1 Groups

1.1 Definition of a group

What can you add or multiply besides numbers? There are many things, in-
cluding matrices, polynomials and functions. The basic underlying structure is
a binary operation on a set S, which for any two elements a and b of S produces
a third element c also in S.
Definition A binary operation on a set S is a function

f : S S S.

The function is frequently called addition or multiplication, in which cases

we might write f (a, b) = a + b or f (a, b) = ab. Quite frequently this additive
or multiplicative notation is used without referring to or naming the function f
itself appearing in the definition of a binary operation.
A binary operation is a very general concept which is more useful when
combined with some axioms. We want to explore the case of groups.
Definition A group is a set G (finite or infinite) with a binary operation
satisfying four properties.
1. Existence of identity element:
There is an element e G such that ea = ae = a for every a G.
(If using multiplicative notation, we might write e = 1. In the additive
notation it is common to write e = 0.)
2. Existence of inverses:
For every element a G, there is an element b G such that ab = ba =
e. The element b is called the inverse of a. (When using multiplicative
notation, as in this definition, we write b = a1 . If using additive notation,
we would write b = a.)
3. Associativity:
For every a, b, c G we have

a(bc) = (ab)c

A group is commutative (also called abelian) if, in addition to all the group
properties, we have ab = ba for all a and b in G.
Notice that
A group is nonempty, because it always contains an identity element.

A group contains only one identity element.

If a and b are both identity elements, then ab = b because a is an identity
and ab = a because b is an identity, so a = b.

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 Each element has only one inverse element.
If x and y are both inverses for a, then ax = ya = e. Hence x = ex =
(ya)x = y(ax) = ye = y.
(ab)1 = b1 a1
because (ab)(b1 a1 ) = a(bb1 )a1 = aea1 = aa1 = e and similarly
(b1 a1 )(ab) = e.
You can cancel elements in groups. If ab = ac or ba = ca then b = c.
For example, if ab = ac then

a1 (ab) = (a1 a)b = eb = b

and
a1 (ab) = a1 (ac) = (a1 a)c = ec = c
so b = c.
Multiplication by a group element permutes the set of all elements in G.
You can think of a group as a special set of permutations.
That multiplication by a creates a permutation includes two statements:

1. Multiplication by a is 1-to-1. If x and y are two different elements of

G, then ax 6= ay.
Follows from the cancelation property.
2. Multiplication by a is onto.
If y is any element of G, there is x G such that ax = y.
Namely x = a1 y.

If G is finite and a G, then there is n 1 such that an = e. Some

positive power of a is the identity element. The smallest such positive n
is called the order of the a.
Reason the order is finite: In a finite group, the infinite sequence a, a2 ,
a3 , . . . must contain two elements that are equal. If ar = as with r > s,
then ars = e.

Definition The order of a finite group G is the number of elements of G,

denoted |G|.
Definition A subgroup of a group G is a subset H of G that is itself a group
with the same identity element and binary operation as G.

1.2 Examples
Examples of groups abound.

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 The additive groups of integers Z, of rational numbers Q, of real numbers
R, of complex numbers C, of gaussian integers Z[i].
These are all commutative groups. Notice that these sets are NOT groups
under multiplication. There is an identity element for multiplication,
namely 1, but in none of these cases does 0 have a multiplicative inverse,
and for Z only the two elements 1 and 1 have multiplicative inverses.
The additive group mZ consisting of multiples of m. For example, 2Z is
the group of even integers, and 3Z is the group of integer multiples of 3.
These are subgroups of Z.
The additive group of integers Z/mZ of integers, for m 2.
Since this is a finite group, we can make a complete addition table. For
Z/3Z we have

Z/3Z
+ 0 1 2
0 0 1 2
1 1 2 0
2 2 0 1

Notice that every column (and every row) of the addition table is a permu-
tation of the set of group elements { 0, 1, 2 }. This is shows the permutation
property mentioned in the preceding section.
The multiplicative group Um of units of the ring Z/mZ.
We have seen that the elements of Um can be represented by the integers
a such that 0 a > m such that gcda, m = 1.
For example, consider the multiplication tables for U5 and U8 .

U5 U8
1 2 3 4 1 3 5 7
1 1 2 3 4 1 1 3 5 7
2 2 4 1 3 3 3 1 7 5
3 3 1 4 2 5 5 7 1 3
4 4 3 2 1 7 7 5 3 1

Looking at the multiplication tables reveals that even though they both
have the same number (4) of elements, the two groups are very different.
The square of every element in U8 is the identity of the group, but this is
not the case for U5 . The group U5 has elements of order 4, but U8 does
not.
It has been one of the great projects of mathematics to classify the finite
groups.

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 The additive group Mat23 (R) of 23 matrices with real number entries.
This is an infinite commutative group.
The multiplicative group GL2 (R) of 2 2 invertible matrices with real
number entries. This is an infinite noncommutative group.

The multiplicative group SL2 (R) of 2 2 matrices with determinant 1.

Its a subgroup of GL2 (R).
The multiplicative group GL2 (Z/mZ) of 2 2 invertible matrices with
entries in Z/mZ. These are the matrices whose determinants are units in
Z/mZ. Its a finite group.

Definition Two groups G and H are isomorphic if and only if there is a

function f : G H such that
1. f is 1-to-1 and onto (1-1 correspondence)
2. f (ab) = f (a)f (b) for all a and b in G.

If two groups are isomorphic, you can match their elements so that their
binary operation tables are the same, except for labeling. Isomorphic groups
are mathematically the same.
Examples
Z/4Z and the multiplicative group G = { 1, 1, i, i } isomorphic via the
function f : Z/4Z G given by f (n) = in .

a Z/4Z 0 1 2 3
f (a) G 1 i 1 i

The corresponding tables displaying the group laws are:

Z/4Z G
+ 0 1 2 3 1 i 1 i
0 0 1 2 3 1 1 i 1 i
1 1 2 3 0 i i 1 i 1
2 2 3 0 1 1 1 i 1 i
3 3 0 1 2 i i 1 i 1

The aX + b group, L, of affine functions aX + b such that a, b R, a 6= 0,

where the binary operation is composition of functions, is isomorphic to
the multiplicative matrix group
 
a b
G={ such that a, b R, a 6= 0}.
0 1

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1.3 Cyclic groups
Among the most useful groups are the cyclic groups.
Definition A group G is cyclic there is an element a G that generates all
of G. This means:
If G is written additively, then G = {0, a, a, 2a, 2a, 3a, 3a, . . .}.
If G is written multiplicatively, then G = {1, a, a1 , a2 , a2 , . . .}.
A finite group G of order n is cyclic if and only if it contains an element of
a of order n, in which case we have

G = {e, a, a2 , . . . , an1 }.

For example,
Z is an (additive) infinite cyclic group, generated by a = 1.
U5 is a (multiplicative) cyclic group, generated by 2 or 3.
U8 is not a cyclic group.
The multiplicative group h5i = {5n |n Z} is an infinite cyclic group
generated by 5 or 5.
The group of rotations of the plane by angles an integer multiple of 2/7
given by the matrices
n 
cos 2 sin 2 cos 2n sin 2n
 
n 7 7 7 7
R2n/7 = R2/7 = =
sin 27 cos 2
7 sin 2n
7 cos 2n
7

is cyclic of order 7.
Cyclic groups are pretty easy to understand.
Theorem
1. Every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic.
2. If g is a generator of the cyclic group G and H is a subgroup, then H
is generated by g t where t > 0 is the smallest positive integer such that
g t H.
Proof. Let G be a cyclic group with generator g, and let H be a subgroup.
Every element of G is a power of g, so we can let t be the smallest positive integer
such that g t H. Lets prove that H is cyclic, generated by g t , by showing
that every element of H is a power of g t . Let x = g s H. By the division
algorithm, we have s = Qt + r where 0 r < t. Then g r = g s (g t )Q H. By
the minimality property of t, we conclude that r = 0 and hence x = g s = (g t )Q
is a power of g t . QED
Theorem Let G be a finite cyclic group of order |G| = n and let g be a
generator.

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 1. g a = g b if and only if a b mod n.
2. The order of g a is n/gcd(a, n).
3. g a is a generator of G if and only if gcd(a, n) = 1.
4. G has exactly one subgroup of order d for every divisor d of n. It is
generated by g n/d .
Proof
1. Since g is a generator, it has order n, which means that g k = e if and only
if k is a multiple of n. We have g a = g b if and only if g ab = e if and only
if a b 0 mod n, or equivalently, if and only if a b mod n.
2. We know that (g a )t = e if and only if n|at. Thus the order of g a is the
smallest integer t > 0 such that n|at. Let d = gcd(a, n). Since
n a
n|at if and only if | t
d d
and gcd(n/d, a/d) = 1, we see that
n
n|at if and only if |t.
d
The minimal such t is t = n/d which is the order of g a .
3. The element g a is a generator of G if and only if g a has order n, which by
part (2) means that gcd(a, n) = 1.
4. Let HA and HB be two subgroups of G of the same order, with generators
g A and g B . We have gcd(A, n) = gcd(B, n) = c for some integer c 1.
Since c divides B, there are integers x and y such that Ax + ny = B. Thus

g B = g Ax+ny = g Ax = (g A )x

which shows that g B HA and hence HB HA . Similarly, HA HB ,

and so HA = HB . QED

1.4 Cosets
Let G be a group, and let H be a subgroup of G. A left coset is obtained by
taking one element of G and multiplying it by each element of H.
Definition A left coset of H in G is a set of the form

aH = {ah|h H}

where a is any element of G.

If H is finite, the number of elements in the coset is the same as the number
of elements of H. If H is infinite, the coset is also infinite.
Example. The three cosets of H = 3Z in G = Z are

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 0 + 3Z, the set of integer multiples of 3
1 + 3Z, the set of integers that are congruent to 1 mod 3
2 + 3Z, the set of integers that are congruent to 2 mod 3
Lemma Let a, b G. Then either aH = bH or aH bH = .
Proof: Suppose that aH bH 6= . Then there are elements h1 and h2 in H
such that ah1 = bh2 . Note that a = bh2 h1 1
1 and b = ah1 h2 .
Lets prove that aH bH. Let x = ah aH. Then

x = ah = (bh2 h1 1
1 )h = b(h2 h1 h) bH.

Similarly, bH aH. Hence aH = bH. QED

Lagranges Theorem. Let G be a finite group.
1. If H is a subgroup of G, then |H| is a divisor of |G|. The order of a
subgroup divides the order of the group.
2. It x G, then the order of x is a divisor of |G|. The order of an element
divides the order of the group.
Proof.
1. Since G is a union of non overlapping cosets and each coset contains H
elements, we have

|G| = Number of cosets |H|.

The |H| is a factor of |G|.

2. The order of x is the order of the subgroup generated by x, so by part (1)
its a divisor of |G|. QED
In imitation of the construction of the groups z/mz of modular arithmetic,
it might seem plausible that the set G/H of left cosets of H is itself a group.
This works out only for normal subgroups H of G, which includes all subgroups
H of a commutative group G.
Definition A subgroup H of G is normal in G if and only if for every h H
and g G we have ghg 1 H. Equivalently, we can say that H is normal if
and only if gHg 1 = H for every g G.
Every subgroup of a commutative group is normal, but that need not be
true for a noncommutative group.
Theorem (Construction of quotient groups) If H is a normal subgroup of
G, then G/H is a group (called the quotient group) with the group law

aH bH := abH.

Proof. First we show that the binary operation is well defined, i.e., that if
a1 H = a2 H and b1 H = b2 H, then a1 b1 H = a2 b2 H. In other words, we have

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to show that no matter which elements x of aH and y of bH you choose, the
product xy is always in the same coset, abH. Suppose x = ah1 and y = bh2 .
Since H is normal, b1 h1 b H, so

xy = ah1 bh2 = ab (b1 h1 b)h2 abH.

It is now easy to show that the set of cosets is a group, with identity element
eH and with inverses given by (aH)1 = a1 H. QED

1.5 Conjugacy classes

The definition of normal subgroups suggests the concept of conjugacy.
Definition Let G be a group and a G. The elements gag 1 G are said
to be conjugate to a. The conjugacy class of a is the set

conj(a) = {gag 1 |g G}.

Conjugacy in the group GLn (R) of nn invertible real matrices  is known

 in
2 0
linear algebra as similarity. For example, the conjugacy class of a = in
0 3
GL2 (R) is the set 2 2 real matrices that can be diagonalized with eigenvalues
2 and 3. More generally, two n n invertible matrices in GLn (C) are conjugate
if and only if they have the same Jordan canonical form.
There are 1-element conjugacy classes. The identity forms a conjugacy class
{ e } in every group. Every conjugacy class in a commutative group contains
just one element. If ag = ga for every g G, so that a commutes with every
element of the group, then conj(a) = { a }. The size of its conjugacy classes is
some indication of the degree to which a group fails to be commutative.
Lemma Let a, b G. Then either conj(a) = conj(b) or conj(a)conj(b) = .
(The conjugacy classes form a partition of G and conjugacy is an equivalence
relation on group elements.)
Proof. If conj(a) conj(b) 6= then there there exist g1 and g2 such that

g1 ag11 = g2 bg21 .

It follows that
a = g11 g2 bg21 g1
Now let x = gag 1 conj(a). We have

x = gag 1 = gg11 g2 bg21 g1 g 1 = (gg11 g2 )b(gg11 g2 )1 conj(b).

Thus conj(a) conj(b). Similarly, conj(b) conj(a), so conj(b) = conj(a). QED

You can think of a group as the union of its (nonoverlapping) conjugacy
classes. If H is a subgroup of G, then H is a union of the conjugacy classes of
H. The subgroup is normal if it is also a union of conjugacy classes of G. For
H to normal, it is necessary and sufficient that there be no conjugacy class of
G that is partly in H and partly outside H.

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1.6 Simple groups
If H is a normal subgroup of G such that H contains more than the identity
element but is not all of G, then you can think that G can be constructed in
some way starting with the two smaller groups H and G/H. We say that G is
a simple group if it has no normal subgroups except for G and { e } (itself and
1). The simple groups are the building blocks for all groups.
One of the great achievements of twentieth century mathematics is a com-
plete listing of all finite simple groups. The cyclic groups of prime order are the
only commutative simple groups. The smallest noncommutative simple group,
which has order 60, is the group A5 of symmetries of the regular icosahedron. An
army of group theorists finished the classification of finite simple groups, find-
ing several families of such groups and 26 additional, so-called sporadic simple
groups, the largest of which, M , is known as the Monster and has order

|M | = 246 320 59 76 112 133 17 19 23 29 31 41 47 59 71 8.08 1053 .

1.7 Permutation groups

Two of the most general classes of groups are matrix groups and permutation
groups. In fact, every group is isomorphic to a group of matrices and to a group
of permutations.
Definition Given a set X, the symmetric group (aka permutation group)
SX is the set of 1-to-1 correspondences : X X where the binary operation
is function composition. The group Sn is the symmetric group on the set X =
{ 1, 2, . . . , n}.
Of course, we really dont care what the names of the elements being per-
muted are, only how many there are. In formal mathematical language, the
reason is that if |X| = |Y |, then SX and SY are isomorphic. We can make the
isomorphism explicit. Let h : X Y be a 1-1 correspondence from X to Y .
Then we can define the isomorphism f : SX SY by the rule

f () = h h1 : Y Y

for SX .
Since there are n! permutations of the n integers { 1, 2, . . . , n }, the group Sn
has order |Sn | = n!. For example S3 has order 6 and S4 has order 24.
Lets focus on Sn . The simplest elements of Sn are the cycles. The cycle
= (a1 a2 . . . ak ) where the ai are distinct elements of the set { 1, 2, . . . , n } is
the permutation such that
ai+1 if a = ai for 1 i < k
(
(a) = a1 if a = ak
a if a 6= ai .

We say that takes a1 to a2 , and a2 to a3 , etc and takes ak to a1 (hence the

word cycle) and keeps all the other elements fixed. We say that has length

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k and that it is a k-cycle. The 1-cycles, (a), are just different representations of
the identity element of the group, with keeps all elements fixed.
For example, a table of values for the 3-cycle = (143) S5 is
a 1 2 3 4 5
.
(a) 4 2 1 3 5
Notice that (143), (431) and (314) all represent the same element of S5 .
The 2-cycles are called transpositions and have order 2. Notice that every
k-cycle can be expressed as a product of k 1 transpositions by the process
suggested by the example
(abcde) = (ae)(ad)(ac)(ab).
It is very convenient that every element of Sn equals a product of disjoint
cycles, i.e., where each cycle in the product moves different elements. For exam-
ple, some elements of S5 are (153)(24) = (531)(42), (23)(45), and (125). This
product is unique except for (1) the order in which the factors in the product
are written (which does not matter because disjoint cycles commute) and (2)
which of the elements of each individual cycle appear first in the cycle notation.
Example. The six elements of S3 are
e = (1), (12), (23), (31), (123), (132).
The group is noncommutative:
(12)(23) = (123), (23)(12) = (132).
Notice that S4 contains several subgroups isomorphic to S3 , namely
S{1,2,3} , S{1,2,4} , S{1,3,4} , S{2,3,4} .
Definition The cycle structure of a permutation Sn is the list, in
decreasing order, of the lengths of the disjoint cycles in its expression as a
product of disjoint cycles. Include the lengths of 1-cycles (i) for the integers
that i such that (i) = i, so the sum of the lengths of the cycles is always n.
Example: The cycle structure of = (235)(69)(47) = (235)(69)(47)(1)(8)
S9 is (3, 2, 2, 1, 1).
Definition A partition of n 1 is a decreasing sequence of positive integers
whose sum is n.
It is clear that the cycles structures of Sn are exactly the same as the par-
titions of n. For example, the five cycle structures of S4 are (4), (3, 1), (2, 2),
(2, 1, 1), (1, 1, 1, 1).
Theorem Two permutations in Sn are conjugate if and only if they have
the same cycle structure. There is exactly one conjugacy class in Sn for each
cycle structure.
Proof. The key observation is that conjugates of cycle are cycles of the same
length. For example, for Sn
(abc) 1 = ((a)(b)(c)).

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 The proof of the full theorem is a computation which is best illustrated in a
special case.
Let g = (abc)(pq)(w) and h = (ABC)(P Q)(W ) be two elements with the
same (3, 2,1) cycle structure in S6 . Let S5 have table of values

x a b c p q w
.
(x) A B C P Q W
Then
g 1 = h
which shows that g and h are conjugate. QED
As an example, lets find all the conjugacy classes of the symmetric group
S4 which has order 24.

The 5 Conjugacy classes of S4

cycle structure num elements elements
4 6 (1234), (1324), (1423)
(1243), (1342), (1432)
3,1 8 (123), (132), (124), (142)
(134), (143), (234), (243)
2,2 3 (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23)
2,1,1 6 (12), (13), (14), (23), (24), (34)
1,1,1,1 1 e

It is easy to check that the set H = { e, (12)(34), (13)(24), (14)(23) } is a

subgroup of S4 . Since it is a union of conjugacy classes of S4 , it is actually a
normal subgroup of S4 . Hence the quotient group Q = S4 /H is defined it has
order
|S4 | 24
|Q| = = = 6.
|H| 4
It is an instructive exercise to list the six cosets of H in S4 and explicitly show
an isomorphism of Q and S3 .

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