Distinct Centralizers of some Finite Groups

Ali Reza Ashrafi


For a finite group $G$, $\#$Cent($G)$ denotes the number of centralizers of its
elements. A group $G$ is called $n$-centralizer if $\#$Cent($G) = n$, and
primitive $n$-centralizer if $\#$Cent($G) = \#$Cent($\frac{G}{Z(G)}) = n$.

In this paper we compute the number of distinct centralizers of some finite
groups and prove that for any positive integer $n \ne 2, 3$, there exists a
finite group $G$ with $\#$Cent($G) = n$, a question raised by Belcastro and
Sherman [2]. Also, we investigate the structure of finite groups with exactly
six distinct centralizers and prove that if $G$ is a primitive 6-centralizer
group then $\frac{G}{Z(G)} \cong A_4$, the alternating group on four symbols.
Furtheremore, we prove that if $\frac{G}{Z(G)} \cong A_4$, then
$\#$Cent($G) = 6$ or 8 and construct a group with $\frac{G}{Z(G)} \cong A_4$
and $\#$Cent($G$) = 8. Finally, we prove some results about primitive
7-centralizer groups.\\
{\bf 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification:} 20D99, 20E07 \\
{\bf Key Words:} Centralizer, $n$-centralizer, primitive $n$-centralizer