Group Theory

1. Groups. Definitions and Basic Results

Let G be a nonempty set. We define a binary operation on G to be a function • : G × G → G.
Given a, b ∈ G, we denote •(a, b) = a • b. A binary operation • is called associative if for any
a, b, c ∈ G, a • (b • c) = (a • b) • c. Finally, if a • b = b • a, we say that • is commutative.

Example 1.1
1) + as the usual addition is a binary operation in Z, Q, R, and C. It is associative and commutative.
2) the cross product between vectors in R3 is a binary operation that is not commutative nor associative.

For a set G with binary operation •, a subset H ⊆ G is said to be closed under • if for all
a, b ∈ H we have a • b ∈ H.

Definition 1.1 A group is a pair (G, •), where G is a set and • a binary operation on G that satisfies
the following conditions:

i) a • (b • c) = (a • b) • c for all a, b, c ∈ G.
ii) there is a element e ∈ G such that a • e = e • a = a. Such e is called the (two-sided) identity of
G.
iii) For each a ∈ G there is a element a−1 ∈ G with a−1 • a = a • a−1 = e. Such a−1 is called the
(two-sided) inverse of a.

If it is also the case that a • b = b • a for all a, b ∈ G, we say that the group (G, •) is commutative or
abelian. If G is a finite set, we say the group is finite.

When there is no risk of confusion we will be less formal and omit the operation •, denoting
an abstract group (G, •) just by G, and writing the operation between a, b ∈ G as ab.

Example 1.2
1) Z is a group under the usual + operation, with identity e = 0 and inverse a−1 = −a. The same goes for
Q, R and C.
2) if (G1 , •) and (G2 , ?) are groups, we define a new group G1 × G2 , called the direct product between G1
and G2 , as the Cartesian product of G1 and G2 , with a component-wise binary operation

(a1 , b1 )(a2 , b2 ) = (a1 • a2 , b1 ? b2 ).

The fact that G1 × G2 is a group follows easily from the component-wise operation.

Proposition 1.1 For a group G,

a) the identity e in G is unique.
b) for each a ∈ G its inverse a−1 ∈ G is unique.
c) for all a ∈ G, (a−1 )−1 = a.
d) for all a, b ∈ G, (ab)−1 = b−1 a−1 .

Proof.
a) if e and e 0 are both identities in G, then e = ee 0 = e 0 , so e = e 0 , and the identity is unique.
b) if both b and c are inverses for a, we have

c = ce = c(ab) = (ca)b = eb = b.

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c) by definition (a−1 )−1 is the inverse of a−1 . As a is also the inverse of a−1 , and since by b) the inverse
is unique, we have (a−1 )−1 = a.
d) we have
(ab)(ab)−1 = e.

Also,
(ab)(b−1 a−1 ) = a(bb−1 )a−1 = (ae)a−1 = aa−1 = e.

⇒ (ab)−1 = b−1 a−1 .

Therefore (ab)(ab)−1 = (ab)(b−1 a−1 ) =

We now analyze associativity and commutativity for a product of n ∈ N elements in a given

group G. For example, there are many ways of computing the product of a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 ∈ G :

((a1 a2 )a3 )a4 , (a1 (a2 a3 ))a4 , (a1 a2 )(a3 a4 ), . . .

and in general, we break the product of a sequence a1 , a2 , · · · , an into two subsequences a1 , . . . , am

and am+1 , . . . , an , for 1 ≤ m < n. If we know how to calculate these two subsequences, we calculate
their binary product to obtain a result of the original sequence. By varying m, we have many ways
of calculating this sequence. Our objective is to show this process is independent of such choice of
subsequences. This is clear for n = 1, where the product is just the element Q a 1 . 
Qn Q1 Qn n−1
To prove this, define i=1 ai by i=1 ai = a1 and i=1 ai = i=1 ai an . the following
lemma will make things easier.

Lemma 1.1 For m + n elements of a group G,

Y
m Y
n Y
m+n
ai am+j = ak .
i=1 j=1 k=1

Proof. We’ll use induction on n. For n = 1, the result holds by definition. Suppose it holds for a
given n ∈ N∗ . Then, for n + 1,
  
Y
m Y
n+1 Y
m Yn
ai am+j = ai   am+j  am+n+1 
i=1 j=1 i=1 j=1
 
Y
m Y
n
= ai am+j  am+n+1
i=1 j=1

Y
m+n Y
m+n+1
!
= ak am+n+1 = ak .
k=1 k=1

Now, for the product associated with the sequence a1 , a2 , · · · , an , when we break it into two
subsequences, we obtain a product uv, where u is the product related to a1 , . . . , am , and v related
Q Qn−m
to am+1 , . . . , an . By induction we can assume that u = m i=1 ai and v = j=1 am+j . Applying the
Qn
previous lemma we obtain uv = i=1 ai .
With this result we se the product of n elements of a group is uniquely determined. We shall
denote this product by a1 a2 · · · an , omitting the parenthesis, since de product is independent of their
position and order.

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1.1. Monoids and Semigroups
We briefly discuss some algebraic objects with less structure than groups.

Definition 1.2

1) A semigroup is a pair (M, •) where M is a nonempty set with a binary operation • which is
associative.
2) A monoid is a triple (M, •, e) where (M, •) is a semigroup and e ∈ M is a (two-sided) identity
element of the operation •.
3) A semigroup is abelian or commutative its binary operation is commutative.

As with groups, we omit references to the binary operation of semigroups and monoids when there is
no risk of confusion.

With these definitions, we see that a group G is a monoid (G, •, e) where every element a ∈ G
has a (two-sided) inverse element a−1 ∈ G.

1.2. Symmetric Groups

Let X be a nonempty set, SX (or Sym X) be the set of all bijections from X to itself (also
known as the set of permutations of X). With function composition as its binary operation, we see
easily that (SX , ◦) is a group, called the symmetric group on the set X.
A very important case is when X = {1, 2 . . . , n}, we denote its symmetric group by Sn , the
symmetric group of degree n. For such groups, is is standard to denote a permutation σ using matrix
notation !
1 2 3 ··· n
σ=
σ(1) σ(2) σ(3) · · · σ(n)
where in the first row we list all elements 1, 2 . . . , n, and in the second row we list the image of σ
corresponding to the element right above.
We first show that the order of Sn is n!. The permutations of X = {1, 2, . . . , n} are precisely
the injections σ : X → X, since X is finite. We count all these functions: σ ∈ Sn can send σ(1) into any
{1, 2, . . . , n}, and so we have n possibilities. Having chosen a σ(1), we pick σ(2) as any {1, 2, . . . , n}
except σ(1) (since we want σ to be injective), and now we have n − 1 possibilities. We keep this
process until σ(n), having only one possibility. We then have n(n − 1) · · · 1 = n! distinct injective
functions in Sn , so its order is n!.
To illustrate, lets look at S3 . We now know it’s order is 6. They are
! ! !
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
σ0 = σ1 = σ2 =
1 2 3 1 3 2 3 1 2
! ! !
1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3
σ3 = σ4 = σ5 =
2 1 3 2 3 1 3 2 1

To compute a product of elements in S3 , say σ1 ◦ σ2 , we simply note that

(σ1 ◦ σ2 )(1) = σ1 (σ2 (1)) = σ1 (3) = 2

(σ1 ◦ σ2 )(2) = σ1 (σ2 (2)) = σ1 (1) = 1
(σ1 ◦ σ2 )(3) = σ1 (σ2 (3)) = σ1 (2) = 3,

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therefore, !
1 2 3
σ1 ◦ σ2 = = σ3 .
2 1 3
In a more pictorial way, we obtain σ1 ◦ σ2 by following the arrows, starting from σ2
!
1 2 3
σ2 =
3 1 2

!
1 2 3
σ1 =
1 3 2

In general, to compute a product of permutations σ ◦ τ we start from right to left, following how the
first permutation τ acts on the set, then applying its result in σ.
We compute the other multiplications in a similar fashion, welding the multiplication table
for S3 :

◦ σ0 σ1 σ2 σ3 σ4 σ5
σ0 σ0 σ1 σ2 σ3 σ4 σ5
σ1 σ1
σ2 σ2
σ3 σ3
σ4 σ4
σ5 σ5

We now develop a efficient notation for permutations in Sn , the cycle decomposition. A

cycle is a string of integers which represents a element in Sn that cyclically permutes these integers,
while keeping all others fixed. The cycle (a1 a2 . . . am ) denotes the permutation which sends ak to
ak+1 , 1 ≤ k ≤ m − 1 and am to a1 . For example, the cycle (2 1 3) denotes a permutation σ such that
σ(2) = 1, σ(1) = 3 and σ(3) = 2. The length of a cycle is the number of integer numbers listed in such
cycle, so (a1 a2 . . . am ) has m integers and its length is m. A cycle of length k is called k-cycle. We
say that two cycles are disjoint if they don’t have any numbers in common.
For a given permutation σ ∈ Sn , we rearrange and group all elements in {1, 2, . . . , n} into k
cycles
(a1 a2 . . . am1 )(am1 +1 am1 +2 . . . am2 ) . . . (amk−1 +1 amk−1 +2 . . . amk ), (1)

where we can now easily read the action of σ into the set {1, 2, . . . , n} : given any j ∈ {1, 2, . . . , n}, we
locate j’s position in the above cycles, and determine σ(j) using the cycle’s rules. Such procedure is
illustrated in the following diagram:

→ a1 → a2 → · · · → am1

→ am1 +1 → am1 +2 → · · · → am2

..
.
→ amk−1 +1 → amk−1 +2 → · · · → amk

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The notation in (1) is called cycle decomposition of σ. It is common practice to omit 1-cycles This
notation adds another way o computing a product of permutations. For example, the result of
(1 2 3) ◦ (1 2)(3 4) is obtained by “following the permutations” from right to left. 1 permutes with 2,
and then 2 permutes with 3, so the resulting permutation starts with (1 3. Now, 3 permutes with 4,
and, in the second cycle, 4 is fixed, so the resulting permutations sends 3 into 4, and is now (1 3 4.
Also, 2 is fixed in the resulting permutation, and therefore (1 2 3) ◦ (1 2)(3 4) = (1 3 4).
This notation also help us single out a few proprieties of Sn . We observe (1 2) ◦ (1 3) = (1 3 2),
but (1 3) ◦ (1 2) = (1 2 3), so we have that Sn is non-abelian for n ≥ 3. We also easily see that disjoint
cycles commute, that is, if (a1 a2 . . . am ) and (b1 b2 . . . bk ) are disjoint cycles,

(a1 a2 . . . am )(b1 b2 . . . bk ) = (b1 b2 . . . bk )(a1 a2 . . . am ).

2. Group Actions

A group action of the group G on a set A is a map G × A → A denoted as g·a, for every
g ∈ G and a ∈ A, which satisfies

1) g1 ·(g2 ·a) = (g1 g2 )·a, for all g1 , g2 ∈ G and all a ∈ A.

2) 1·a = a, for all a ∈ A.

For each fixed g ∈ G, define the map σg by

σg : A → A
σg (a) 7→ g·a

We prove the following:

Proposition 2.1

i) For each fixed g ∈ G, the map σg : A → A is a permutation of the set A.

ii) The map g 7→ σg is a homomorphism from G into SA .

Proof. To prove i), we show σg has a two-side invertible map, with inverse σg−1 . For any a ∈ A,

(σg ◦ σg−1 )(a) = σg (σg−1 (a))

= σg (g−1 ·a)
= g·(g−1 ·a)
= (gg−1 )·a
= 1·a = a.

An analogous calculation also show us that (σg−1 ◦ σg )(a) = a, proving σg ∈ SA .

To prove ii), define the map ϕ : G → SA , ϕ(g) = σg . We wish to show ϕ(g1 g2 ) = ϕ(g1 ) ◦ ϕ(g2 ). Since
both ϕ(g1 g2 ) and ϕ(g1 ) ◦ ϕ(g2 ) are functions A → A, they are equal if and only if they agree on all

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a ∈ A. So, given any a ∈ A,

ϕ(g1 g2 )(a) = σg1 g2 (a)

= (g1 g2 )·a
= g1 ·(g2 ·a)
= σg1 ((σg2 )(a))
= (ϕ(g1 ) ◦ ϕ(g2 ))(a),

proving the desired result.

The homomorphism G → SA as above is called the permutation representation of the given

action. We also note that, given a homomorphism ϕ : G → SA , it induces a group action of G on A by
setting g·a = ϕ(g)(a) for all g ∈ G and a ∈ A.
If the action of a group G on a set A is such that distinct elements of G induce distinct
permutations in SA , we say this action is faithful. We see that the permutation representation of a
faithful action is injective.
The kernel of an action G on a group A is the set {g ∈ G | g·a = a for all a ∈ A}.

3. Subgroups
For a group G, a nonempty subset H ⊆ G is a subgroup of G if H is closed under the binary
operation and inverses, that is

i) for every h1 , h2 ∈ H we have h1 h2 ∈ H.

ii) if h ∈ H then h−1 ∈ H.

Subgroups are groups on their own right: the binary operation and associativity are inherited
from the original group. Inverse elements are in the subgroup by definition, and since for a x in the
subgroup, x−1 is in the subgroup, x−1 x = e is in the subgroup, so the identity is in the subgroup.
We’ll use the notation H ≤ G when H is a subgroup of G. When we want to emphasize that
H 6= G (H is a proper subgroup of G) we’ll use the notation H < G.
We now look at a result that will simplify deciding whether a subset of a group is a subgroup,
especially when the subgroup is finite.

Proposition 3.1 (Subgroup Criterion) A subset H of a group G is a subgroup if and only if H

is nonempty and for all x, y ∈ H we have xy−1 ∈ H. Furthermore, when H is finite, it suffices to
check if is nonempty and closed under multiplication.

Proof. Assuming H is a subgroup of G, H is nonempty by definition and, for x, y ∈ H, we clearly

have xy−1 ∈ H.
Now, assuming the hypotheses, since H 6= ∅ there exists some x ∈ H. Let y = x. By hypothesis,
xy−1 = xx−1 = 1 ∈ H. Since H contains x and 1, it contains 1x−1 = x−1 , and therefore is closed under
inverses. For x, y ∈ H, we now know y−1 ∈ H, therefore x(y−1 )−1 = xy ∈ H, and H is closed under its
binary operation, proving that H is a subgroup of G.
Moreover, if H is finite and closed under multiplication, there are only a finite amount of distinct
elements among all x, x2 , x3 , . . . , so there are integers a, b, a < b such that xa = xb . For n = b − a,
xn = 1, and 1 ∈ H, therefore xn−1 = x−1 ∈ H, proving H is closed under inverses and is a subgroup of
G.

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3.1. Subgroups Generated by Subsets
Let G be a group, and a1 , a2 , . . . , an ∈ G. The subgroup generated by a1 , a2 , . . . , an (the
generators of the subgroup), denoted by ha1 , a2 , . . . , an i is a subset of G composed of all possible
finite products of the elements a1 , a2 , . . . , an and its inverses. It is readily seen that such subset is a
subgroup of G.
More generally, let A be a subset of a group G. We define and analyze a subgroup generated
by such set. First, a needed result.

Proposition 3.2 Let A be a nonempty collection of subgroups of a group G. Then the intersection
of all members in A is a subgroup of G.

Proof. Let
\
K= H.
H∈A

Since every H ∈ A is a subgroup of G, 1 ∈ H for all H ∈ A, which implies 1 ∈ K and K 6= ∅. Now,

given x, y ∈ K, x, y ∈ H, which are subgroups, so xy−1 ∈ H for all H ∈ A and therefore xy−1 ∈ K. By
proposition 3.1, K is a subgroup of G.

For any subset A of a group G (not necessarily finite or even countable) we define the subgroup
generated by A as
\
hAi = H.
A⊆H
H≤G

Thus hAi is the intersection of all subgroups of G containing A. By the last proposition this is indeed
a subgroup, by applying to the collection A = {H ≤ G | H ⊇ A}. Such collection is nonempty because
A ⊆ G.
We observe that A ⊆ hAi since A is a subset of every subgroup H, which implies that hAi ∈ A,
because it is a subgroup of G by construction. Also, hAi is the unique minimal element of A in the
sense that any other element in A (that is, any subgroup that contains A) must contain hAi, since it
is the intersection of all subgroups containing A.
This approach facilitates the proof that there is a unique smallest subgroup of G containing a
given set, but it is not very useful for us to describe the elements inside the subgroup generated by a
set. Let us find alternative ways to describe hAi. We try to look for a similar situation as when we
defined the subgroup generated by a finite set. Let

A = {a1 1 a2 2 . . . ann | n ∈ N∗ , ai ∈ A, i = ±1},

and A = {1} if A = ∅. Note that we make no exigence that the ai ’s be distinct, and thus A is the set of
all possible finite products of elements in A and inverses of elements in A (called words). In this word
notation we write a2 as aa. We’ll see that this definition is equivalent to hAi.
First, lets prove that A is a subgroup. Clearly 1 ∈ A even when A = ∅, so A 6= ∅.
For a, b ∈ A, with a = a1 1 a2 2 . . . ann , b = bδ11 bδ22 . . . bδmm . We have b−1 = b−δ m −δm−1 −δ1
m bm−1 . . . b1 , so
ab−1 = a1 1 a2 2 . . . ann b−δm −δm−1 −δ1 −1 is a finite product of elements and
m bm−1 . . . b1 , showing that ab
inverse of elements in A, therefore ab−1 A, which by proposition 3.1 implies A is a subgroup of G.

Theorem 3.1 A = hAi.

Proof.

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3.2. Cyclic Groups and Subgroups
A (sub)group H generated by a single element is called cyclic. That is, there is a x ∈ H such
that H = hxi = {xn | n ∈ Z}. For example, Z is a cyclic group since 1 generates any k ∈ Z by summing
1 and −1 a finite number of times.
A cyclic group may have more than one generator. For x ∈ H such that H = hxi, we have
H = hx i, since {xn | n ∈ Z} = {(x−1 )n | n ∈ Z}.
−1

Cyclic groups are clearly abelian due to exponent rules.

4. Centralizers, Normalizers
We now construct a few subgroups of an arbitrary group G.

Definition 4.1 For a subset A ⊆ G we define its centralizer CG (A) to be the set

CG (A) = {g ∈ G | gag−1 = a, ∀a ∈ A}.

When A is a singleton {a}, we denote its centralizer by CG (a), and when A = G, we denote Z(G) =
CG (A), the center of G.

Since gag−1 = a ⇐⇒ ga = ag, the centralizer of A is the set of elements of G that commute
with all elements in A. Also, for the centralizer of a single element a ∈ G, we note that an a = aan , n
integer,
Let us see that CG (A) is indeed a group. first note that, for any a ∈ A, 1a = a1, therefore
1 ∈ CG (A), and it is nonempty. Now, given x, y ∈ CG (A), which means for all a ∈ A we have
xax−1 = a and yay−1 = a, we see that xy ∈ CG (A) : given a ∈ A,

(xy)a(xy)−1 = (xy)a(y−1 x−1 )

= x(yay−1 )x−1
| {z }
a
−1
= xax = a,

and CG (A) is closed under multiplications. Finally, for x ∈ CG (A) and any a ∈ A, we know xax−1 = a.
Multiplying this equation on the right by x and on the left by x−1 we obtain a = x−1 ax, therefore
x−1 ∈ CG (A), proving it is closed under inverses, and therefore a subgroup of G.

Definition 4.2 For A ⊆ G, define gAg−1 = {gag−1 | a ∈ A}. The normalizer of A in G is the set
NG (A) = {g ∈ G | gAg−1 = A}.

The proof that NG (A) is a subgroup of G is similar to CG (A)’s proof. We easily see 1A1 = A, so
1 ∈ NG (A). For a given x ∈ NG (A), which means xAx−1 = A, let’s see that x−1 Ax = A. Suppose u ∈ A,
so xux−1 ∈ xAx−1 = A, and xux−1 = a for some a ∈ A, therefore u = x−1 ax ∈ x−1 Ax and A ⊆ x−1 Ax.
Conversely, if u ∈ x−1 Ax, u = x−1 ax for some a ∈ A, which implies xux−1 = a ∈ A = xAx−1 , and
there exists a 0 ∈ A with xux−1 = xa 0 x−1 =⇒ u = a 0 ∈ A, and we see A ⊇ x−1 Ax, proving x−1 Ax = A
and x−1 ∈ NG (A). The proof NG (A) is closed under multiplication is very similar.

5. Stabilizers and Kernels

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References