The aim of this note is to prove

Theorem 1. Let n ≥ 3, and let p1, p2,…, Pn be primes in ℕ: = {z ∈ ℤ:z > 0}, each congruent to 1 (mod 4), which satisfy both of the following conditions:

(i) every unit in ℚ(√(p1p2)) has norm + 1;

(ii) the graph γ = γ(p1, p2, …, pn) associated with p1, p2, …, pn is odd (in the sense of [1]).

The purpose of this note is to improve results of J. S. Wilson[12] and L. N. Vaserstein [10] concerning the subnormal structure of the general linear group G = GL (n, R) of degree n ≽ 3 over a commutative ring R. To do this we sharpen results of J. S. Wilson[12], A. Bak[1] and L. N. Vaserstein[10] on subgroups normalized by a relative elementary subgroup. It should be said also that (especially for the case n = 3) our proof is very much simpler than that of[12, 10]. To formulate our results let us recall some notation.

It is well known that an n-dimensional crystallographic group can be reconstructed from its point group, the integral representation of the point group which arises from its action on the translation lattice, and the 2-cocycle which glues the point group to the lattice ([2]). In practice, this constitutes a complicated list of invariants. When confronted with the classification of objects possessing a rich structure, the algebraic geometer first attempts to find more coarse birational invariants. We begin such a programme for torsion-free crystallographic groups. More precisely, if Γ is a torsion-free crystallographic group and k is a field then the group algebra k[Γ] is a non-commutative domain (see [6], chapter 13). It can be localized at its centre to yield a division algebra k(Γ) which is a crossed product; the Galois group is the point group and it acts on the rational function field generated by k and the lattice (regarded multiplicatively), which is a maximal subfield ([3]). What are thecommon invariants of Γ1 and Γ2 when k(Γ1) and k(Γ2) are isomorphic k-algebras?

Matijaseviê [7] showed in 1970 that the problem of deciding whether an arbitrary Diophantine equation has an integer solution is algorithmically unsolvable. However, in 1972, Siegel [10] provided an algorithm for all equations of degree two.

Let F be a totally real quartic field. For any α in F, let α, α′, α″, α‴ or α(0) = α(1), α(2), α(3) denote the conjugates of α. Define the function T(α) by

We define a triple of units ε1, ε2, ε3 in F as follows. Let ε1 be a unit which gives the least value of T(ε) for any unit ε ≠ = ± 1 in F. Let ε2 be a unit which gives the least value of T(ε) for any unit ε ≠ = ± ε1m with m a rational integer. Let ε3 be a unit which gives the least value of T(ε) for ε ≠ = ± ε1m ε2n with m and n rational integers. We call ε1, ε2, ε3 the successive unit minima for T(ε).

An embedding of the Jacobian variety of a curve of genus 2 is given, together with an explicit set of defining equations. A pair of local parameters is chosen, for which the induced formal group is defined over the same ring as the coefficients of . It is not assumed that has a rational Weierstrass point, and the theory presented applies over an arbitrary ground field (of characteristic ╪ 2, 3, or 5).

Let {α} denote the fractional part of the real number α. Write χ(x, y) = 1 for {x} < y and χ(x, y) = 0 otherwise. A real sequence (xn) is uniformly distributed (mod 1) if

It is a consequence of (1·1) that DN = o(N),

Where

is the discrepancy of the sequence (xn).

This paper is devoted to the study of unions of ideals in commutative rings. The starting point is the prime avoidance lemma and an accompanying but diverse body of results on coverings of ideals by unions of ideals, which is described in Section 1. In Sections 4 and 5 these known facts, about finite and infinite unions, are combined and generalized, two distinct but overlapping cases emerging. All that is proved in Sections 4 and 5 turns on the crucial Lemma 2·1 in Section 2, which shows that a cover of an arbitrary ideal by cosets can be lifted to a cover of the entire ring. In Section 3 we introduce and define α-sieves, which provide a concise framework for the expression of applications. In Sections 6 to 9 various applications of Sections 4 and 5 are investigated.

In [1] we used the alternating group A5 to produce a set of five permutations of order three acting on 12 letters; this set was normalized by A5 and generated the Mathieu group M12. We analogously used the linear group PSL2(7) to produce a set of seven involutions acting on 24 letters which was normalized by our PSL2(7) and generated M24. In this paper we describe the combinatorial and geometric interpretations of our generators, and aim to justify our use of the word ‘natural’. The generators for M12 are defined both as permutations of twelve 5-cycles in a conjugacy class of A5, and as permutations of the faces of a dodecahedron. The outer automorphism of M12 emerges as a bonus. The generators of M24 are defined analogously both as permutations of twenty-four 7-cycles in the action of PSL2(7) on seven letters, and as permutations of the 24 faces of a certain cubic graph drawn on a surface of genus three. In addition we mention the connection between the latter construction and the binary Golay code.

The projective representations of a finite group G over a field K are divided into sets, each parametrized by an element of the group H2(G, Kx). The latter is the Schur multiplier M(G) when K = ℂ.

Let G be a finite solvable group and A a group of automorphisms of G such that (|A|, |G|) = 1. We denote by h(G) the Fitting height of G and by l(A) the length of the longest chain of subgroups of A. Then, under some additional hypotheses, it is known from [5] that h(G) ≤ 2l(A) + h(CG(A)) and from [8] that, when CG(A) = 1, h(G) ≤ l(A), both results being best possible (see [6, 7]). The present paper attempts to explain the difference in the coefficient of l(A) in the two inequalities, from 2 to 1.

Let G be an infinite connected graph. A ray (from ν) in G is a 1-way infinite path in G (with initial vertex ν). An infinite connected subgraph of a ray R ⊂ G is called a tail of R. If X ⊂ G is finite, the infinite component of R\X will be called the tail of R in G\X.

Chain complexes with a group of operators are a well known tool in algebraic topology, where they arise naturally as the chain complex of cellular chains of the universal cover of a reduced CW-complex X. The group of operators here is the fundamental group of X.

Following the techniques of ordinary homotopy theory, a theoretical treatment of proper homotopy theory, including the known proper homotopy groups, is provided within Baues's theory of cofibration categories.

In 1935 Baer[1] introduced the concept of kern of a group as the subgroup of elements normalizing every subgroup of the group. It is of interest from three points of view: that of its structure, the nature of its embedding in the group, and the influence of its internal structure on that of the whole group. The kern is a Dedekind group because all its subgroups are normal. Its structure is therefore known exactly (Dedekind [7]): if not abelian it is a direct product of a copy of the quaternion group of order 8 and an abelian periodic group with no elements of order 4. As for the embedding of the kern, Schenkman[13] shows that it is always in the second centre of the group: see also Cooper [5], theorem 6·5·1. As an example of the influence of the structure of the kern on its parent group we cite Baer's result from [2], p. 246: among 2-groups, only Hamiltonian groups (i.e. non-abelian Dedekind groups) have nonabelian kern.

Centralizers in fundamental groups of 3-manifolds are well understood because of their relationship with Seifert fibre spaces. Jaco and Shalen's book [4] provides detailed information about Seifert fibre spaces in 3-manifolds, and consequently about centralizers in their fundamental groups. It is the purpose of this note to record two group-theoretic properties, both easily deduced from results of Jaco and Shalen. Doubtless many other authors could have established the same results had they needed them. Our motivation for writing this paper is that these properties can be used as a basis for group-theoretic proofs of certain fundamental results in 3-manifold theory: Proposition 1 below can be used as a basis for a proof of the Torus Theorem (cf. [8]) and Proposition 2 for the Torus Decomposition Theorem (cf. [9]).

Let K be an oriented knot in the 3-sphere S3. An exterior of K is the closure of the complement of a regular neighbourhood of K, and is denoted by E(K). A Seifert surface for K is an oriented surface S( ⊂ S3) without closed components such that ∂S = K. We denote S ∩ E(K) by Ŝ, and we regard S as obtained from Ŝ by a radial extension. S is incompressible if Ŝ is incompressible in E(K). A tunnel for K is an embedded arc τ in S3 such that τ ∪ K = ∂τ. We denote τ ∪ E(K) by τ, and we regard τ as obtained from τ by a radial extension. Let τ1, τ2 be tunnels for K. We say that τ1 and τ2 are homeomorphic if there is a self-homeomorphism f of E(K) such that f(τ1) = τ2. The tunnels τ1 and τ2 are isotopic if τ1 is ambient isotopic to τ2 in E(K). Then the main result of this paper is as follows: Theorem. Let K be a knot in S3, and let τ1, τ2 be tunnels for K. Suppose that there are incompressible Seifert surfaces S1 S2 for K such that S1 ∪ S2 = K, and τi ⊂ Si (i = 1, 2). If τ1 and τ2 are isotopic, then there is an ambient isotopyhτ (0 ≤ t ≤ 1) of S3 such that ht(K) = K, and h1(τ1) = τ2.

The aim of this paper is to answer the following question. For a spatial groupoid G, i.e. for a groupoid in the category Sp of spaces (in the sense of [20]) in a topos , and continuous maps, the topos BG, of étale G-spaces, is called ‘the classifying topos of G’ by Moerdijk[22]. This terminology is suggested by the case of G a discrete group (in Sets), as then BG, the topos of G-sets, classifies principal G-bundles. This means that, for each topological space X, there is a bijection between isomorphism classes of principal G-bundles over X and isomorphism classes of geometric morphisms from Sh(X) to BG. The question is: what does BG classify, in terms of G, in the general case of a spatial groupoid G in a topos ?

Some results are presented which establish connections between shape theory and the theory of multivalued maps. It is shown how to associate an upper-semi-continuous multivalued map F: X → Y to every approximative map f = {fk, X → Y} in the sense of K. Borsuk and it is proved that, in certain circumstances, if F is ‘small’ and admits a selection, then the shape morphism S(f) is generated by a map, and if F admits a coselection then S(f) is a shape domination.

The relationships, in many cases equivalences, between lattice distributivity, adjunction and continuity have been studied by many authors, for example [1, 3–8, 12, 13, 15, 17–20, 22, 23]. Very roughly, we refer to the following circle of ideas. Let L be an ordered set, and L a class of subsets of L, and suppose that L has a supremum for each element in L. We might say that L has -sups. The ‘distributivity’ we refer to is that of infs over -sups. The ‘adjunction’ is that given by a left adjoint to the map V: L→L. Now the latter has a left adjoint if and only if it preserves infs, and this means roughly that the -sup of an intersection is an inf of -sups. When one does succeed in identifying the -sup of an intersection as a -sup of infs, one has an instance of distributivity.