Some Remarks on Commuting Fixed Point Free Automorphisms of Groups

Abstract

In this article we will find necessary and sufficient conditions for a fixed point free automorphism (fpf automorphism) of a group to be a commuting automorphism. For a given prime we find the smallest order of a non abelian p-group admitting a commuting fixed point free automorphism. We prove that a group of order p 3 having a commuting fpf automorphism, has a restricted structure. Moreover, we prove that if a finite group admits a fpf automorphism of order 4, then the converse of Laffey's result holds in G 1 .