On the finite group whose proper enhanced power graph is claw-free

Let $G$ be a finite group. The \emph{enhanced power graph} of $G$, denoted by $\mathcal{E}(G)$, is the graph with vertex set $G$ in which two vertices $u$ and $v$ are adjacent if and only if there exists an element $w\in G$ such that both $u$ and $v$ belong to $⟨w⟩$. The \emph{proper enhanced power graph} of $G$, denoted by ${\mathcal{E}}^{\ast \ast }(G)$, is the subgraph of $\mathcal{E}(G)$ induced by the non-dominating vertices. The main objective of this paper is to investigate finite groups whose proper enhanced power graph is claw-free, that is, contains no induced subgraph isomorphic to the complete bipartite graph $K_{1,3}$. We first prove that $\mathcal{E}(G)$ is claw-free if and only if $G$ is cyclic. The set of dominating vertices of $\mathcal{E}(G)$ forms a cyclic subgroup of the center of $G$, namely the \emph{cyclicizer} $\text{cyc}(G)$ of $G$. This allows us to give a precise description of the structure of $G\mathrm{/}\text{cyc}(G)$ when ${\mathcal{E}}^{\ast \ast }(G)$ is claw-free. If $G$ is solvable but not nilpotent, then $G$ is metacyclic, or $G\mathrm{/}\text{cyc}(G)$ is either a Frobenius group or a $2$-Frobenius group. If $G$ is non-solvable, then $G\mathrm{/}\text{cyc}(G)$ is isomorphic to $\text{PSL}(2,q)$ or $\text{PGL}(2,q),$ and this allows us to give a complete classification of the non-solvable groups whose proper enhanced power graph is claw-free.