The A-Möbius function of a finite group

Abstract

The M\"{o}bius function of the subgroup lettice of a finite group $G$ has been introduced by Hall and applied to investigate several different questions. We propose the following generalization. Let $A$ be a subgroup of the automorphism group $\rm{Aut}(G)$ of a finite group $G$ and denote by $\mathcal C_A(G)$ the set of $A$-conjugacy classes of subgroups of $G.$ For $H\leq G$ let $[H]_A~=~\{~H^a ~\mid ~a\in ~A\}$ be the element of $\mathcal C_A(G)$ containing $H.$ We may define an ordering in $\mathcal C_A(G)$ in the following way: $[H]_A\leq [K]_A$ if $H^a\leq K$ for some $a\in A$. We consider the M\"{o}bius function $\mu_A$ of the corresponding poset and analyse its properties and possible applications.