If $G subset GL_n(mathbb{C})$ has finitely many conjugacy classes for all element, is it finite?












6












$begingroup$


Let be $G subset GL_n(mathbb{C})$ such that there is some $r in mathbb{N}^{*}$ and $g_1, ldots, g_r in G$ so that for all $g in G$, $g$ is conjugated to some $g_i, i in [[1, r]]$ in $G$.



Is $G$ finite? I feel like that yes, I tried to poke the stabilizer, but I have no reason to think that it'd be finite.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Is the conjugation by elements of $G$ or by elements of $mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:21






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    If conjugacy by elements of $GL_n$, consider the group of all $begin{pmatrix}1&z\0&1end{pmatrix}$, which is isomoirphic to $Bbb C$.
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:23








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Raito that's still a bit unclear. Certainly the $g_i$ are in $G$. By assumption, if $gin G$, then $g = hg_i h^{-1}$ for some $h$. My question is: is $hin G$, or is $hin mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Raito you said that $g$ and the $g_i$ are in $G$, you also said they are conjugated, i.e., that $g=hg_ih^{-1}$ for some $h$, but Mathmo's question is whether $hin G$
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @HagenvonEitzen Right, sorry, the conjugacy is in G.
    $endgroup$
    – Raito
    Jan 27 at 11:26
















6












$begingroup$


Let be $G subset GL_n(mathbb{C})$ such that there is some $r in mathbb{N}^{*}$ and $g_1, ldots, g_r in G$ so that for all $g in G$, $g$ is conjugated to some $g_i, i in [[1, r]]$ in $G$.



Is $G$ finite? I feel like that yes, I tried to poke the stabilizer, but I have no reason to think that it'd be finite.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Is the conjugation by elements of $G$ or by elements of $mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:21






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    If conjugacy by elements of $GL_n$, consider the group of all $begin{pmatrix}1&z\0&1end{pmatrix}$, which is isomoirphic to $Bbb C$.
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:23








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Raito that's still a bit unclear. Certainly the $g_i$ are in $G$. By assumption, if $gin G$, then $g = hg_i h^{-1}$ for some $h$. My question is: is $hin G$, or is $hin mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Raito you said that $g$ and the $g_i$ are in $G$, you also said they are conjugated, i.e., that $g=hg_ih^{-1}$ for some $h$, but Mathmo's question is whether $hin G$
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @HagenvonEitzen Right, sorry, the conjugacy is in G.
    $endgroup$
    – Raito
    Jan 27 at 11:26














6












6








6





$begingroup$


Let be $G subset GL_n(mathbb{C})$ such that there is some $r in mathbb{N}^{*}$ and $g_1, ldots, g_r in G$ so that for all $g in G$, $g$ is conjugated to some $g_i, i in [[1, r]]$ in $G$.



Is $G$ finite? I feel like that yes, I tried to poke the stabilizer, but I have no reason to think that it'd be finite.










share|cite|improve this question











$endgroup$




Let be $G subset GL_n(mathbb{C})$ such that there is some $r in mathbb{N}^{*}$ and $g_1, ldots, g_r in G$ so that for all $g in G$, $g$ is conjugated to some $g_i, i in [[1, r]]$ in $G$.



Is $G$ finite? I feel like that yes, I tried to poke the stabilizer, but I have no reason to think that it'd be finite.







group-theory representation-theory






share|cite|improve this question















share|cite|improve this question













share|cite|improve this question




share|cite|improve this question








edited Jan 27 at 12:00







Raito

















asked Jan 27 at 11:16









RaitoRaito

686415




686415








  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Is the conjugation by elements of $G$ or by elements of $mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:21






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    If conjugacy by elements of $GL_n$, consider the group of all $begin{pmatrix}1&z\0&1end{pmatrix}$, which is isomoirphic to $Bbb C$.
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:23








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Raito that's still a bit unclear. Certainly the $g_i$ are in $G$. By assumption, if $gin G$, then $g = hg_i h^{-1}$ for some $h$. My question is: is $hin G$, or is $hin mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Raito you said that $g$ and the $g_i$ are in $G$, you also said they are conjugated, i.e., that $g=hg_ih^{-1}$ for some $h$, but Mathmo's question is whether $hin G$
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @HagenvonEitzen Right, sorry, the conjugacy is in G.
    $endgroup$
    – Raito
    Jan 27 at 11:26














  • 3




    $begingroup$
    Is the conjugation by elements of $G$ or by elements of $mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:21






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    If conjugacy by elements of $GL_n$, consider the group of all $begin{pmatrix}1&z\0&1end{pmatrix}$, which is isomoirphic to $Bbb C$.
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:23








  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @Raito that's still a bit unclear. Certainly the $g_i$ are in $G$. By assumption, if $gin G$, then $g = hg_i h^{-1}$ for some $h$. My question is: is $hin G$, or is $hin mathrm{GL}_n$?
    $endgroup$
    – Mathmo123
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 1




    $begingroup$
    @Raito you said that $g$ and the $g_i$ are in $G$, you also said they are conjugated, i.e., that $g=hg_ih^{-1}$ for some $h$, but Mathmo's question is whether $hin G$
    $endgroup$
    – Hagen von Eitzen
    Jan 27 at 11:25






  • 2




    $begingroup$
    @HagenvonEitzen Right, sorry, the conjugacy is in G.
    $endgroup$
    – Raito
    Jan 27 at 11:26








3




3




$begingroup$
Is the conjugation by elements of $G$ or by elements of $mathrm{GL}_n$?
$endgroup$
– Mathmo123
Jan 27 at 11:21




$begingroup$
Is the conjugation by elements of $G$ or by elements of $mathrm{GL}_n$?
$endgroup$
– Mathmo123
Jan 27 at 11:21




2




2




$begingroup$
If conjugacy by elements of $GL_n$, consider the group of all $begin{pmatrix}1&z\0&1end{pmatrix}$, which is isomoirphic to $Bbb C$.
$endgroup$
– Hagen von Eitzen
Jan 27 at 11:23






$begingroup$
If conjugacy by elements of $GL_n$, consider the group of all $begin{pmatrix}1&z\0&1end{pmatrix}$, which is isomoirphic to $Bbb C$.
$endgroup$
– Hagen von Eitzen
Jan 27 at 11:23






2




2




$begingroup$
@Raito that's still a bit unclear. Certainly the $g_i$ are in $G$. By assumption, if $gin G$, then $g = hg_i h^{-1}$ for some $h$. My question is: is $hin G$, or is $hin mathrm{GL}_n$?
$endgroup$
– Mathmo123
Jan 27 at 11:25




$begingroup$
@Raito that's still a bit unclear. Certainly the $g_i$ are in $G$. By assumption, if $gin G$, then $g = hg_i h^{-1}$ for some $h$. My question is: is $hin G$, or is $hin mathrm{GL}_n$?
$endgroup$
– Mathmo123
Jan 27 at 11:25




1




1




$begingroup$
@Raito you said that $g$ and the $g_i$ are in $G$, you also said they are conjugated, i.e., that $g=hg_ih^{-1}$ for some $h$, but Mathmo's question is whether $hin G$
$endgroup$
– Hagen von Eitzen
Jan 27 at 11:25




$begingroup$
@Raito you said that $g$ and the $g_i$ are in $G$, you also said they are conjugated, i.e., that $g=hg_ih^{-1}$ for some $h$, but Mathmo's question is whether $hin G$
$endgroup$
– Hagen von Eitzen
Jan 27 at 11:25




2




2




$begingroup$
@HagenvonEitzen Right, sorry, the conjugacy is in G.
$endgroup$
– Raito
Jan 27 at 11:26




$begingroup$
@HagenvonEitzen Right, sorry, the conjugacy is in G.
$endgroup$
– Raito
Jan 27 at 11:26










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















3












$begingroup$

$G$ must be finite. Here's a proof working for $G$ arbitrary (Derek's proof works only when $G$ is finitely generated).



Passing to a finite index subgroup, we can suppose that $G$ has connected Zariski closure.



The assumption implies that $G$ has finitely many traces, and using connectedness of the Zariski closure, it has a single trace. So $mathrm{Tr}(g(g'-g''))=0$ for all $g,g',g''in G$.



If we assume in addition that $G$ is irreducible and hence linearly generates the space of matrices, since the Trace yields a nondegenerate bilinear form, we deduce that $g'-g''=0$ for all $g',g''in G$, i.e., $G={1}$.



In general, this applies to the projection on all irreducible diagonal blocks, which are thus one-dimensional.



In other words, this proves that if $G$ is a subgroup of $mathrm{GL}(n,mathbf{C})$ with finitely many traces, then $G$ has a finite index subgroup $H$ (namely, the intersection with the identity component of its Zariski closure) that is conjugated to a group of upper triangular unipotent matrices.



If $G$ has finitely many conjugacy classes, so does $H$. Then $H$ has a normal series in which all subquotients are torsion-free abelian groups (it inherits this from the group of unipotent upper triangular matrices). This implies that if $Hneq{1}$ then it has an infinite abelian quotient (namely a nontrivial torsion-free abelian quotient). This implies that $H$ has an infinite number of conjugacy classes.






share|cite|improve this answer











$endgroup$





















    4












    $begingroup$

    Yes, $G$ must be finite.



    There are only finitely many finite groups (up to isomorphism of course) with a bounded number of conjugacy classes (see here for a proof).



    But it is well known that linear groups are residually finite, and so if there were an infinite example, then it would have arbitrarily large finite quotients, each with only $r$ conjugacy classes.






    share|cite|improve this answer









    $endgroup$













    • $begingroup$
      "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
      $endgroup$
      – YCor
      Jan 31 at 6:07













    Your Answer





    StackExchange.ifUsing("editor", function () {
    return StackExchange.using("mathjaxEditing", function () {
    StackExchange.MarkdownEditor.creationCallbacks.add(function (editor, postfix) {
    StackExchange.mathjaxEditing.prepareWmdForMathJax(editor, postfix, [["$", "$"], ["\\(","\\)"]]);
    });
    });
    }, "mathjax-editing");

    StackExchange.ready(function() {
    var channelOptions = {
    tags: "".split(" "),
    id: "69"
    };
    initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

    StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
    // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
    if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
    StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
    createEditor();
    });
    }
    else {
    createEditor();
    }
    });

    function createEditor() {
    StackExchange.prepareEditor({
    heartbeatType: 'answer',
    autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
    convertImagesToLinks: true,
    noModals: true,
    showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
    reputationToPostImages: 10,
    bindNavPrevention: true,
    postfix: "",
    imageUploader: {
    brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
    contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
    allowUrls: true
    },
    noCode: true, onDemand: true,
    discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
    ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
    });


    }
    });














    draft saved

    draft discarded


















    StackExchange.ready(
    function () {
    StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3089426%2fif-g-subset-gl-n-mathbbc-has-finitely-many-conjugacy-classes-for-all-elem%23new-answer', 'question_page');
    }
    );

    Post as a guest















    Required, but never shown

























    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes









    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes









    3












    $begingroup$

    $G$ must be finite. Here's a proof working for $G$ arbitrary (Derek's proof works only when $G$ is finitely generated).



    Passing to a finite index subgroup, we can suppose that $G$ has connected Zariski closure.



    The assumption implies that $G$ has finitely many traces, and using connectedness of the Zariski closure, it has a single trace. So $mathrm{Tr}(g(g'-g''))=0$ for all $g,g',g''in G$.



    If we assume in addition that $G$ is irreducible and hence linearly generates the space of matrices, since the Trace yields a nondegenerate bilinear form, we deduce that $g'-g''=0$ for all $g',g''in G$, i.e., $G={1}$.



    In general, this applies to the projection on all irreducible diagonal blocks, which are thus one-dimensional.



    In other words, this proves that if $G$ is a subgroup of $mathrm{GL}(n,mathbf{C})$ with finitely many traces, then $G$ has a finite index subgroup $H$ (namely, the intersection with the identity component of its Zariski closure) that is conjugated to a group of upper triangular unipotent matrices.



    If $G$ has finitely many conjugacy classes, so does $H$. Then $H$ has a normal series in which all subquotients are torsion-free abelian groups (it inherits this from the group of unipotent upper triangular matrices). This implies that if $Hneq{1}$ then it has an infinite abelian quotient (namely a nontrivial torsion-free abelian quotient). This implies that $H$ has an infinite number of conjugacy classes.






    share|cite|improve this answer











    $endgroup$


















      3












      $begingroup$

      $G$ must be finite. Here's a proof working for $G$ arbitrary (Derek's proof works only when $G$ is finitely generated).



      Passing to a finite index subgroup, we can suppose that $G$ has connected Zariski closure.



      The assumption implies that $G$ has finitely many traces, and using connectedness of the Zariski closure, it has a single trace. So $mathrm{Tr}(g(g'-g''))=0$ for all $g,g',g''in G$.



      If we assume in addition that $G$ is irreducible and hence linearly generates the space of matrices, since the Trace yields a nondegenerate bilinear form, we deduce that $g'-g''=0$ for all $g',g''in G$, i.e., $G={1}$.



      In general, this applies to the projection on all irreducible diagonal blocks, which are thus one-dimensional.



      In other words, this proves that if $G$ is a subgroup of $mathrm{GL}(n,mathbf{C})$ with finitely many traces, then $G$ has a finite index subgroup $H$ (namely, the intersection with the identity component of its Zariski closure) that is conjugated to a group of upper triangular unipotent matrices.



      If $G$ has finitely many conjugacy classes, so does $H$. Then $H$ has a normal series in which all subquotients are torsion-free abelian groups (it inherits this from the group of unipotent upper triangular matrices). This implies that if $Hneq{1}$ then it has an infinite abelian quotient (namely a nontrivial torsion-free abelian quotient). This implies that $H$ has an infinite number of conjugacy classes.






      share|cite|improve this answer











      $endgroup$
















        3












        3








        3





        $begingroup$

        $G$ must be finite. Here's a proof working for $G$ arbitrary (Derek's proof works only when $G$ is finitely generated).



        Passing to a finite index subgroup, we can suppose that $G$ has connected Zariski closure.



        The assumption implies that $G$ has finitely many traces, and using connectedness of the Zariski closure, it has a single trace. So $mathrm{Tr}(g(g'-g''))=0$ for all $g,g',g''in G$.



        If we assume in addition that $G$ is irreducible and hence linearly generates the space of matrices, since the Trace yields a nondegenerate bilinear form, we deduce that $g'-g''=0$ for all $g',g''in G$, i.e., $G={1}$.



        In general, this applies to the projection on all irreducible diagonal blocks, which are thus one-dimensional.



        In other words, this proves that if $G$ is a subgroup of $mathrm{GL}(n,mathbf{C})$ with finitely many traces, then $G$ has a finite index subgroup $H$ (namely, the intersection with the identity component of its Zariski closure) that is conjugated to a group of upper triangular unipotent matrices.



        If $G$ has finitely many conjugacy classes, so does $H$. Then $H$ has a normal series in which all subquotients are torsion-free abelian groups (it inherits this from the group of unipotent upper triangular matrices). This implies that if $Hneq{1}$ then it has an infinite abelian quotient (namely a nontrivial torsion-free abelian quotient). This implies that $H$ has an infinite number of conjugacy classes.






        share|cite|improve this answer











        $endgroup$



        $G$ must be finite. Here's a proof working for $G$ arbitrary (Derek's proof works only when $G$ is finitely generated).



        Passing to a finite index subgroup, we can suppose that $G$ has connected Zariski closure.



        The assumption implies that $G$ has finitely many traces, and using connectedness of the Zariski closure, it has a single trace. So $mathrm{Tr}(g(g'-g''))=0$ for all $g,g',g''in G$.



        If we assume in addition that $G$ is irreducible and hence linearly generates the space of matrices, since the Trace yields a nondegenerate bilinear form, we deduce that $g'-g''=0$ for all $g',g''in G$, i.e., $G={1}$.



        In general, this applies to the projection on all irreducible diagonal blocks, which are thus one-dimensional.



        In other words, this proves that if $G$ is a subgroup of $mathrm{GL}(n,mathbf{C})$ with finitely many traces, then $G$ has a finite index subgroup $H$ (namely, the intersection with the identity component of its Zariski closure) that is conjugated to a group of upper triangular unipotent matrices.



        If $G$ has finitely many conjugacy classes, so does $H$. Then $H$ has a normal series in which all subquotients are torsion-free abelian groups (it inherits this from the group of unipotent upper triangular matrices). This implies that if $Hneq{1}$ then it has an infinite abelian quotient (namely a nontrivial torsion-free abelian quotient). This implies that $H$ has an infinite number of conjugacy classes.







        share|cite|improve this answer














        share|cite|improve this answer



        share|cite|improve this answer








        edited Jan 31 at 10:13









        Max

        15.6k11143




        15.6k11143










        answered Jan 31 at 6:20









        YCorYCor

        8,2671129




        8,2671129























            4












            $begingroup$

            Yes, $G$ must be finite.



            There are only finitely many finite groups (up to isomorphism of course) with a bounded number of conjugacy classes (see here for a proof).



            But it is well known that linear groups are residually finite, and so if there were an infinite example, then it would have arbitrarily large finite quotients, each with only $r$ conjugacy classes.






            share|cite|improve this answer









            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
              $endgroup$
              – YCor
              Jan 31 at 6:07


















            4












            $begingroup$

            Yes, $G$ must be finite.



            There are only finitely many finite groups (up to isomorphism of course) with a bounded number of conjugacy classes (see here for a proof).



            But it is well known that linear groups are residually finite, and so if there were an infinite example, then it would have arbitrarily large finite quotients, each with only $r$ conjugacy classes.






            share|cite|improve this answer









            $endgroup$













            • $begingroup$
              "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
              $endgroup$
              – YCor
              Jan 31 at 6:07
















            4












            4








            4





            $begingroup$

            Yes, $G$ must be finite.



            There are only finitely many finite groups (up to isomorphism of course) with a bounded number of conjugacy classes (see here for a proof).



            But it is well known that linear groups are residually finite, and so if there were an infinite example, then it would have arbitrarily large finite quotients, each with only $r$ conjugacy classes.






            share|cite|improve this answer









            $endgroup$



            Yes, $G$ must be finite.



            There are only finitely many finite groups (up to isomorphism of course) with a bounded number of conjugacy classes (see here for a proof).



            But it is well known that linear groups are residually finite, and so if there were an infinite example, then it would have arbitrarily large finite quotients, each with only $r$ conjugacy classes.







            share|cite|improve this answer












            share|cite|improve this answer



            share|cite|improve this answer










            answered Jan 27 at 12:07









            Derek HoltDerek Holt

            54.3k53573




            54.3k53573












            • $begingroup$
              "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
              $endgroup$
              – YCor
              Jan 31 at 6:07




















            • $begingroup$
              "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
              $endgroup$
              – YCor
              Jan 31 at 6:07


















            $begingroup$
            "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
            $endgroup$
            – YCor
            Jan 31 at 6:07






            $begingroup$
            "Linear groups are residually finite": this is only true for finitely generated groups.
            $endgroup$
            – YCor
            Jan 31 at 6:07




















            draft saved

            draft discarded




















































            Thanks for contributing an answer to Mathematics Stack Exchange!


            • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

            But avoid



            • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

            • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


            Use MathJax to format equations. MathJax reference.


            To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




            draft saved


            draft discarded














            StackExchange.ready(
            function () {
            StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fmath.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f3089426%2fif-g-subset-gl-n-mathbbc-has-finitely-many-conjugacy-classes-for-all-elem%23new-answer', 'question_page');
            }
            );

            Post as a guest















            Required, but never shown





















































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown

































            Required, but never shown














            Required, but never shown












            Required, but never shown







            Required, but never shown







            Popular posts from this blog

            MongoDB - Not Authorized To Execute Command

            How to fix TextFormField cause rebuild widget in Flutter

            in spring boot 2.1 many test slices are not allowed anymore due to multiple @BootstrapWith