Let G be a group and let A be a non-empty subset of G. Show that
C(A)={g∈G:gh=hg for all h∈A}
is a subgroup of G.
Show that ρ:G×G→G given by
ρ(g,h)=ghg−1
defines an action of G on itself.
Suppose G is finite, let O1,…,On be the orbits of the action ρ and let hi∈Oi for i=1,…,n. Using the Orbit-Stabilizer Theorem, or otherwise, show that
∣G∣=∣C(G)∣+i∑∣G∣/∣C({hi})∣
where the sum runs over all values of i such that ∣Oi∣>1.
Let G be a finite group of order pr, where p is a prime and r is a positive integer. Show that C(G) contains more than one element.