We study the zero-sharing behavior among irreducible characters of a finite group. For symmetric groups $\mathsf {S}_n$, it is proved that, with one exception, any two irreducible characters have at least one common zero. To further explore this phenomenon, we introduce the common-zero graph of a finite group G, with nonlinear irreducible characters of G as vertices, and edges connecting characters that vanish on some common group element. We show that for solvable and simple groups, the number of connected components of this graph is bounded above by three. Lastly, the result for $\mathsf {S}_n$ is applied to prove the nonequivalence of the metrics on permutations induced from faithful irreducible characters of the group.

This paper gives an explicit version of Selberg’s mean-value estimate for the prime number theorem in intervals, assuming the Riemann hypothesis [25]. Two applications are given to short-interval results for primes and for Goldbach numbers. Under the Riemann hypothesis, we show there exists a prime in $(y,y+32\,277\log ^2 y]$ for at least half the $y\in [x,2x]$ for all $x\geq 2$, and at least one Goldbach number in $(x,x+9696 \log ^2 x]$ for all $x\geq 2$.

The complete classification of the finite simple groups that are $(2,3)$-generated is a problem which is still open only for orthogonal groups. Here, we construct $(2, 3)$-generators for the finite odd-dimensional orthogonal groups $\Omega _{2k+1}(q)$, $k\geq 4$. As a byproduct, we also obtain $(2,3)$-generators for $\Omega _{4k}^+(q)$ with $k\geq 3$ and q odd, and for $\Omega _{4k+2}^\pm (q)$ with $k\geq 4$ and $q\equiv \pm 1~ \mathrm {(mod~ 4)}$.

A well-known theorem of Philip Hall states that if a group G has a nilpotent normal subgroup N such that $G/N'$ is nilpotent, then G itself is nilpotent. We say that a group class 𝔛 is a Hall class if it contains every group G admitting a nilpotent normal subgroup N such that $G/N'$ belongs to 𝔛. Hall classes have been considered by several authors, such as Plotkin [‘Some properties of automorphisms of nilpotent groups’, Soviet Math. Dokl. 2 (1961), 471–474] and Robinson [‘A property of the lower central series of a group’, Math. Z. 107 (1968), 225–231]. A further detailed study of Hall classes is performed by us in another paper [‘Hall classes of groups’, to appear] and we also investigate the behaviour of the class of finite-by-𝔜 groups for a given Hall class 𝔜 [‘Hall classes in linear groups’, to appear]. The aim of this paper is to prove that for most natural choices of the Hall class 𝔜, also the classes $(\mathbf{L}\mathfrak{F})\mathfrak{Y}$ and 𝔅𝔜 are Hall classes, where L𝔉 is the class of locally finite groups and 𝔅 is the class of locally finite groups of finite exponent.

We classify the irreducible unitary representations of closed simple groups of automorphisms of trees acting $2$-transitively on the boundary and whose local action at every vertex contains the alternating group. As an application, we confirm Claudio Nebbia’s CCR conjecture on trees for $(d_0,d_1)$-semi-regular trees such that $d_0,d_1\in \Theta $, where $\Theta $ is an asymptotically dense set of positive integers.

We show that all values in the interval $[0,{\pi }/{2}]$ can be attained as interior angles between intermediate subalgebras (as introduced by Bakshi and the first named author [‘Lattice of intermediate subalgebras’, J. Lond. Math. Soc. (2) 104(2) (2021), 2082–2127]) of a certain inclusion of simple unital $C^*$-algebras. We also calculate the interior angles between intermediate crossed product subalgebras of any inclusion of crossed product algebras corresponding to any action of a countable discrete group and its subgroups on a unital $C^*$-algebra.

We show that a certain category of bimodules over a finite-dimensional quiver algebra known as a type B zigzag algebra is a quotient category of the category of type B Soergel bimodules. This leads to an alternate proof of Rouquier’s conjecture on the faithfulness of the 2-braid groups for type B.

For closed subgroups L and R of a compact Lie group G, a left L-space X, and an L-equivariant continuous map $A:X\to G/R$, we introduce the twisted action of the equivariant cohomology $H_R^{\bullet }(\mathrm {pt},\Bbbk )$ on the equivariant cohomology $H_L^{\bullet }(X,\Bbbk )$. Considering this action as a right action, $H_L^{\bullet }(X,\Bbbk )$ becomes a bimodule together with the canonical left action of $H_L^{\bullet }(\mathrm {pt},\Bbbk )$. Using this bimodule structure, we prove an equivariant version of the Künneth isomorphism. We apply this result to the computation of the equivariant cohomologies of Bott–Samelson varieties and to a geometric construction of the bimodule morphisms between them.

We apply Takesaki’s and Connes’s ideas on structure analysis for type III factors to the study of links (a short term of Markov kernels) appearing in asymptotic representation theory.

Bratteli–Vershik models of compact, invertible zero-dimensional systems have been well studied. We take up such a study for polygonal billiards on the hyperbolic plane, thus considering these models beyond zero-dimensions. We describe the associated Bratteli models and show that these billiard dynamics can be described by Vershik maps.