St Andrews Research Repository

St Andrews University Home
View Item 
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  •   St Andrews Research Repository
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • University of St Andrews Research
  • View Item
  • Register / Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Between primitive and 2-transitive : synchronization and its friends

Thumbnail
View/Open
Araujo_2017_Between_primitive_and_EMSS_AAM.pdf (697.2Kb)
Date
2017
Author
Araújo, João
Cameron, Peter Jephson
Steinberg, Benjamin
Keywords
Primitive groups
Synchronizing groups
Spreading groups
Separating groups
Černý conjecture
Ovoids and spreads
Graphs
Orbitals
Transformation semigroups
Automata
2-transitive
QA Mathematics
T-NDAS
BDC
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
An automaton (consisting of a finite set of states with given transitions) is said to be synchronizing if there is a word in the transitions which sends all states of the automaton to a single state. Research on this topic has been driven by the Černý conjecture, one of the oldest and most famous problems in automata theory, according to which a synchronizing n-state automaton has a reset word of length at most (n − 1)2 . The transitions of an automaton generate a transformation monoid on the set of states, and so an automaton can be regarded as a transformation monoid with a prescribed set of generators. In this setting, an automaton is synchronizing if the transitions generate a constant map. A permutation group G on a set Ω is said to synchronize a map f if the monoid (G, f) generated by G and f is synchronizing in the above sense; we say G is synchronizing if it synchronizes every non-permutation. The classes of synchronizing groups and friends form an hierarchy of natural and elegant classes of groups lying strictly between the classes of primitive and 2-homogeneous groups. These classes have been floating around for some years and it is now time to provide a unified reference on them. The study of all these classes has been prompted by the Černý conjecture, but it is of independent interest since it involves a rich mix of group theory, combinatorics, graph endomorphisms, semigroup theory, finite geometry, and representation theory, and has interesting computational aspects as well. So as to make the paper self-contained, we have provided background material on these topics. Our purpose here is to present recent work on synchronizing groups and related topics. In addition to the results that show the connections between the various areas of mathematics mentioned above, we include a new result on the Černý conjecture (a strengthening of a theorem of Rystsov), some challenges to finite geometers (which classical polar spaces can be partitioned into ovoids?), some thoughts about infinite analogues, and a long list of open problems to stimulate further work.
Citation
Araújo , J , Cameron , P J & Steinberg , B 2017 , ' Between primitive and 2-transitive : synchronization and its friends ' , EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences , vol. 4 , no. 2 , pp. 101-184 . https://doi.org/10.4171/EMSS/4-2-1
Publication
EMS Surveys in Mathematical Sciences
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4171/EMSS/4-2-1
ISSN
2308-2151
Type
Journal article
Rights
© 2017, European Mathematical Society. This work has been made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. This is the author created, accepted version manuscript following peer review and may differ slightly from the final published version. The final published version of this work is available at https://doi.org/10.4171/EMSS/4-2-1
Description
The second author was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) through the project CEMAT-CIÊNCIAS UID/Multi/ 04621/2013
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/11134

Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Advanced Search

Browse

All of RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunderThis CollectionBy Issue DateNamesTitlesSubjectsClassificationTypeFunder

My Account

Login

Open Access

To find out how you can benefit from open access to research, see our library web pages and Open Access blog. For open access help contact: openaccess@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Accessibility

Read our Accessibility statement.

How to submit research papers

The full text of research papers can be submitted to the repository via Pure, the University's research information system. For help see our guide: How to deposit in Pure.

Electronic thesis deposit

Help with deposit.

Repository help

For repository help contact: Digital-Repository@st-andrews.ac.uk.

Give Feedback

Cookie policy

This site may use cookies. Please see Terms and Conditions.

Usage statistics

COUNTER-compliant statistics on downloads from the repository are available from the IRUS-UK Service. Contact us for information.

© University of St Andrews Library

University of St Andrews is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013532.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter