Normal subgroupIn abstract algebra, a normal subgroup (also known as an invariant subgroup or self-conjugate subgroup) is a subgroup that is invariant under conjugation by members of the group of which it is a part. In other words, a subgroup of the group is normal in if and only if for all and The usual notation for this relation is Normal subgroups are important because they (and only they) can be used to construct quotient groups of the given group.
Presentation of a groupIn mathematics, a presentation is one method of specifying a group. A presentation of a group G comprises a set S of generators—so that every element of the group can be written as a product of powers of some of these generators—and a set R of relations among those generators. We then say G has presentation Informally, G has the above presentation if it is the "freest group" generated by S subject only to the relations R. Formally, the group G is said to have the above presentation if it is isomorphic to the quotient of a free group on S by the normal subgroup generated by the relations R.
SubgroupIn 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. A proper subgroup of a group G is a subgroup H which is a proper subset of G (that is, H ≠ G).
Group theoryIn abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces, can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and axioms. Groups recur throughout mathematics, and the methods of group theory have influenced many parts of algebra. Linear algebraic groups and Lie groups are two branches of group theory that have experienced advances and have become subject areas in their own right.
Maximal subgroupIn mathematics, the term maximal subgroup is used to mean slightly different things in different areas of algebra. In group theory, a maximal subgroup H of a group G is a proper subgroup, such that no proper subgroup K contains H strictly. In other words, H is a maximal element of the partially ordered set of subgroups of G that are not equal to G. Maximal subgroups are of interest because of their direct connection with primitive permutation representations of G.
Characteristic subgroupIn mathematics, particularly in the area of abstract algebra known as group theory, a characteristic subgroup is a subgroup that is mapped to itself by every automorphism of the parent group. Because every conjugation map is an inner automorphism, every characteristic subgroup is normal; though the converse is not guaranteed. Examples of characteristic subgroups include the commutator subgroup and the center of a group. A subgroup H of a group G is called a characteristic subgroup if for every automorphism φ of G, one has φ(H) ≤ H; then write H char G.
Geometric group theoryGeometric group theory is an area in mathematics devoted to the study of finitely generated groups via exploring the connections between algebraic properties of such groups and topological and geometric properties of spaces on which these groups act (that is, when the groups in question are realized as geometric symmetries or continuous transformations of some spaces). Another important idea in geometric group theory is to consider finitely generated groups themselves as geometric objects.
Lattice of subgroupsIn mathematics, the lattice of subgroups of a group is the lattice whose elements are the subgroups of , with the partial order relation being set inclusion. In this lattice, the join of two subgroups is the subgroup generated by their union, and the meet of two subgroups is their intersection. The dihedral group Dih4 has ten subgroups, counting itself and the trivial subgroup. Five of the eight group elements generate subgroups of order two, and the other two non-identity elements both generate the same cyclic subgroup of order four.
Combinatorial group theoryIn mathematics, combinatorial group theory is the theory of free groups, and the concept of a presentation of a group by generators and relations. It is much used in geometric topology, the fundamental group of a simplicial complex having in a natural and geometric way such a presentation. A very closely related topic is geometric group theory, which today largely subsumes combinatorial group theory, using techniques from outside combinatorics besides.
CombinatoricsCombinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and an end in obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many applications ranging from logic to statistical physics and from evolutionary biology to computer science. Combinatorics is well known for the breadth of the problems it tackles. Combinatorial problems arise in many areas of pure mathematics, notably in algebra, probability theory, topology, and geometry, as well as in its many application areas.
Free groupIn mathematics, the free group FS over a given set S consists of all words that can be built from members of S, considering two words to be different unless their equality follows from the group axioms (e.g. st = suu−1t, but s ≠ t−1 for s,t,u ∈ S). The members of S are called generators of FS, and the number of generators is the rank of the free group. An arbitrary group G is called free if it is isomorphic to FS for some subset S of G, that is, if there is a subset S of G such that every element of G can be written in exactly one way as a product of finitely many elements of S and their inverses (disregarding trivial variations such as st = suu−1t).
Free productIn mathematics, specifically group theory, the free product is an operation that takes two groups G and H and constructs a new group G ∗ H. The result contains both G and H as subgroups, is generated by the elements of these subgroups, and is the “universal” group having these properties, in the sense that any two homomorphisms from G and H into a group K factor uniquely through a homomorphism from G ∗ H to K. Unless one of the groups G and H is trivial, the free product is always infinite.
Group representationIn the mathematical field of representation theory, group representations describe abstract groups in terms of bijective linear transformations of a vector space to itself (i.e. vector space automorphisms); in particular, they can be used to represent group elements as invertible matrices so that the group operation can be represented by matrix multiplication. In chemistry, a group representation can relate mathematical group elements to symmetric rotations and reflections of molecules.
Quotient groupA 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 (the rest of the structure is "factored" out). 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 (known as a congruence class) as a single entity.
Core (group theory)In group theory, a branch of mathematics, a core is any of certain special normal subgroups of a group. The two most common types are the normal core of a subgroup and the p-core of a group. For a group G, the normal core or normal interior of a subgroup H is the largest normal subgroup of G that is contained in H (or equivalently, the intersection of the conjugates of H). More generally, the core of H with respect to a subset S ⊆ G is the intersection of the conjugates of H under S, i.e.
Group (mathematics)In mathematics, a group is a non-empty set with an operation that satisfies the following constraints: the operation is associative, has an identity element, and every element of the set has an inverse element. Many mathematical structures are groups endowed with other properties. For example, the integers with the addition operation is an infinite group, which is generated by a single element called 1 (these properties characterize the integers in a unique way).
Hall subgroupIn mathematics, specifically group theory, a Hall subgroup of a finite group G is a subgroup whose order is coprime to its index. They were introduced by the group theorist . A Hall divisor (also called a unitary divisor) of an integer n is a divisor d of n such that d and n/d are coprime. The easiest way to find the Hall divisors is to write the prime power factorization of the number in question and take any subset of the factors. For example, to find the Hall divisors of 60, its prime power factorization is 22 × 3 × 5, so one takes any product of 3, 22 = 4, and 5.
Quaternion groupIn group theory, the quaternion group Q8 (sometimes just denoted by Q) is a non-abelian group of order eight, isomorphic to the eight-element subset of the quaternions under multiplication. It is given by the group presentation where e is the identity element and commutes with the other elements of the group. Another presentation of Q8 is The quaternion group Q8 has the same order as the dihedral group D4, but a different structure, as shown by their Cayley and cycle graphs: In the diagrams for D4, the group elements are marked with their action on a letter F in the defining representation R2.
Free abelian groupIn 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.
Quotient ringIn ring theory, a branch of abstract algebra, a quotient ring, also known as factor ring, difference ring or residue class ring, is a construction quite similar to the quotient group in group theory and to the quotient space in linear algebra. It is a specific example of a quotient, as viewed from the general setting of universal algebra. Starting with a ring R and a two-sided ideal I in R, a new ring, the quotient ring R / I, is constructed, whose elements are the cosets of I in R subject to special + and ⋅ operations.
