Ricerche di Matematica

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11587-021-00655-4

Characterizing finite nilpotent groups associated with a

graph theoretic equality

Ramesh Prasad Panda1 · Kamal Lochan Patra2,3 · Binod Kumar Sahoo2,3

Received: 17 June 2021 / Revised: 1 September 2021 / Accepted: 16 September 2021

© Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II" 2021

Abstract
The power graph of a group is the simple graph whose vertices are the group elements
and two vertices are adjacent whenever one of them is a positive power of the other. In
this paper, we characterize the finite nilpotent groups whose power graphs have equal
vertex connectivity and minimum degree.

Keywords Nilpotent group · Power graph · Vertex connectivity · Minimum degree

Mathematics Subject Classification 20D15 · 05C25 · 05C40

1 Introduction

There are various graphs associated with groups which have been studied in the
literature, e.g., Cayley graph, commuting graph, prime graph. These graphs have appli-
cations in numerous areas of mathematics and computer science [1,2,7]. In view of this,
the study of the relation between a group and its associated graphs becomes important.
In the last few decades, researchers have been actively contributing in this direction.
For instance, Doty et al. [8] have given an algebraic characterization of the generating

B Ramesh Prasad Panda

rppanda@iitk.ac.in
Kamal Lochan Patra
klpatra@niser.ac.in
Binod Kumar Sahoo
bksahoo@niser.ac.in

1 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur,

Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
2 School of Mathematical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research
Bhubaneswar, Jatni Khurda, Odisha 752050, India
3 Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 400094, India

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sets of Cayley graphs with neighbor connectivity one for a class of groups including
abelian groups. Whereas, Britnell and Gill [3] have classified the finite quasisimple
groups with perfect commuting graphs.
The notion of the directed power graph of a group was introduced by Kelarev and
Quinn [9] (also, see [10] for a semigroup). The underlying undirected graph, simply
termed as power graph, was first considered by Chakrabarty et al. [5]. The power
graph of a group G, denoted by P(G), is the simple graph with vertex set G and two
vertices u and v are adjacent if u = v k or v = u l for some positive integers k and l.
By considering the aforementioned relation for power graphs, Cameron [4] proved
that if the power graphs of two finite groups are isomorphic, then they have the same
numbers of elements of each order. Ma and Feng [11] classified all finite groups
whose power graphs are uniquely colorable, split or unicyclic. Moreover, Panda [13]
characterized the finite noncyclic groups of prime exponent in terms of the edge
connectivity of their power graphs. In this paper, we investigate the relation between
a group and its power graph further and characterize the finite nilpotent groups whose
power graphs have equal vertex connectivity and minimum degree.

1.1 Graphs and groups

Let  be a simple graph with vertex set V . A vertex v ∈ V is called a cut-vertex of

 if the induced subgraph of  on V \{v} is disconnected. The vertex connectivity
of , denoted by κ(), is the minimum number of vertices whose deletion gives a
disconnected or trivial subgraph of . The latter case arises only when  is a complete
graph. Analogously, the edge connectivity of , denoted by κ  (), is the minimum
number of edges whose deletion gives a disconnected subgraph of . For v ∈ V , we
denote by deg(v) the degree of v in . The minimum degree of , denoted by δ(), is
defined by δ() = min{deg(v) : v ∈ V }. It is known that κ() ≤ κ  () ≤ δ() and
that κ  () = δ() if the diameter of  is at most 2.
Let G be a group with identity element e. The order of an element x ∈ G is denoted
by o(x). Recall that G is said to be nilpotent if its lower central series G = G 1 ≥ G 2 ≥
G 3 ≥ G 4 ≥ · · · terminates at {e} after a finite number of steps, where G i+1 = [G i , G]
for i ≥ 1. If G is a finite group, then G being nilpotent is equivalent to any of the
following statements:
(a) Every Sylow subgroup of G is normal (equivalently, there is a unique Sylow p-
subgroup of G for every prime divisor p of |G|).
(b) G is the direct product of its Sylow subgroups.
(c) For x, y ∈ G, x and y commute whenever o(x) and o(y) are relatively prime.
Every abelian group is nilpotent. Also, every finite group of prime power order is
nilpotent. A cyclic subgroup M of G is called a maximal cyclic subgroup if it is not
properly contained in any cyclic subgroup of G. We denote by x the cyclic subgroup
of G generated by an element x ∈ G and by M(G) the collection of all maximal cyclic
subgroups of G. If G is finite, then every element of G is contained in a maximal cyclic
subgroup. This statement, however, need not hold in an infinite group; (Q, +) is an
example. For every positive integer n ≥ 2, the dicyclic group of order 4n is given by
Q 4n := x, y | x 2n = e, x n = y 2 , y −1 x y = x −1 . This group has a unique element

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of order 2, namely y 2 = x n . If n is a power of 2, then Q 4n is known as a generalized

quaternion group.

1.2 Known results

Let G be a finite group. Observe that two distinct vertices x, y ∈ G are adjacent in
P(G) if and only if x ∈ y or y ∈ x. We note that if x = y, then deg(x) =
deg(y). Further, if x ∈ M(G), then deg(x) = o(x) − 1. For a nonempty proper
subset A of G, P(A) denotes the induced subgraph of P(G) with vertex set A. In that
case, for x ∈ A, the degree of x in P(A) is denoted by degP (A) (x). If A = G\{e},
then P(A) is called the proper power graph of G, denoted by P ∗ (G). The following
result was proved in [12, Corollary 4.1].

Proposition 1 ([12]) Let G be a finite group of prime power order. Then P ∗ (G) is
connected if and only if G is either cyclic or generalized quaternion.

For any finite group G, the identity element e is adjacent to all other vertices of
P(G). Thus P(G) is a connected graph with diameter at most 2 and hence κ  (P(G)) =
δ(P(G)). The equality of κ(P(G)) and δ(P(G)), however, need not hold in general:
P(Q 4n ) is an example [14, Theorem 6.9(ii)]. Therefore, going forward, our objective
will be to study this equality. By [5, Theorem 2.12], P(G) is a complete graph if and
only if G is a cyclic p-group for some prime p. In that case, κ(P(G)) = |G| − 1 =
δ(P(G)). The following proposition was proved in [14, Theorem 6.2(ii)] which gives
a necessary condition for κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)) when G is not a cyclic p-group.

Proposition 2 ([14]) Let G be a finite group different from a cyclic group of prime
power order. Suppose that κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)). If δ(P(G)) = deg(x) for some
x ∈ G, then o(x) = 2 and hence G is of even order.

For a finite cyclic group G, the following proposition was proved in [14, Theorem
6.7] giving both necessary and sufficient conditions for κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)).

Proposition 3 ([14]) Let G be a finite cyclic group. Then κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)) if and
only if |G| is a prime power or twice of a prime power.

1.3 Main result

In this paper, we prove the following theorem which characterizes the equality of the
vertex connectivity and the minimum degree in the power graphs of finite nilpotent
groups.

Theorem 1 Let G be a finite nilpotent group. Then κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)) if and only
if one of the following holds:
(1) G is a cyclic group whose order is a prime power or twice of a prime power.
(2) G is a noncyclic group of order 2s p t , where p is an odd prime, s ≥ 2 and t ≥ 0
are integers, satisfying the following:

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(i) The Sylow 2-subgroup of G is noncyclic and it contains a maximal cyclic

subgroup of order 2.
(ii) The Sylow p-subgroup of G is cyclic.

We study the degrees of vertices of the power graphs of finite nilpotent groups in
Sect. 2 and then prove Theorem 1 in Sect. 3.

2 Vertex degrees

Throughout this section, G is a finite nilpotent group of order n. We write the prime
power factorization of n as

n = p1α1 p2α2 . . . prαr ,

where α1 , α2 , . . . , αr are positive integers and p1 , p2 , . . . , pr are prime numbers with

p1 < p2 < · · · < pr . Denote by Pi the unique Sylow pi -subgroup of G for i ∈ [r ] :=
{1, 2, . . . , r }. Then |Pi | = piαi for i ∈ [r ] and G = P1 P2 . . . Pr , the internal direct
product of P1 , P2 , . . . , Pr . For a given x ∈ G, there exists a unique element in Pi ,
denoted by xi , for every i ∈ [r ] such that x = x1 x2 . . . xr . Then x = x1 x2  · · · xr .
Further, x ∈ M(G) if and only if xi  ∈ M(Pi ) for every i ∈ [r ], see [6, Lemma
2.11]. Therefore, x ∈ M(G) is of minimum order if and only if xi  ∈ M(Pi ) is of
minimum order for every i ∈ [r ].
For x ∈ G, let τx denotes the subset of [r ] consisting of those elements j ∈ [r ] for
which the j-th component x j of x is nonidentity, that is,

τx := { j ∈ [r ] : x j = e}.

Note that τx = [r ] if x ∈ M(G) and that τx is empty if and only if x = e. We

have deg(e) = |G| − 1 = n − 1 ≥ deg(x) for every x ∈ G\{e}. The following lemma
helps us to compute the degrees of vertices of P(G).
  

Lemma 1 For x ∈ G\{e}, the sets A x := y ∈ G : y = x and x ∈ yi and
i∈τx
Bx := {y ∈ G : y = x and x ∈ y} are equal.

ProofClearly, A x = Bx if τx = [r ]. So consider that τx  [r ].Let y ∈ A x . Then

m
x = i∈τx yi for some integer m. Define the integers q := j∈[r ]\τx o(y j ) and
 l
l := mq. Then y = l
i∈τx yi = x . Since q and o(x) are relatively prime, we have
q

x = x  = y . This implies that x ∈ y and so y ∈ Bx . Thus A x ⊆ Bx .

q l

Conversely, consider an element z ∈ Bx . Then x = z t = z 1t z 2t . . . zrt for some

integer t. This gives ⎛ ⎞

x⎝ z i−t ⎠ = z tj . (1)
i∈τx j∈[r ]\τx

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Since the left and right hand sides of (1) are elements of i∈τx Pi and j∈[r ]\τx P j
 −t    t
respectively, it follows that x i∈τx z i = e. So x = i∈τx z it = i∈τx z i and
 
hence x ∈ i∈τx z i . This gives z ∈ A x . Thus Bx ⊆ A x .
We denote by φ the Euler’s totient function. Then φ( p ) = p ( p − 1) =
k k−1

p k−1 φ( p)for any prime p and positive integer k, and d|m φ(d) = m for every
positive integer m. Recall that φ is a multiplicative function, that is, φ(ab) =
φ(a)φ(b)
  for any  two
 positive
 integers a, b which are relatively prime. So φ(n) =
φ p1α1 φ p2α2 . . . prαr . The following proposition gives an expression for the
degree of a nonidentity vertex of P(G).
Proposition 4 For x ∈ G\{e}, we have
⎛ ⎞ ⎧ ⎫
⎨ ⎬
α 
deg(x) = o(x) − φ(o(x)) + ⎝ p j j ⎠ ×  y ∈ Pi : x ∈ y  − 1.
⎩ ⎭
j∈[r ]\τx i∈τx

Proof Let A x and Bx be the subsets of G as defined in Lemma 1, and let C x be the set
of all nongenerators of the cyclic subgroup x of G. Note that the neighbourhood of
x in P(G) is a disjoint union of Bx and C x . So deg(x) = |Bx | + |C x | = |A x | + |C x |,
where the last equality holds by Lemma 1. We have |C x | = o(x) − φ(o(x)), and
⎧  ⎫
⎨ ⎬

|A x | =  y ∈ G : y = x and x ∈ yi 
⎩ i∈τx
⎭
⎧  ⎫
 
⎨ ⎬


= y∈G:x ∈ yi  − 1
⎩ i∈τx
⎭
⎛ ⎞ ⎧ ⎫
⎨ ⎬
αj 
= ⎝ pj ⎠ 
× y ∈ Pi : x ∈ y  − 1.
j∈[r ]\τx ⎩ ⎭
i∈τx

Consequently, the result follows.

We now compute a lower bound for the degrees of nonidentity vertices of P(G)
and also provide necessary and sufficient conditions in order to attain that bound.
Proposition 5 Consider x ∈ G\{e} and M ∈ M(G) containing x. If |M| =
γ γ γ  βi
p1 1 p2 2 . . . pr r and o(x) = pi , where 1 ≤ γ j ≤ α j for j ∈ [r ] and 1 ≤ βi ≤ γi
i∈τx
for i ∈ τx , then
⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞
α
 
γ β −1 ⎠
deg(x) ≥ o(x) − φ(o(x)) + ⎝ pj j⎠ ⎝ pi i − pi i − 1. (2)
j∈[r ]\τx i∈τx

Further, equality
 holds in (2)if and only if x belongs to exactly one maximal cyclic
subgroup of i∈τx Pi , namely i∈τx Mi , where Mi := M ∩ Pi ∈ M(Pi ) for i ∈ [r ].

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Proof We have M = M1 M2 . . . Mr and x ∈ i∈τx Mi ⊆ i∈τx Pi . In order to prove
(2), it is enough to show using Proposition 4 that
⎧ ⎫
⎨ ⎬  
 γ β −1
 y∈ Pi : x ∈ y  ≥ pi i − pi i . (3)
⎩ ⎭
 i∈τx i∈τx

Let τx = {n 1 , n 2 , . . . , n s } for some s ∈ [r ]. Then

⎧ ⎫
⎨ ⎬ γn 1 γn 2 γn s
     
 y∈ 
Mi : x ∈ y  = ... φ pnλ11 pnλ22 . . . pnλss
⎩ ⎭
 i∈τx  λ1 =βn λ2 =βn λs =βn s
1 2
⎛ ⎞⎛ ⎞ ⎛ ⎞
γn 1 γn 2 γn s
  λ    λ    λ
=⎝ φ pn 11 ⎠ ⎝ φ pn 22 ⎠ . . . ⎝ φ pn ss ⎠
λ1 =βn 1 λ2 =βn 2 λs =βn s
 γn βn −1
 γn βn −1
  
γ β −1
= pn 1 1 − pn 1 1 pn 2 2 − pn 2 2 ... pn ns s − pn sns
 
γ β −1
= pi i − pi i . (4)
i∈τx

  
Now (3) follows from (4) and the fact that y ∈ i∈τx Mi : x ∈ y ⊆
  
y ∈ i∈τx Pi : x ∈ y . Next, we can see that equality holds in (2) if and only if
     
the sets y ∈ i∈τx Mi  : x ∈ y and y ∈ i∈τx Pi : x ∈ y are equal. The lat-
ter holds if and only if i∈τx Mi is the only maximal cyclic subgroup of i∈τx Pi
containing x.

The following proposition determines certain vertices of minimum degree among

the vertices contained in a Sylow subgroup of G.

Proposition 6 For k ∈ [r ], suppose that yk  ∈ M(Pk ) is of minimum order. Then

deg(yk ) ≤ deg(xk ) in P(G) for every xk ∈ Pk .

β
Proof Let xk ∈ Pk \{e}. Consider z k  ∈ M(Pk ) containing xk . Put o(xk ) = pk
γ
and o(z k ) = pk for some positive integers β ≤ γ . Applying Proposition 5, that is,
inequality (2) for deg(xk ) and equality case for deg(z k ), we get

⎛ ⎞
 
β−1 γ −1 γ −1 β−1
deg(xk ) − deg(z k ) ≥ pk − pk +⎝ piαi ⎠ pk − pk
i∈[r ]\{k}
⎛ ⎞
 
γ −1 β−1
=⎝ piαi − 1⎠ pk − pk ≥ 0,
i∈[r ]\{k}

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giving deg(z k ) ≤ deg(xk ). Put o(yk ) = pkλ for some positive integer λ. Since o(yk ) ≤
o(z k ), we have λ ≤ γ . Applying the equality case of Proposition 5 again, we get
⎡ ⎛ ⎞ ⎤
 
γ −1
deg(z k ) − deg(yk ) = pk − pkλ−1 ⎣( pk − 1) ⎝ piαi ⎠ + 1⎦ ≥ 0,
i∈[r ]\{k}

giving deg(yk ) ≤ deg(z k ). Hence deg(yk ) ≤ deg(xk ).

Under certain conditions, the following proposition gives a strict upper bound for
δ(P(G)) when G is of even order.

Proposition 7 Let G be of even order. Suppose that the Sylow 2-subgroup of G is

noncyclic containing a maximal cyclic subgroup of order
 2 and that all other Sylow
subgroups of G are cyclic. If r ≥ 3, then δ(P(G)) < ri=2 piαi .

Proof Since n is even, we have p1 = 2 and P1 is the Sylow 2-subgroup of G. Let

k ∈ {2, 3, . . . , r } be such that

pkαk = min{ piαi : 2 ≤ i ≤ r }.

α
Since r ≥ 3, the set [r ]\{1, k} is nonempty. We have p j j > pkαk for every j ∈
[r ]\{1, k} as p j and pk are distinct primes and so
⎛ ⎞
α
 
⎝ pj j⎠ pkαk −1 − pkαk + pkαk −1 > 0. (5)
j∈[r ]\{1,k}

The strict inequality in (5) holds as the first term is an odd integer and the second
term is an even integer.
For i ∈ {2, 3, . . . , r }, each Pi is cyclic by the given hypothesis. Consider a generator
xk of Pk and an element x1 ∈ P1 such that x1  is a maximal cyclic subgroup of P1
of order 2. Then o(x1 xk ) = 2 pkαk and x1 xk  is a maximal cyclic subgroup of P1 Pk .
Any maximal cyclic subgroup of G containing x1 xk is of order 2 p2α2 . . . pkαk . . . prαr .
By the equality case of Proposition 5, we get
⎛ ⎞
α
 
deg(x1 xk ) = pkαk + pkαk −1 + ⎝ p j j ⎠ pkαk − pkαk −1 − 1.
j∈[r ]\{1,k}

Then
⎛ ⎞
r
α
 
piαi − deg(x1 xk ) = ⎝ p j j ⎠ pkαk −1 − pkαk + pkαk −1 + 1 > 0,
i=2 j∈[r ]\{1,k}

r
using (5). Consequently, i=2 piαi > deg(x1 xk ) ≥ δ(P(G)).

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For r = 2, under certain conditions, we next determine some vertices of P(G)

attaining the minimum degree.
Proposition 8 Suppose that r = 2, P1 is noncyclic and P2 is cyclic. Then the following
hold for any y ∈ M(G):
(i) deg(y) < deg(y2 ).
(ii) If x ∈ y with τx = {1, 2}, then deg(x) > deg(y1 ). In particular, deg(y) >
deg(y1 ).
γ
Proof Since P2 is cyclic, we have o(y2 ) = p2α2 and o(y) = p1 1 p2α2 for some integer
γ γ
γ1 with 1 ≤ γ1 ≤ α1 − 1. Then o(y1 ) = p1 1 and deg(y) = o(y) − 1 = p1 1 p2α2 − 1.
(i) By the equality case of Proposition 5, we have deg(y2 ) = p2α2 −1 +
α1 α2 −1
p1 p2 ( p2 − 1) − 1. Then
! "
γ α −γ
deg(y2 ) − deg(y) = p1 1 p2α2 −1 p1 1 1 ( p2 − 1) − p2 + p2α2 −1 > 0,

as α1 > γ1 . Hence deg(y2 ) > deg(y).

β β
(ii) Put o(x) = p1 1 p2 2 , where 1 ≤ β1 ≤ γ1 and 1 ≤ β2 ≤ α2 . By Proposition 5,
we have
γ −1 γ γ −1 α2
deg(y1 ) = p1 1 + p1 1 p2α2 − p1 1 p2 −1

and
    
β β β β γ β −1 β −1
deg(x) ≥ p1 1 p2 2 − φ p1 1 p2 2 + p1 1 − p1 1 p2α2 − p2 2 −1
! "
β −1 β −1 γ −β +1 α −β +1 γ
= p1 1 p2 2 p1 + p2 − p1 1 1 − p2 2 2 + p1 1 p2α2 − 1.

Then

deg(x) − deg(y1 )
! "
β −1 β −1 γ −β +1 α −β +1 γ −β α −β +1 γ −1
≥ p1 1 p2 2 p1 + p2 − p1 1 1 − p2 2 2 + p1 1 1 p2 2 2 − p1 1
!   "
β −1 β −1 γ −β α −β +1 γ −1
= p1 1 p2 2 p2 + p1 1 1 − 1 p2 2 2 − p1 − p1 1
! "
β −1 β −1 γ −β γ −1
≥ p1 1 p2 2 p2 + p1 1 1 − 1 − p1 1 > 0.

Hence deg(x) > deg(y1 ).

Proposition 9 Suppose that r = 2, P1 is noncyclic and P2 is cyclic. If y ∈ M(G)
is of minimum order, then δ(P(G)) = deg(y1 ).
γ
Proof We have |y| = o(y) = p1 1 p2α2 for some integer γ1 with 1 ≤ γ1 ≤ α1 − 1.
Let x ∈ G\{e} be arbitrary. We show that deg(x) ≥ deg(y1 ).
First assume that |τx | = 2. Consider z ∈ M(G) containing x. Then o(z 1 ) ≥ o(y1 )
and Proposition 8(ii) implies that deg(x) > deg(z 1 ). The equality case of Proposition 5

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o(y1 ) o(z 1 )
gives that deg(y1 ) = +φ(o(y1 )) p2α2 −1 and deg(z 1 ) = +φ(o(z 1 )) p2α2 −1.
p1 p1
Since o(z 1 ) ≥ o(y1 ), it follows that deg(z 1 ) ≥ deg(y1 ) and hence deg(x) > deg(y1 ).
In particular, deg(y) > deg(y1 ).
Now assume that |τx | = 1. Then x ∈ P1 or x ∈ P2 . So deg(x) ≥
min{deg(y1 ), deg(y2 )} using Proposition 6. Since deg(y2 ) > deg(y) > deg(y1 ) by
Proposition 8, we get deg(x) ≥ min{deg(y1 ), deg(y2 )} = deg(y1 ).

3 Proof of Theorem 1

The following proposition proves Theorem 1 for the power graphs of groups of prime
power order.
Proposition 10 Let G be a finite p-group, where p is a prime. Then κ(P(G)) =
δ(P(G)) if and only if one of the following holds:
(i) G is cyclic.
(ii) G is a noncyclic 2-group containing a maximal cyclic subgroup of order 2.
Proof If G is a cyclic p-group, then P(G) is complete and so κ(P(G)) = |G| − 1 =
δ(P(G)). If G is a noncyclic 2-group containing a maximal cyclic subgroup x of
order 2 for some x ∈ G, then the facts that deg(x) = 1 and the identity element e is a
cut-vertex of P(G) imply κ(P(G)) = 1 = δ(P(G)).
Conversely, assume that κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)). We may consider that G is non-
cyclic. Then Proposition 2 implies that G is a 2-group and δ(P(G)) = deg(x) for
some element x ∈ G of order 2. By [14, Theorem 6.9], G is not a generalized
quaternion group. Then the proper power graph P ∗ (G) is disconnected by Propo-
sition 1. It follows that e is a cut-vertex of P(G), implying κ(P(G)) = 1. Thus
deg(x) = δ(P(G)) = κ(P(G)) = 1. Then it follows that x is a maximal cyclic
subgroup G of order 2.
We need the following result whose proof is same as that of [6, Proposition 4.2]. It
was originally proved for noncyclic abelian groups.
Proposition 11 ([6]) Let G be a noncyclic nilpotent group of order 2s p t , where p is
an odd prime and s, t are positive integers. If the Sylow 2-subgroup of G is neither
cyclic nor generalized quaternion, and the Sylow p-subgroup of G is cyclic, then
κ(P(G)) = p t .
In the following, we now give the proof of our main result.
Proof (Theorem 1) Let G be a finite nilpotent group. If G is cyclic with order a prime
power or twice of a prime power, then κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)) by Proposition 3. Suppose
that G is a noncyclic group of order 2s p t , where p is an odd prime, s ≥ 2 and t ≥ 0
are integers, in which the Sylow 2-subgroup of G is noncyclic containing a maximal
cyclic subgroup of order 2 and the Sylow p-subgroup of G is cyclic. If t = 0, then
κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)) by Proposition 10. Assume that t ≥ 1. The Sylow 2-subgroup
of G is not generalized quaternion as it contains a maximal cyclic subgroup of order 2.

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Therefore, κ(P(G)) = p t by Proposition 11. Let w1  be a maximal cyclic subgroup

of order 2 of the Sylow 2-subgroup of G and w2 be a generator of the Sylow p-
subgroup of G. Then w1 w2  is a maximal cyclic subgroup of G of minimum order.
We have δ(P(G)) = deg(w1 ) by Proposition 9. Since o(w1 ) = 2, the equality case
of Proposition 5 gives that deg(w1 ) = p t . Thus δ(P(G)) = p t = κ(P(G)).
Conversely, assume that κ(P(G)) = δ(P(G)). Put |G| = n. By Proposition 10,
we may consider that n is not a prime power. Write n = p1α1 p2α2 . . . prαr , where r ≥ 2,
p1 , p2 , . . . , pr are prime numbers with p1 < p2 < · · · < pr and α1 , α2 , . . . , αr are
positive integers. Let Pi denote the Sylow pi -subgroup of G for i ∈ [r ].
Let δ(P(G)) = deg(x) for some x ∈ G. Since n is not a prime power, we have
o(x) = 2 by Proposition 2. So p1 = 2 and G is of even order. Let y be a maximal
cyclic subgroup of the Sylow 2-subgroup P1 of G containing x. We have deg(x) =
δ(P(G)) ≤ deg(y). Since y is a cyclic 2-group, the induced subgraph P(y) of
P(G) is complete and so degP (y) (x) = degP (y) (y). Further, any element of G\y
that is adjacent to y must be adjacent with x. It then follows that deg(y) ≤ deg(x).
We thus have deg(y) = deg(x) = δ(P(G)). Then Proposition 2 again implies that
o(y) = 2 and hence x = y. Thus x is a maximal cyclic subgroup of P1 of order 2.
Then by the equality case of Proposition 5, we get
r
δ(P(G)) = deg(x) = piαi (6)
i=2

using the fact that o(x) = 2.

Let z be a maximal cyclic subgroup of G containing x. Then deg(z) = o(z) − 1
and z∩ P1 is a maximal cyclic subgroup of P1 containing x. Replacing y by z∩ P1
γ γ
in the previous paragraph, we get z ∩ P1 = x. We have o(z) = 2 p2 2 . . . pr r , where
1 ≤ γi ≤ αi for i ∈ {2, 3, . . . , r }. Then
r
γ γ γ γ
2 p2 2 . . . pr r > 2 p2 2 . . . pr r − 1 = deg(z) ≥ δ(P(G)) = deg(x) = piαi
i=2

 α −γ
gives that ri=2 pi i i < 2. This is possible if and only if αi = γi for every i ∈
{2, 3, . . . , r }. It then follows that P2 , P3 , . . . , Pr are all cyclic. If P1 is also cyclic,
then G itself is cyclic. Consequently, r = 2 and |G| = n = 2 p2α2 by Proposition 3.
rNowαassume that P1 is noncyclic. Then G is noncyclic. If r ≥ 3, then δ(P(G)) <
i=2 i p i
by Proposition 7, which contradicts (6). Thus r = 2 and |G| = 2α1 p2α2 ,
where the Sylow 2-subgroup P1 of G is noncyclic containing a maximal cyclic sub-
group x of order 2 and the Sylow p2 -subgroup P2 of G is cyclic. This completes the
proof.

Acknowledgements The first author would like to thank the National Institute of Science Education and
Research, Bhubaneswar, for the facilities provided when working as a visiting fellow in the School of
Mathematical Sciences.

Funding The third author is partially supported by Project No. MTR/2017/000372 of the Science and
Engineering Research Board (SERB), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

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Characterizing finite nilpotent groups associated with a…

Availability of data and materials Not applicable.

Declarations
Conflicts of interest On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of
interest.

Code availability Not applicable.

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