Finite Simple Groups

Finite simple groups

A course of five 2-hour lectures given at the London postgraduate taught course centre, De Morgan House, Russell Square.

News

31st October: Exercises 4 available.
30th October: Notes for the fifth lecture are available from the link below.
23rd October: Notes for the fourth lecture, and exercises for the third lecture, are available from the links below.
18th October: Notes for the third lecture are available, as well as exercises for the second lecture.
9th October: Notes for the second lecture are available, as well as exercises for the first lecture.
27th September: Notes for the first lecture are available. They give a rough idea of what I hope to cover in the lecture, but of course this may change if I discover I have been too ambitious (or not ambitious enough).
24th September: Web-page in preparation.

Administrative details

Time: Mondays, 1.15-3.15 pm, 8th October - 5th November 2007
Lecturer: Professor Robert A. Wilson, QMUL.

Course materials

Lecture notes
- First lecture. Alternating groups.
- Second lecture. The general linear groups; simplicity of PSL_n(q) via Iwasawa's Lemma.
- Third lecture. Forms and classical groups.
- Fourth lecture. Quaternions, octonions, and groups of type G₂
- Fifth lecture. Sporadic groups: M₂₄
Problem sheets
- Exercises 1. You probably won't want to do all these exercises: some good ones for testing your understanding are 5, 11, 12. If these are too hard, just start at the beginning and see how far you get.
  Selected hints and solutions.
- Exercises 2. The last three questions are on material in the notes which I did not cover in the lecture.
- Exercises 3.
- Exercises 4.
Sample exam question

Further reading

My book in preparation.

MRC

This page is maintained by Robert Wilson. The views and opinions expressed in these pages are mine. The contents of these pages have not been reviewed or approved by Queen Mary, University of London.