Lecture

Free Groups: Introduction and Examples

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

In course

MATH-225: Topology II - fundamental groups

On étudie des notions de topologie générale: unions et quotients d'espaces topologiques; on approfondit les notions de revêtements et de groupe fondamental,et d'attachements de cellules et on démontre le Théorème de Seifert-van Kampen. Des exemples de surf ...

Description

This lecture introduces free groups, explaining their formation by generators and their law of composition. Examples are provided to illustrate the concept, along with the construction of free groups as quotients and the representation of elements by reduced words.

Instructors (2)

Jérôme Scherer

Teaching & PhD PhD Students Virgile Simon Constantin Past EPFL PhD Students Samuel Lavenir Past EPFL PhD Students as codirector Kay Remo Werndli, Lyne Moser Courses Topology IV.a - Cohomology rings MATH-506 Singular cohomology is defined by dualizing the singular chain complex for spaces. We will study its basic properties, see how it acquires a multiplicative structure and becomes a graded commutative algebra. We study an algebraic version, namely group cohomology, and compare both approa

Dimitri Stelio Wyss

I did my PhD under the supervision of Tamas Hausel at EPFL and the Institue of Science and Technology Austria . From 2017-2019 I was a postdoctoral researcher at the Sorbonne University Paris 6 with François Loeser. Since September 2019 I hold the chair of arithmetic geometry at EPFL as a tenure track assistant professor. For more information see my CV.I work in algebraic and arithmetic geometry. My research uses ideas from p-adic and motivic integration to study the interplay between geometric and arithmet

Official source

Related concepts (18)

Free group

In 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 product

In 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.

Engine-generator

An engine–generator is the combination of an electrical generator and an engine (prime mover) mounted together to form a single piece of equipment. This combination is also called an engine–generator set or a gen-set. In many contexts, the engine is taken for granted and the combined unit is simply called a generator. An engine–generator may be a fixed installation, part of a vehicle, or made small enough to be portable.

Spin structure

In differential geometry, a spin structure on an orientable Riemannian manifold (M, g) allows one to define associated spinor bundles, giving rise to the notion of a spinor in differential geometry. Spin structures have wide applications to mathematical physics, in particular to quantum field theory where they are an essential ingredient in the definition of any theory with uncharged fermions. They are also of purely mathematical interest in differential geometry, algebraic topology, and K theory.

Free abelian group

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.

Related lectures (32)

Group Actions and Fundamental Groups

Delves into group actions, coverings, fundamental groups, and homomorphisms in topological spaces.

Groups and Numbers: Mathematical Elements on Groups

Explores fundamental properties of groups and numbers, emphasizing equivalence classes and subgroup concepts.

Group Theory: Combinatorial Approach

Covers group theory with a focus on group presentations and subgroup generation.

Coxeter Groups: Generators and Relations

Explores Coxeter groups, emphasizing generators, relations, and unique presentations in group theory.

Topology: Free Groups and Their Properties