Criterion of nonsolvability of a finite group and recognition of direct squares of simple groups

Abstract

The spectrum $\omega(G)$ of a finite group $G$ is the set of orders of its elements. The following sufficient criterion of nonsolvability is proved: if among the prime divisors of the order of a group $G$, there are four different primes such that $\omega(G)$ contains all their pairwise products but not a product of any three of these numbers, then $G$ is nonsolvable. Using this result, we show that for $q\geqslant 8$ and $q\neq 32$, the direct square $Sz(q)\times Sz(q)$ of the simple exceptional Suzuki group $Sz(q)$ is uniquely characterized by its spectrum in the class of finite groups, while for $Sz(32)\times Sz(32)$, there are exactly four finite groups with the same spectrum.