The diameter of power graphs of symmetric groups

Abstract

The power graph of a group [Formula: see text] is the simple graph [Formula: see text], with vertex-set [Formula: see text] and vertices [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are adjacent, if and only if [Formula: see text] and either [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] for some positive integer [Formula: see text]. The proper power graph of [Formula: see text], denoted [Formula: see text], is the graph obtained from [Formula: see text] by deleting the vertex [Formula: see text]. In [On the connectivity of proper power graphs of finite groups, Comm. Algebra 43 (2015) 4305–4319], it is proved that if [Formula: see text] and neither [Formula: see text] nor [Formula: see text] is a prime, then [Formula: see text] is connected and [Formula: see text]. In this paper, we improve the diameter bound of [Formula: see text] for which [Formula: see text] is connected. We show that [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text]. We also describe a number of short paths in these power graphs.