Show that $G$ is not solvable.

group-theory

Let $p = 2k + 3$ be a prime number $\ge 5$. Let $G$ be a subgroup of $S_p$ containing a $p$-cycle and an involution $g$ that fixes exactly three elements, i.e., a product of $k$ disjoint transpositions. Can I conclude that $G$ is not solvable? If so, how?


EDIT 1: If $p = 5$, then $g$ is a transposition, so $G$ is actually all of $S_5$, which is known not to be solvable. But what about the general case?


EDIT 2: Let's attack this problem from a different angle. Let $g \in S_p$ be an involution and let $h \in S_p$ be a $p$-cycle. Write $G = \langle g, h \rangle$ and $H = \langle h \rangle$.

Then the following propositions are equivalent:

  • $ghg$ is a power of $h$.
  • $H$ is a normal subgroup of $G$.
  • $H$ is the only Sylow $p$-subgroup of $G$.

(I am still stuck here.)

Best Answer

Yes you can conclude that $G$ is not solvable, and many of your assumptions are unnecessary.

Let $p$ be prime, and let $G$ be a solvable subgroup of $S_p$ containing a $p$-cycle. Then $G$ is transitive and hence primitive, so its nontrivial normal subgroups are transitive.

Let $P$ be a minimal normal subgroup of $G$. Then $P$ is abelian and transitive, so $|P|=p$, and hence $G$ is contained in the normalizer of $P$ in $S_p$, which is a $2$-transitive group of order $p(p-1)$ in which no non-identity element fixes more than one point

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