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A group $G$ is said to be totally $2$-closed if in each of its faithful permutation representations, say on a set $\Omega$, $G$ is the largest subgroup of $\mathrm{Sym}(\Omega)$ which leaves invariant each of the $G$-orbits for the induced action on $\Omega\times \Omega$. We prove that there are precisely $47$ finite totally $2$-closed groups with trivial Fitting subgroup. Each of these groups is a direct product of pairwise non-isomorphic sporadic simple groups, with the direct factors coming from the Janko groups $\mathrm{J}_1, \mathrm{J}_3$ and $\mathrm{J}_4$, together with $\mathrm{Ly}, \mathrm{Th}$ and the Monster $\mathbb{M}$. These are the first known examples of insoluble totally $2$-closed groups. As a by-product of our methods, we develop several tools for studying $2$-closures of transitive permutation groups -- a vital tool in the study of representations of finite groups as automorphism groups of digraphs. We also prove a dual to a 1939 theorem of Frucht from Algebraic Graph Theory., Comment: 53 pages

Part of the work was done while the authors were visiting the South China University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Shenzhen, in 2018, and we are grateful (in particular to Professor Cai Heng Li) for the hospitality that we received.The authors would like to thank the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, for support and hospitality during the programme Groups, representations and applications: new perspectives (supported by EPSRC grant no.EP/R014604/1), where further work on this paper was undertaken. In particular we acknowledge a Simons Fellowship (Cameron) and a Kirk Distinguished Visiting Fellowship (Praeger) during this programme. Schneider thanks the Centre for the Mathematics of Symmetry and Computation of The University of Western Australia and Australian Research Council Discovery Grant DP160102323 for hosting his visit in 2017 and acknowledges the support of the CNPq projects Produtividade em Pesquisa (project no.: 308212/2019-3) and Universal (project no.:421624/2018-3). Diagonal groups are one of the classes of finite primitive permutation groups occurring in the conclusion of the O'Nan-Scott theorem. Several of the other classes have been described as the automorphism groups of geometric or combinatorial structures such as affine spaces or Cartesian decompositions, but such structures for diagonal groups have not been studied in general. The main purpose of this paper is to describe and characterise such structures, which we call diagonal semilattices. Unlike the diagonal groups in the O'Nan-Scott theorem, which are defined over finite characteristically simple groups, our construction works over arbitrary groups, finite or infinite. A diagonal semilattice depends on a dimension m and a group T. For m=2, it is a Latin square, the Cayley table of T, though in fact any Latin square satisfies our combinatorial axioms. However, for m≥3, the group T emerges naturally and uniquely from the axioms. (The situation somewhat resembles projective geometry, where projective planes exist in great profusion but higher-dimensional structures are coordinatised by an algebraic object, a division ring.) A diagonal semilattice is contained in the partition lattice on a set Ω, and we provide an introduction to the calculus of partitions. Many of the concepts and constructions come from experimental design in statistics. We also determine when a diagonal group can be primitive, or quasiprimitive (these conditions turn out to be equivalent for diagonal groups). Associated with the diagonal semilattice is a graph, the diagonal graph, which has the same automorphism group as the diagonal semilattice except in four small cases with m

In an earlier paper by three of the present authors and Csaba Schneider, it was shown that, for $$m\ge 2$$ m ≥ 2 , a set of $$m+1$$ m + 1 partitions of a set $$\Omega $$ Ω , any m of which are the minimal non-trivial elements of a Cartesian lattice, either form a Latin square (if $$m=2$$ m = 2 ), or generate a join-semilattice of dimension m associated with a diagonal group over a base group G. In this paper we investigate what happens if we have $$m+r$$ m + r partitions with $$r\ge 2$$ r ≥ 2 , any m of which are minimal elements of a Cartesian lattice. If $$m=2$$ m = 2 , this is just a set of mutually orthogonal Latin squares. We consider the case where all these squares are isotopic to Cayley tables of groups, and give an example to show the groups need not be all isomorphic. For $$m>2$$ m > 2 , things are more restricted. Any $$m+1$$ m + 1 of the partitions generate a join-semilattice admitting a diagonal group over a group G. It may be that the groups are all isomorphic, though we cannot prove this. Under an extra hypothesis, we show that G must be abelian and must have three fixed-point-free automorphisms whose product is the identity. (We describe explicitly all abelian groups having such automorphisms.) Under this hypothesis, the structure gives an orthogonal array, and conversely in some cases. If the group is cyclic of prime order p, then the structure corresponds exactly to an arc of cardinality $$m+r$$ m + r in the $$(m-1)$$ ( m - 1 ) -dimensional projective space over the field with p elements, so all known results about arcs are applicable. More generally, arcs over a finite field of order q give examples where G is the elementary abelian group of order q. These examples can be lifted to non-elementary abelian groups using p-adic techniques.

In 1987, Huw Davies proved that, for a flag-transitive point-imprimitive $2$-$(v,k,\lambda)$ design, both the block-size $k$ and the number $v$ of points are bounded by functions of $\lambda$, but he did not make these bounds explicit. In this paper we derive explicit polynomial functions of $\lambda$ bounding $k$ and $v$. For $\lambda\leq 4$ we obtain a list of `numerically feasible' parameter sets $v, k, \lambda$ together with the number of parts and part-size of an invariant point-partition and the size of a nontrivial block-part intersection. Moreover from these parameter sets we determine all examples with fewer than $100$ points. There are exactly eleven such examples, and for one of these designs, a flag-regular, point-imprimitive $2-(36,8,4)$ design with automorphism group ${\rm Sym}(6)$, there seems to be no construction previously available in the literature.

A partial linear space is a pair $(\mathcal{P},\mathcal{L})$ where $\mathcal{P}$ is a non-empty set of points and $\mathcal{L}$ is a collection of subsets of $\mathcal{P}$ called lines such that any two distinct points are contained in at most one line, and every line contains at least two points. A partial linear space is proper when it is not a linear space or a graph. A group of automorphisms $G$ of a proper partial linear space acts transitively on ordered pairs of distinct collinear points and ordered pairs of distinct non-collinear points precisely when $G$ is transitive of rank 3 on points. In this paper, we classify the finite proper partial linear spaces that admit rank 3 affine primitive automorphism groups, except for certain families of small groups, including subgroups of $A\Gamma L_1(q)$. Up to these exceptions, this completes the classification of the finite proper partial linear spaces admitting rank 3 primitive automorphism groups. We also provide a more detailed version of the classification of the rank 3 affine primitive permutation groups, which may be of independent interest., Comment: In this version, we have removed the assumption $V\leq H$ from 18.1 (old 13.2) and we have a new elementary proof of 10.10 (old 13.1). We have also reorganised some of the sections and made minor revisions throughout. 69 pages, 1 figure

For a positive integer $k$, a group $G$ is said to be totally $k$-closed if in each of its faithful permutation representations, say on a set $\Omega$, $G$ is the largest subgroup of $\operatorname{Sym}(\Omega)$ which leaves invariant each of the $G$-orbits in the induced action on $\Omega\times\dots\times \Omega=\Omega^k$. We prove that every abelian group $G$ is totally $(n(G)+1)$-closed, but is not totally $n(G)$-closed, where $n(G)$ is the number of invariant factors in the invariant factor decomposition of $G$. In particular, we prove that for each $k\geq2$ and each prime $p$, there are infinitely many finite abelian $p$-groups which are totally $k$-closed but not totally $(k-1)$-closed. This result in the special case $k=2$ is due to Abdollahi and Arezoomand. We pose several open questions about total $k$-closure.

In this paper, we first study biplanes $\mathcal{D}$ with parameters $(v,k,2)$, where the block size $k\in\{13,16\}$. These are the smallest parameter values for which a classification is not available. We show that if $k=13$, then either $\mathcal{D}$ is the Aschbacher biplane or its dual, or $Aut(\mathcal{D})$ is a subgroup of the cyclic group of order $3$. In the case where $k=16$, we prove that $|Aut(\mathcal{D})|$ divides $2^{7}\cdot 3^{2}\cdot 5\cdot 7\cdot 11\cdot 13$. We also provide an example of a biplane with parameters $(16,6,2)$ with a flag-transitive and point-primitive subgroup of automorphisms preserving a homogeneous cartesian decomposition. This motivated us to study biplanes with point-primitive automorphism groups preserving a cartesian decomposition. We prove that such an automorphism group is either of affine type (as in the example), or twisted wreath type., Comment: 24 pages

We analyse the complexity of constructing involution centralisers in unitary groups over fields of odd order. In particular, we prove logarithmic bounds on the number of random elements required to generate a subgroup of the centraliser of a strong involution that contains the last term of its derived series. We use this to strengthen previous bounds on the complexity of recognition algorithms for unitary groups in odd characteristic. Our approach generalises and extends two previous papers by the second author and collaborators on strong involutions and regular semisimple elements of linear groups., Comment: 48 pages. Revised after suggestions from Eamonn O'Brien and an anonymous referee. To appear J. Algebra

A linear group G ≤ G L ( V ) G\le GL(V) , where V V is a finite vector space, is called 1 2 \frac {1}{2} -transitive if all the G G -orbits on the set of nonzero vectors have the same size. We complete the classification of all the 1 2 \frac {1}{2} -transitive linear groups. As a consequence we complete the determination of the finite 3 2 \frac {3}{2} -transitive permutation groups – the transitive groups for which a point-stabilizer has all its nontrivial orbits of the same size. We also determine the ( k + 1 2 ) (k+\frac {1}{2}) -transitive groups for integers k ≥ 2 k\ge 2 .

We study the family of \emph{derangement action digraphs}, which are a subfamily of the group action graphs introduced in [Fred Annexstein, Marc Baumslag, and Arnold L. Rosenberg, Group action graphs and parallel architectures, \emph{SIAM J. Comput.} 19 (1990), no. 3, 544--569]. For any non-empty set $X$ and a non-empty subset $S$ of $\Der(X)$, the set of derangments of $X$, we define the derangement action digraph $\rm\overrightarrow{DA}(X;S)$ to have vertex set $X$, and an arc from $x$ to $y$ if and only if $y=x^s$ for some $s\in S$. In common with Cayley graphs and digraphs, derangement action digraphs may be useful to model networks as the same routing and communication scheme can be implemented at each vertex. We determine necessary and sufficient conditions on $S$ under which $\rm\overrightarrow{DA}(X;S)$ may be viewed as a simple graph of valency $|S|$, and we call such graphs derangement action graphs. Also we investigate the structural and symmetry properties of these digraphs and graphs. Several open problems are posed and many examples are given., Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure

The normal covering number $\gamma(G)$ of a finite, non-cyclic group $G$ is the minimum number of proper subgroups such that each element of $G$ lies in some conjugate of one of these subgroups. We find lower bounds linear in $n$ for $\gamma(S_n)$, when $n$ is even, and for $\gamma(A_n)$, when $n$ is odd.

For a finite group $G$ and an inverse-closed generating set $C$ of $G$, let $Aut(G;C)$ consist of those automorphisms of $G$ which leave $C$ invariant. We define an $Aut(G;C)$-invariant normal subgroup $\Phi(G;C)$ of $G$ which has the property that, for any $Aut(G;C)$-invariant normal set of generators for $G$, if we remove from it all the elements of $\Phi(G;C)$, then the remaining set is still an $Aut(G;C)$-invariant normal generating set for $G$. The subgroup $\Phi(G;C)$ contains the Frattini subgroup $\Phi(G)$ but the inclusion may be proper. The Cayley graph $Cay(G,C)$ is normal edge-transitive if $Aut(G;C)$ acts transitively on the pairs $\{c,c^{-1}\}$ from $C$. We show that, for a normal edge-transitive Cayley graph $Cay(G,C)$, its quotient modulo $\Phi(G;C)$ is the unique largest normal quotient which is isomorphic to a subdirect product of normal edge-transitive graphs of characteristically simple groups. In particular, we may therefore view normal edge-transitive Cayley graphs of characteristically simple groups as building blocks for normal edge-transitive Cayley graphs whenever the subgroup $\Phi(G;C)$ is trivial. We explore several questions which these results raise, some concerned with the set of all inverse-closed generating sets for groups in a given family. In particular we use this theory to classify all $4$-valent normal edge-transitive Cayley graphs for dihedral groups; this involves a new construction of an infinite family of examples, and disproves a conjecture of Talebi., Comment: 16 pages

We say that a finite group $G$ acting on a set $\Omega$ has Property $(*)_p$ for a prime $p$ if $P_\omega$ is a Sylow $p$-subgroup of $G_\omega$ for all $\omega\in\Omega$ and Sylow $p$-subgroups $P$ of $G$. Property $(*)_p$ arose in the recent work of Tornier (2018) on local Sylow $p$-subgroups of Burger-Mozes groups, and he determined the values of $p$ for which the alternating group $A_n$ and symmetric group $S_n$ acting on $n$ points has Property $(*)_p$. In this paper, we extend this result to finite $2$-transitive groups and we give a structural characterisation result for the finite primitive groups that satisfy Property $(*)_p$ for an allowable prime $p$., Comment: minor corrections

The edges surrounding a face of a map $M$ form a cycle $C$, called the boundary cycle of the face, and $C$ is often not a simple cycle. If the map $M$ is arc-transitive, then there is a cyclic subgroup of automorphisms of $M$ which leaves $C$ invariant and is bi-regular on the edges of the induced subgraph $[C]$; that is to say, $C$ is a symmetrical Euler cycle of $[C]$. In this paper we determine the family of graphs (which may have multiple edges) whose edge-sets can be sequenced to form a symmetrical Euler cycle. We first classify all graphs which have a cyclic subgroup of automorphisms acting bi-regularly on edges. We then apply this classification to obtain the graphs possessing a symmetrical Euler cycle, and therefore are the (only) candidates for the induced subgraphs of the boundary cycles of the faces of arc-transitive maps., Comment: 31 pages

Association Schemes and coherent configurations (and the related Bose-Mesner algebra and coherent algebras) are well known in combinatorics with many applications. In the 1990s, Mesner and Bhattacharya introduced a three-dimensional generalisation of association schemes which they called an association scheme on triples (AST) and constructed examples of several families of ASTs. Many of their examples used 2-transitive permutation groups: the non-trivial ternary relations of the ASTs were sets of ordered triples of pairwise distinct points of the underlying set left invariant by the group; and the given permutation group was a subgroup of automorphisms of the AST. In this paper, we consider ASTs that do not necessarily admit 2-transitive groups as automorphism groups but instead a transitive cyclic subgroup of the symmetric group acts as automorphisms. Such ASTs are called circulant ASTs and the corresponding ternary relations are called circulant relations. We give a complete characterisation of circulant ASTs in terms of AST-regular partitions of the underlying set. We also show that a special type of circulant, that we call a thin circulant, plays a key role in describing the structure of circulant ASTs. We outline several open questions., Comment: This paper is dedicated to the memory of Vaughan Jones

This paper is devoted to the classification of flag-transitive 2- ( v , k , 2 ) designs. We show that apart from two known symmetric 2- ( 16 , 6 , 2 ) designs, every flag-transitive subgroup G of the automorphism group of a nontrivial 2- ( v , k , 2 ) design is primitive of affine or almost simple type. Moreover, we classify the 2- ( v , k , 2 ) designs admitting a flag transitive almost simple group G with socle PSL ( n , q ) for some n ≥ 3 . Alongside this analysis we give a construction for a flag-transitive 2- ( v , k − 1 , k − 2 ) design from a given flag-transitive 2- ( v , k , 1 ) design which induces a 2-transitive action on a line. Taking the design of points and lines of the projective space PG ( n − 1 , 3 ) as input to this construction yields a G-flag-transitive 2- ( v , 3 , 2 ) design where G has socle PSL ( n , 3 ) and v = ( 3 n − 1 ) / 2 . Apart from these designs, our classification yields exactly one other example, namely the complement of the Fano plane.

A graph $\Gamma$ is $k$-connected-homogeneous ($k$-CH) if $k$ is a positive integer and any isomorphism between connected induced subgraphs of order at most $k$ extends to an automorphism of $\Gamma$, and connected-homogeneous (CH) if this property holds for all $k$. Locally finite, locally connected graphs often fail to be 4-CH because of a combinatorial obstruction called the unique $x$ property; we prove that this property holds for locally strongly regular graphs under various purely combinatorial assumptions. We then classify the locally finite, locally connected 4-CH graphs. We also classify the locally finite, locally disconnected 4-CH graphs containing 3-cycles and induced 4-cycles, and prove that, with the possible exception of locally disconnected graphs containing 3-cycles but no induced 4-cycles, every finite 7-CH graph is CH., Comment: 32 pages, 2 figures, some minor revisions

Let ${\rm cs}(G)$ denote the set of conjugacy class sizes of a group $G$, and let ${\rm cs}^*(G)={\rm cs}(G)\setminus\{1\}$ be the sizes of non-central classes. We prove three results. We classify all finite groups $G$ with ${\rm cs}(G)=\{a, a+d, \dots ,a+rd\}$ an arithmetic progression with $r\geqslant 2$. (We show that ${\rm cs}(G)=\{1,2,3\}$.) Our most substantial result classifies all $G$ with ${\rm cs}^*(G)=\{2,4,6\}$. Finally, we classify all groups $G$ whose largest two non-central conjugacy class sizes are coprime. (Here it is not obvious but it is true that ${\rm cs}^*(G)$ has two elements, and so is an arithmetic progression.), Comment: 13 pages; v4 correct typo: C_B(A) changed to C_A(B) on p3. Also last paragraph of Introduction modified slightly

We give a new construction of the outer automorphism of the symmetric group on six points. Our construction features a complex Hadamard matrix of order six containing third roots of unity and the algebra of split quaternions over the real numbers.

Let ?$F$? be a field and let ?$F^{r \times s}$? denote the space of ?$r \times s$? matrices over ?$F$?. Given equinumerous subsets ?$\mathcal A = \{A_i \mid i \in I\} \subseteq F^{r \times r}$? and ?$\mathcal B = \{B_i \mid i \in I\} \subseteq F^{s \times s}$? we call the subspace ?$C(\mathcal{A, B}) := \{X \in F^{r \times s} \mid A_iX = XB_i\ \mathrm{for}\ i \in I\}$? an intertwining code. We show that if ?$C(\mathcal{A, B}) \neq \{0\}$?, then for each ?$i \in I$?, the characteristic polynomials of ?$A_i$? and ?$B_i$? and share a nontrivial factor. We give an exact formula for ?$k = \dim(C(\mathcal{A, B}))$? and give upper and lower bounds. This generalizes previous work. Finally we construct intertwining codes with large minimum distance when the field is not "too small". We give examples of codes where ?$d = rs/k = 1/R$? is large where the minimum distance, dimension, and rate of the linear code ?$C(\mathcal{A, B})$? are denoted by ?$d, k,\ \mathrm{and}\ R = k/rs$?, respectively. Naj bo? $F$? obseg, ?$F^{r \times s}$? pa prostor ?$r \times s$? matrik nad ?$F$?. Če sta podani enako močni podmnožici ?$\mathcal A = \{A_i \mid i \in I\} \subseteq F^{r \times r}$? in ?$\mathcal B = \{B_i \mid i \in I\} \subseteq F^{s \times s}$?, potem pravimo podprostoru? $C(\mathcal{A, B}) := \{X \in F^{r \times s} \mid A_iX = XB_i\ \mathrm{for}\ i \in I\}$? prepletna koda. Pokažemo, da če je ?$C(\mathcal{A, B}) \neq \{0\}$?, potem si, za vsak ?$i \in I$?, karakteristična polinoma matrik ?$A_i$? in ?$B_i$? delita netrivialen faktor. Izpeljemo natančno formulo za ?$k = \dim(C(\mathcal{A, B}))$? in podamo zgornjo in spodnjo mejo. To je posplošitev prejšnjih rezultatov. Konstruiramo prepletne kode z veliko minimalno razdaljo v primerih, ko obseg ni "premajhen" Podamo primere prepletov, kjer je ?$d = rs/k = 1/R$? velik, pri čemer so ?$d$?, ?$k$?, in ?$R = k/rs$? oznake za minimalno razdaljo, dimenzijo in velikost prepleta, v tem vrstnem redu.

We obtain upper bounds on the composition length of a finite permutation group in terms of the degree and the number of orbits, and analogous bounds for primitive, quasiprimitive and semiprimitive groups. Similarly, we obtain upper bounds on the composition length of a finite completely reducible linear group in terms of some of its parameters. In almost all cases we show that the bounds are sharp, and describe the extremal examples., Comment: 23 pages; a few minor corrections following the referee's comments

Let t be an involution in GL ( n , q ) whose fixed point space E + has dimension k between n / 3 and 2 n / 3 . For each g ∈ GL ( n , q ) such that t t g has even order, 〈 t t g 〉 contains a unique involution z ( g ) which commutes with t. We prove that, with probability at least c / log ⁡ n (for some c > 0 ), the restriction z ( g ) | E + is an involution on E + with fixed point space of dimension between k / 3 and 2 k / 3 . This result has implications in the analysis of the complexity of recognition algorithms for finite classical groups in odd characteristic. We discuss how similar results for involutions in other finite classical groups would solve a major open problem in our understanding of the complexity of constructing involution centralisers in those groups.

We discuss recent progress on the problem of classifying point-primitive generalised polygons. In the case of generalised hexagons and generalised octagons, this has reduced the problem to primitive actions of almost simple groups of Lie type. To illustrate how the natural geometry of these groups may be used in this study, we show that if $\mathcal{S}$ is a finite thick generalised hexagon or octagon with $G \leqslant{\rm Aut}(\mathcal{S})$ acting point-primitively and the socle of $G$ isomorphic to ${\rm PSL}_n(q)$ where $n \geqslant 2$, then the stabiliser of a point acts irreducibly on the natural module. We describe a strategy to prove that such a generalised hexagon or octagon $\mathcal{S}$ does not exist., Comment: 7 pages; Submitted to Ars Math Combinatoria 16 July 1999

The classification of flag-transitive generalized quadrangles is a long-standing open problem at the interface of finite geometry and permutation group theory. Given that all known flag-transitive generalized quadrangles are also point-primitive (up to point–line duality), it is likewise natural to seek a classification of the point-primitive examples. Working toward this aim, we are led to investigate generalized quadrangles that admit a collineation group$G$preserving a Cartesian product decomposition of the set of points. It is shown that, under a generic assumption on$G$, the number of factors of such a Cartesian product can be at most four. This result is then used to treat various types of primitive and quasiprimitive point actions. In particular, it is shown that$G$cannot haveholomorph compoundO’Nan–Scott type. Our arguments also pose purely group-theoretic questions about conjugacy classes in nonabelian finite simple groups and fixities of primitive permutation groups.

Given an n × n matrix A over a field F and a scalar a ∈ F , we consider the linear codes C ( A , a ) : = { B ∈ F n × n | A B = a B A } of length n 2 . We call C ( A , a ) a twisted centralizer code. We investigate properties of these codes including their dimensions, minimum distances, parity-check matrices, syndromes, and automorphism groups. The minimal distance of a centralizer code (when a = 1 ) is at most n, however for a ≠ 0 , 1 the minimal distance can be much larger, as large as n 2 .

We present new efficient data structures for elements of Coxeter groups of type $A_m$ and their associated Iwahori--Hecke algebras $H(A_m)$. Usually, elements of $H(A_m)$ are represented as simple coefficient list of length $M = (m+1)!$ with respect to the standard basis, indexed by the elements of the Coxeter group. In the new data structure, elements of $H(A_m)$ are represented as nested coefficient lists. While the cost of addition is the same in both data structures, the new data structure leads to a huge improvement in the cost of multiplication in~$H(A_m)$., Comment: 17 pages; errors corrected; example added. To appear in J. Symb. Comp

The only known examples of finite generalised hexagons and octagons arise from the finite almost simple groups of Lie type G 2 , D 4 3 , and F 4 2 . These groups act transitively on flags, primitively on points, and primitively on lines. The best converse result prior to the writing of this paper was that of Schneider and Van Maldeghem (2008): if a group G acts flag-transitively, point-primitively, and line-primitively on a finite generalised hexagon or octagon, then G is an almost simple group of Lie type. We strengthen this result by showing that the same conclusion holds under the sole assumption of point-primitivity.

We study finite four-valent graphs $$\Gamma $$ admitting an edge-transitive group G of automorphisms such that G determines and preserves an edge-orientation on $$\Gamma $$ , and such that at least one G-normal quotient is a cycle (a quotient modulo the orbits of a normal subgroup of G). We show, on the one hand, that the number of distinct cyclic G-normal quotients can be unboundedly large. On the other hand, existence of independent cyclic G-normal quotients (that is, they are not extendable to a common cyclic G-normal quotient) places severe restrictions on the graph $$\Gamma $$ and we classify all examples. We show there are five infinite families of such pairs $$(\Gamma ,G)$$ and in particular that all such graphs have at least one normal quotient which is an unoriented cycle. We compare this new approach with existing treatments for the sub-class of weak metacirculant graphs with these properties, finding that only two infinite families of examples occur in common from both analyses. Several open problems are posed.

We analyse the normal quotient structure of several infinite families of finite connected edge-transitive, four-valent oriented graphs. These families were singled out by Marusic and others to illustrate various different internal structures for these graphs in terms of their alternating cycles (cycles in which consecutive edges have opposite orientations). Studying the normal quotients gives fresh insights into these oriented graphs: in particular we discovered some unexpected `cross-overs' between these graph families when we formed normal quotients. We determine which of these oriented graphs are `basic', in the sense that their only proper normal quotients are degenerate. Moreover, we show that the three types of edge-orientations studied are the only orientations, of the underlying undirected graphs in these families, which are invariant under a group action which is both vertex-transitive and edge-transitive., 20 pages; the paper is accepted for publication in Ars Math. Contemporanea

In his doctoral thesis, Snover proved that any binary $(m,256,\delta)$ code is equivalent to the Nordstrom-Robinson code or the punctured Nordstrom-Robinson code for $(m,\delta)=(16,6)$ or $(15,5)$ respectively. We prove that these codes are also characterised as \emph{completely regular} binary codes with $(m,\delta)=(16,6)$ or $(15,5)$, and moreover, that they are \emph{completely transitive}. Also, it is known that completely transitive codes are necessarily completely regular, but whether the converse holds has up to now been an open question. We answer this by proving that certain completely regular codes are not completely transitive, namely, the (Punctured) Preparata codes other than the (Punctured) Nordstrom-Robinson code.

In 1987, John Horton Conway constructed a subset $M_{13}$ of permutations on a set of size $13$ for which the subset fixing any given point is isomorphic to the Mathieu group $M_{12}$. The construction has fascinated mathematicians for the past thirty years, and remains remarkable in its mathematical isolation. It is based on a ``moving-counter puzzle'' on the projective plane $\PG(2,3)$. This survey, a homage to John Conway and his mathematics, discusses consequences and generalisations of Conway's construction. In particular it explores how various designs and hypergraphs can be used instead of $\PG(2,3)$ to obtain interesting analogues of $M_{13}$. In honour of John Conway, we refer to these analogues as {\it Conway groupoids}. A number of open questions are presented.

The mathematics of shuffling a deck of $2n$ cards with two "perfect shuffles" was brought into clarity by Diaconis, Graham and Kantor. Here we consider a generalisation of this problem, with a so-called "many handed dealer" shuffling $kn$ cards by cutting into $k$ piles with $n$ cards in each pile and using $k!$ shuffles. A conjecture of Medvedoff and Morrison suggests that all possible permutations of the deck of cards are achieved, so long as $k\neq 4$ and $n$ is not a power of $k$. We confirm this conjecture for three doubly infinite families of integers: all $(k,n)$ with $k>n$; all $(k, n)\in \{ (\ell^e, \ell^f )\mid \ell \geqslant 2, \ell^e>4, f \ \mbox{not a multiple of}\ e\}$; and all $(k,n)$ with $k=2^e\geqslant 4$ and $n$ not a power of $2$. We open up a more general study of shuffle groups, which admit an arbitrary subgroup of shuffles.

We call an element of a finite general linear group $ \textrm{GL}(d,q) $ \emph{fat} if it leaves invariant, and acts irreducibly on, a subspace of dimension greater than $d/2$. Fatness of an element can be decided efficiently in practice by testing whether its characteristic polynomial has an irreducible factor of degree greater than $d/2$. We show that for groups $G$ with $ \textrm{SL}(d,q) \leq G \leq \textrm{GL}(d,q) $ most pairs of fat elements from $G$ generate irreducible subgroups, namely we prove that the proportion of pairs of fat elements generating a reducible subgroup, in the set of all pairs in $ G \times G $, is less than $q^{-d+1}$. We also prove that the conditional probability to obtain a pair $(g_1,g_2)$ in $G \times G$ which generates a reducible subgroup, given that $g_1, g_2$ are fat elements, is less than $2q^{-d+1}$. Further, we show that any reducible subgroup generated by a pair of fat elements acts irreducibly on a subspace of dimension greater than $ d/2 $, and in the induced action the generating pair corresponds to a pair of fat elements.

In this short note we describe a recently initiated research programme aiming to use a normal quotient reduction to analyse finite connected, oriented graphs of valency 4, admitting a vertex- and edge-transitive group of automorphisms which preserves the edge orientation. In the first article on this topic (Al-bar et al. Electr J Combin 23, 2016), a subfamily of these graphs was identified as ‘basic’ in the sense that all graphs in this family are normal covers of at least one ‘basic’ member. These basic members can be further divided into three types: quasiprimitive, biquasiprimitive and cycle type. The first and third of these types have been analysed in some detail. Recently, we have begun an analysis of the basic graphs of biquasiprimitive type. We describe our approach and mention some early results. This work is on-going. It began at the Tutte Memorial MATRIX Workshop.

A set $\mathcal{S}$ of derangements (fixed-point-free permutations) of a set $V$ generates a digraph with vertex set $V$ and arcs $(x,x^\sigma)$ for $x\in V$ and $\sigma\in\mathcal{S}$. We address the problem of characterising those infinite (simple loopless) digraphs which are generated by finite sets of derangements. The case of finite digraphs was addressed in earlier work by the second and third authors. A criterion is given for derangement generation which resembles the criterion given by De Bruijn and Erd\H{o}s for vertex colourings of graphs in that the property for an infinite digraph is determined by properties of its finite sub-digraphs. The derangement generation property for a digraph is linked with the existence of a finite $1$-factor cover for an associated bipartite (undirected) graph., Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures

We prove that most permutations of degree $n$ have some power which is a cycle of prime length approximately $\log n$. Explicitly, we show that for $n$ sufficiently large, the proportion of such elements is at least $1-5/\log\log n$ with the prime between $\log n$ and $(\log n)^{\log\log n}$. The proportion of even permutations with this property is at least $1-7/\log\log n$., Comment: 11 pages. Corrected some imprecise wording