Multiplication Groups of Loops and Projective Semilinear Transformations in Dimension Two

Abstract For a loop Q denote by Mlt  Q the permutation group generated by translations x  ↦  xa and x  ↦  ax , a  ∈  Q . If Q is defined on F  ∪ {∞}, where F is a finite field with at least five elements, and if Mlt  Q  ≤  PΓL (2,  F ), then Q is an abelian group. The same result holds for an infinite field F , if the automorphisms associated with translations generate a finite subgroup of Aut( F ).