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In group theory, a branch of mathematics, given a group G under a binary operation ∗, a subset H of G is called a subgroup of G if H also forms a group under the operation ∗. More precisely, H is a subgroup of G if the restriction of ∗ to H × H is a group operation on H. This is often denoted H ≤ G, read as "H is a subgroup of G".
The trivial subgroup of any group is the subgroup {e} consisting of just the identity element. [1]
A proper subgroup of a group G is a subgroup H which is a proper subset of G (that is, H ≠ G). This is often represented notationally by H < G, read as "H is a proper subgroup of G". Some authors also exclude the trivial group from being proper (that is, H ≠ {e}). [2] [3]
If H is a subgroup of G, then G is sometimes called an overgroup of H.
The same definitions apply more generally when G is an arbitrary semigroup, but this article will only deal with subgroups of groups.
Suppose that G is a group, and H is a subset of G. For now, assume that the group operation of G is written multiplicatively, denoted by juxtaposition.
If the group operation is instead denoted by addition, then closed under products should be replaced by closed under addition, which is the condition that for every a and b in H, the sum a+b is in H, and closed under inverses should be edited to say that for every a in H, the inverse −a is in H.
Given a subgroup H and some a in G, we define the left coset aH = {ah : h in H}. Because a is invertible, the map φ : H → aH given by φ(h) = ah is a bijection. Furthermore, every element of G is contained in precisely one left coset of H; the left cosets are the equivalence classes corresponding to the equivalence relation a1 ~ a2 if and only if a1−1a2 is in H. The number of left cosets of H is called the index of H in G and is denoted by [G : H].
Lagrange's theorem states that for a finite group G and a subgroup H,
where |G| and |H| denote the orders of G and H, respectively. In particular, the order of every subgroup of G (and the order of every element of G) must be a divisor of |G|. [7] [8]
Right cosets are defined analogously: Ha = {ha : h in H}. They are also the equivalence classes for a suitable equivalence relation and their number is equal to [G : H].
If aH = Ha for every a in G, then H is said to be a normal subgroup. Every subgroup of index 2 is normal: the left cosets, and also the right cosets, are simply the subgroup and its complement. More generally, if p is the lowest prime dividing the order of a finite group G, then any subgroup of index p (if such exists) is normal.
Let G be the cyclic group Z8 whose elements are
and whose group operation is addition modulo 8. Its Cayley table is
+ | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 |
4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
3 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 |
7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
This group has two nontrivial subgroups: ■J = {0, 4} and ■H = {0, 4, 2, 6} , where J is also a subgroup of H. The Cayley table for H is the top-left quadrant of the Cayley table for G; The Cayley table for J is the top-left quadrant of the Cayley table for H. The group G is cyclic, and so are its subgroups. In general, subgroups of cyclic groups are also cyclic. [9]
Let S4 be the symmetric group on 4 elements. Below are all the subgroups of S4, listed according to the number of elements, in decreasing order.
The whole group S4 is a subgroup of S4, of order 24. Its Cayley table is
![]() | Hasse diagrams of the lattice of subgroups of S4 |
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Each element s of order 2 in S4 generates a subgroup {1,s} of order 2. There are 9 such elements: the transpositions (2-cycles) and the three elements (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23).
The trivial subgroup is the unique subgroup of order 1 in S4.
In mathematics, an equivalence relation is a binary relation that is reflexive, symmetric and transitive. The equipollence relation between line segments in geometry is a common example of an equivalence relation.
A quotient group or factor group is a mathematical group obtained by aggregating similar elements of a larger group using an equivalence relation that preserves some of the group structure. For example, the cyclic group of addition modulo n can be obtained from the group of integers under addition by identifying elements that differ by a multiple of and defining a group structure that operates on each such class as a single entity. It is part of the mathematical field known as group theory.
In mathematics, a group action on a space is a group homomorphism of a given group into the group of transformations of the space. Similarly, a group action on a mathematical structure is a group homomorphism of a group into the automorphism group of the structure. It is said that the group acts on the space or structure. If a group acts on a structure, it will usually also act on objects built from that structure. For example, the group of Euclidean isometries acts on Euclidean space and also on the figures drawn in it. For example, it acts on the set of all triangles. Similarly, the group of symmetries of a polyhedron acts on the vertices, the edges, and the faces of the polyhedron.
In mathematics, a group is a set and an operation that combines any two elements of the set to produce a third element of the set, in such a way that the operation is associative, an identity element exists and every element has an inverse. These three axioms hold for number systems and many other mathematical structures. For example, the integers together with the addition operation form a group. The concept of a group and the axioms that define it were elaborated for handling, in a unified way, essential structural properties of very different mathematical entities such as numbers, geometric shapes and polynomial roots. Because the concept of groups is ubiquitous in numerous areas both within and outside mathematics, some authors consider it as a central organizing principle of contemporary mathematics.
In mathematics, a semigroup is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with an associative internal binary operation on it.
In the mathematical field of group theory, Lagrange's theorem is a theorem that states that for any finite group G, the order of every subgroup of G divides the order of G. The theorem is named after Joseph-Louis Lagrange. The following variant states that for a subgroup of a finite group , not only is an integer, but its value is the index , defined as the number of left cosets of in .
In mathematics, especially group theory, two elements and of a group are conjugate if there is an element in the group such that This is an equivalence relation whose equivalence classes are called conjugacy classes. In other words, each conjugacy class is closed under for all elements in the group.
In group theory, a branch of abstract algebra in pure mathematics, a cyclic group or monogenous group is a group, denoted Cn, that is generated by a single element. That is, it is a set of invertible elements with a single associative binary operation, and it contains an element g such that every other element of the group may be obtained by repeatedly applying the group operation to g or its inverse. Each element can be written as an integer power of g in multiplicative notation, or as an integer multiple of g in additive notation. This element g is called a generator of the group.
In mathematics, specifically group theory, a subgroup H of a group G may be used to decompose the underlying set of G into disjoint, equal-size subsets called cosets. There are left cosets and right cosets. Cosets have the same number of elements (cardinality) as does H. Furthermore, H itself is both a left coset and a right coset. The number of left cosets of H in G is equal to the number of right cosets of H in G. This common value is called the index of H in G and is usually denoted by [G : H].
In abstract algebra, a generating set of a group is a subset of the group set such that every element of the group can be expressed as a combination of finitely many elements of the subset and their inverses.
In group theory, Cayley's theorem, named in honour of Arthur Cayley, states that every group G is isomorphic to a subgroup of a symmetric group. More specifically, G is isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetric group whose elements are the permutations of the underlying set of G. Explicitly,
In mathematics, specifically group theory, the index of a subgroup H in a group G is the number of left cosets of H in G, or equivalently, the number of right cosets of H in G. The index is denoted or or . Because G is the disjoint union of the left cosets and because each left coset has the same size as H, the index is related to the orders of the two groups by the formula
In mathematics, a free abelian group is an abelian group with a basis. Being an abelian group means that it is a set with an addition operation that is associative, commutative, and invertible. A basis, also called an integral basis, is a subset such that every element of the group can be uniquely expressed as an integer combination of finitely many basis elements. For instance the two-dimensional integer lattice forms a free abelian group, with coordinatewise addition as its operation, and with the two points (1,0) and (0,1) as its basis. Free abelian groups have properties which make them similar to vector spaces, and may equivalently be called free-modules, the free modules over the integers. Lattice theory studies free abelian subgroups of real vector spaces. In algebraic topology, free abelian groups are used to define chain groups, and in algebraic geometry they are used to define divisors.
A group is a set together with an associative operation which admits an identity element and such that every element has an inverse.
In mathematics, a Cayley graph, also known as a Cayley color graph, Cayley diagram, group diagram, or color group is a graph that encodes the abstract structure of a group. Its definition is suggested by Cayley's theorem, and uses a specified set of generators for the group. It is a central tool in combinatorial and geometric group theory. The structure and symmetry of Cayley graphs makes them particularly good candidates for constructing families of expander graphs.
In mathematics, the order of a finite group is the number of its elements. If a group is not finite, one says that its order is infinite. The order of an element of a group is the order of the subgroup generated by the element. If the group operation is denoted as a multiplication, the order of an element a of a group, is thus the smallest positive integer m such that am = e, where e denotes the identity element of the group, and am denotes the product of m copies of a. If no such m exists, the order of a is infinite.
In group theory, a field of mathematics, a double coset is a collection of group elements which are equivalent under the symmetries coming from two subgroups. More precisely, let G be a group, and let H and K be subgroups. Let H act on G by left multiplication and let K act on G by right multiplication. For each x in G, the (H, K)-double coset of x is the set
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In mathematics, specifically in group theory, the direct product is an operation that takes two groups G and H and constructs a new group, usually denoted G × H. This operation is the group-theoretic analogue of the Cartesian product of sets and is one of several important notions of direct product in mathematics.
In mathematics, the concept of a relatively hyperbolic group is an important generalization of the geometric group theory concept of a hyperbolic group. The motivating examples of relatively hyperbolic groups are the fundamental groups of complete noncompact hyperbolic manifolds of finite volume.