Hall divisor

In mathematics, a Hall subgroup of a finite group G is a subgroup whose order is coprime to its index. They were introduced by the group theorist Philip Hall (1928).

A Hall divisor of an integer n is a divisor d of n such that d and n/d are coprime. The easiest way to find the Hall divisors is to write the prime factorization for the number in question and take any product of the multiplicative terms (the full power of any of the prime factors), including 0 of them for a product of 1 or all of them for a product equal to the original number. For example, to find the Hall divisors of 60, show the prime factorization is 2²·3·5 and take any product of {3,4,5}. Thus, the Hall divisors of 60 are 1, 3, 4, 5, 12, 15, 20, and 60.

A Hall subgroup of G is a subgroup whose order is a Hall divisor of the order of G. In other words, it is a subgroup whose order is coprime to its index.

If π is a set of primes, then a Hall π-subgroup is a subgroup whose order is a product of primes in π, and whose index is not divisible by any primes in π.

Hall (1928) proved that if G is a finite solvable group and π is any set of primes, then G has a Hall π-subgroup, and any two Hall π-subgroups are conjugate. Moreover, any subgroup whose order is a product of primes in π is contained in some Hall π-subgroup. This result can be thought of as a generalization of Sylow's Theorem to Hall subgroups, but the examples above show that such a generalization is false when the group is not solvable.

The existence of Hall subgroups can be proved by induction on the order of G, using the fact that every finite solvable group has a normal elementary abelian subgroup. More precisely, fix a minimal normal subgroup A, which is either a π-group or a π'-group as G is π-separable. By induction there is a subgroup H of G containing A such that H/A is a Hall π subgroup of G/A. If A is a π-group then H is a Hall π subgroup of G. On the other hand, if A is a π'-group, then by the Schur–Zassenhaus theorem A has a complement in H, which is a Hall π subgroup of G.

...
Wikipedia