Closed subgroups of the infinite symmetric group

George M. Bergman*, Saharon Shelah

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Let S = Sym(Ω) be the group of all permutations of a countably infinite set Ω, and for subgroups G 1, G 2 ≤ S let us write G 1 ≈ G 2 if there exists a finite set U ⊆ S such that 〈G1 ∪ U〉 = 〈G2 ∪ U〉. It is shown that the subgroups closed in the function topology on S lie in precisely four equivalence classes under this relation. Which of these classes a closed subgroup G belongs to depends on which of the following statements about pointwise stabilizer subgroups G(Γ) of finite subsets Γ ⊆ Ω holds: (i) For every finite set Γ, the subgroup G(Γ) has at least one infinite orbit in Ω (ii) There exist finite sets Γ such that all orbits of G(Γ) are finite, but none such that the cardinalities of these orbits have a common finite bound. (iii) There exist finite sets Γ such that the cardinalities of the orbits of G(Γ) have a common finite bound, but none such that G(Γ) = {1}. (iv) There exist finite sets Γ such that G(Γ) = {1}. Some related results and topics for further investigation are noted.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)137-173
Number of pages37
JournalAlgebra Universalis
Volume55
Issue number2-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2006

Keywords

  • Cardinalities of orbits of stabilizers of finite sets
  • Equivalence relation on subgroups
  • Full permutation group on a countably infinite set
  • Subgroups closed in the function topology

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