $n$ such that $G\cong G'$. Must they be conjugate in $S_n$?

My guess is that the answer is either yes, or if not then there should be exactly two conjugacy classes of simply transitive subgroups (represented by the left regular and the right regular representations), but I don't have a proof.

Best Answer

Yes. If a group $G$ of order $n$ acts on a set $X$ of size $n$ transitively, then the stabilizer must be trivial, so $X$ must be isomorphic to the left regular representation of $G$. In particular there is a unique isomorphism class of such action, so any two such actions on $X$ must be conjugate.

(The left and right regular representations are isomorphic, if by the right regular representation you mean $\rho(g) x = xg^{-1}$. The isomorphism sends $x$ to $x^{-1}$.)