Finite classical groups and multiplication groups of loops

Abstract

Let Q be a loop; then the left and right translations La(x) = ax and Ra(x) = xa are permutations of Q. The permutation group M(Q) = 〈La, Ra | a ε Q〉 is called the multiplication group of Q; it is well known that the structure of M(Q) reflects strongly the structure of Q (cf. [1] and [8], for example). It is thus an interesting question, which groups can be represented as multiplication groups of loops. In particular, it seems important to classify the finite simple groups that are multiplication groups of loops. In [3] it was proved that the alternating groups An are multiplication groups of loops, whenever n ≥ 6; in this paper we consider the finite classical groups and prove the following theorems