ON GRAPHS OF PRIME VALENCY ADMITTING A SOLVABLE ARC-TRANSITIVE GROUP

Abstract

Let $X$ be a simple, connected, $p$-valent, $G$-arc-transitive graph, where the subgroup $G\leq \text{Aut}(X)$ is solvable and $p\geq 3$ is a prime. We prove that $X$ is a regular cover over one of the three possible types of graphs with semi-edges. This enables short proofs of the facts that $G$ is at most 3-arc-transitive on $X$ and that its edge kernel is trivial. For pentavalent graphs, two further applications are given: all $G$-basic pentavalent graphs admitting a solvable arc-transitive group are constructed and an example of a non-Cayley graph of this kind is presented.