Permutably complemented is not finite-intersection-closed

From Groupprops

This article gives the statement, and possibly proof, of a subgroup property (i.e., permutably complemented subgroup) not satisfying a subgroup metaproperty (i.e., finite-intersection-closed subgroup property).
View all subgroup metaproperty dissatisfactions | View all subgroup metaproperty satisfactions|Get help on looking up metaproperty (dis)satisfactions for subgroup properties
Get more facts about permutably complemented subgroup|Get more facts about finite-intersection-closed subgroup property|

Statement

It is possible to have a group G and two permutably complemented subgroups H,KG such that HK is not permutably complemented in G.

Proof

Example of the dihedral group

Further information: dihedral group:D8

Suppose G is the dihedral group of order eight:

G=a,xa4=x2=e,xax1=a1.

Consider the two subgroups:

H=a2,x={e,a2,x,a2x},K=a2,ax={e,a2,ax,a3x}.

Then:

HK={e,a2}.

We have:

  • H is a permutably complemented subgroup of G: The subgroup {e,ax} is a permutable complement to H in G.
  • K is a permutably complemented subgroup of G: The subgroup {e,x} is a permutable complement to K in G.
  • HK is not permutably complemented in G: This can be seen by direct inspection, but also follows from the more general fact that in a nilpotent group any nontrivial normal subgroup intersects the center nontrivially. Here, HK is the center, and if it has a permutable complement, that subgroup must be a nontrivial normal subgroup, leading to a contradiction.