Abstract Algebra

September 2014
1 Basic Concepts
1.1 Sets
A set is a collection of elements, those elements being numbers, symmetries,
shapes, etc. Examples of sets are the integers, the rational numbers, the real
numbers, and many other collections of numbers.
An example of a set you may not have seen is that of the integers modulo
n, Z
n
or modular arithmetic. Modular arithmetic is similar to the usual sort
of arithmetic but takes place on a number clock rather than a number line, so
if the modulus was 5 we would have, essentially, a clock with 5 numbers on it
- except 0 is put in place of 5 - so that 4 + 2 = 1, 4
2
= 1, 4 3 = 2 and so
on. A better way to think of it is that you are representing numbers as their
remainders when divided by the modulus, so 123 = 245+3, so 123 3(mod5).
Alternatively, one can say that 123 has a residue of 3 in Z
5
.
Formally, for this reason, the elements in the set of modular integers are
called residue classes.
The set of modular integers is the collection of all possible residue classes
for a particular modulus.
One thing you might notice about some sets, such as the integers and the
rationals, is that in some sense one is contained within the other - every integer
is a rational number, too, for example. If every member of one set is also in
another set, then it can be said to be a subset of that other set. So ZQ
means that the integers are a subset of the rationals. Another sign is used to
represent that one set is either a subset or is equal to another, so if for sets A
and B, A B and B A, then A = B, i.e. the two sets are exactly the same.
One more piece of notation is , which means is a member of, so for example
4 Z.
1.2 Groups
A group is a type of set in which there is an operation associated with it that is
used to combine elements, so for example with integers that could be addition.
We say that the integers under addition are a group. However a group is more
than just a set that has an operation, it must also obey four axioms, or rules.
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These are:
1. The group must be closed, if a G, where G represents some group,
and b G, then ab G. By ab or a b I just mean a and b, combined under
the operation. With this notation ab could even mean a + b. This is just the
notation I prefer to use, it is valid to use addition as notation, too, if you want.
2. The operation must be associative, so (ab)c = a(bc), i.e. brackets do
not matter. This is not the same as commutativity, that ab = ba, that does
not have to hold, and doesnt for some operations of groups, such as matrix
multiplication.
3. There exists an identity, denoted 1 (or ), such that 1a = a1 = a. The
identity is the do nothing element, an example would be 0 in additive integers
because a + 0 = a. There is only ever one identity for a specic operation,
something which can be easily proved. If 1 and 1

were both identities then 1

= 1 1

, but 1 1

= 1

, so 1 = 1

.
4. Every element g has an inverse g
1
, such that g
1
g = gg
1
= 1. The
example in additive integers is that every integer has a negative, such that
a+(a) = (a) +a = 0. For every element there is only 1 inverse, which could
even be the element itself, in which case it is said to be self inverse. This is
again, simple to prove, as if a
1
= b or b
1
, then ab = 1 = ba and b
1
a = 1 = ab
1
,
so b
1
= b
1
1 = b
1
(ab) = 1b = b.
Were you to check, you would see that Z under addition is a group, for it
obeys all four axioms but Z

, integers under multiplication, is not a group. Z

obeys axioms 1, 2 and 3, but not 4, as if you multiply two integers, a and b,
together, you can never get the answer 1 (unless, of course, a and b are both
1). One of the numbers must be a rational number, say b =
1
a
= a
1
. This
seems to imply that Q

is a group, but it is not unless you exclude 0, for 0 has

no inverse
1
0
. This applies to R

and C

, too, so generally Q

, C

, and R

are
taken to mean without 0.
Here are a few more notations associated with groups:
If g G, then ggg=g
3
, or if n-many gs, g
n
. The rules for exponents in
groups are the same as with numbers, so g
a
g
b
= g
a+b
and (g
a
)
b
= g
ab
, a, b
Z.
In the familiar integers, we know that if a+b = a+c, then b=c. This is
known as a (one-sided) cancellation law, and holds for groups in general, as
shown by the following proof: If gh = gf, then by multiplying by g
1
on the
left side, g
1
gh = g
1
gf, so 1h = 1f = h = f. Therefore h and f are the same
element. You can do similarly if hg = fg but cannot do anything if gh = fg
unless G is said to be an abelian group, i.e. the operation is commutative.
One good example of a group that does not involve numbers is the group
of symmetries of a triangle (g1). A triangle has three reectional symmetries,
2
which we shall denote
a
,
b
and
c
, with a, b, c representing the lines of sym-
metry - the letters are in order, clockwise round the triangle at the vertexes. A
triangle can also be rotated clockwise 120 degrees 3 times, denoted
120
,
240
,

360
, with each rotation placing the triangle perfectly onto itself. Therefore if we
take S
3
to be the set of triangle symmetries, then this set contains six elements,
with
360
= . Hopefully you can see, however, that it doesnt need to be so
complex, for the other rotations can be made by simply repeating the rst, so
in fact we can just take
120
= and the other two rotations as =
2
and
=
3
= .
Similarly, though maybe less obvious, if you take
a
= , then
b
=
2
and

c
= . Thus, S
3
= {, ,
2
, , ,
2
}.
Other useful things to notice are that = , and so as
1
=
2
,
=
2
=
2
, and similarly
2
= . Also, all elements containing (in
simplest form) are self inverse. If you were to draw up a table of elements and
their combinations, you would see that the group is closed. It would also be
possible to verify that the operation is associative. Every element has an inverse,
and clearly 1 exists. Thus S
3
is a group.
Figure 1: Triangle Symmetries
It is now possible to represent S
3
as an abstract group, which means that
all that is dened is how many elements there are, and the rules for combining
them, essentially a template which the group follows. So for S
3
the abstract
group, called D
3
- the dihedral group of order 3 - for reasons youll later see,
is dened as D
3
= {1, a, a
2
, b, ba, ba
2
} aba = b. Abstract groups are a useful
concept as if one can prove a theorem about an abstract group (or better yet,
an abstract group family) then that theorem will be true for all groups that
3
have that abstract group. Youll notice that there are 3!=6 elements in D
3
, so
this abstract group could also represent the number of dierent ways to arrange,
or permute, 3 objects. Permutation groups are some of the most important
groups in group theory, as a theorem known as Cayleys Theorem will show.
1.3 Subgroups
The concept of a subset is quite easy to understand, and subgroups are simply
an extension of that concept. A subgroup of a group is a subset of that group
that is also a group, i.e. it obeys the four axioms. An example would be the
subset {1, a, a
2
} in D
3
, as D
3
s operation is associative then so is this subsets,
this subset contains 1, every element has an inverse, and it is closed as a
3
=1,
thus this set is a group, called C
3
- the cyclic group of order 3. As every subset
will have the same associative operation, to test if a subset is a subgroup one
only needs to test the other three axioms. There is a simpler test for subgroups
of nite groups - those with a nite number of elements - which is that you
simply need to check if the subset is closed.
Heres a proof of why:
Let us take h H, where H is a closed subset of a nite group G. As H
is closed every power, h, h
2
, h
3
. . . etc is also in H, and as there are only so
many elements the powers cant all be distinct. So for some power n, and m,
h
n
= h
n+m
. This implies that h
m
= 1. So 1 is a member of H. Similarly h
m1
is the inverse of h. Thus, H is a subgroup as the choice of h was arbitrary.
Im also going to prove the existence of so called conjugate subgroups, writ-
ing it in the format of a theorem to be proven.
.
Theorem: Let H be a subgroup of a group G, then if g G, gHg
1
is also
a subgroup of G. gHg
1
= {ghg
1
|g G, h H}.
Proof: 1 is a member of gHg
1
, as g1g
1
= gg
1
= 1. Also, if h H, then
(ghg
1
)
1
is just gh
1
g
1
as ghg
1
gh
1
g
1
= ghh
1
g
1
= gg
1
= 1, so every
element has an inverse. It is closed as if h and h
1
are H, ghg
1
gh
1
g
1
=
ghh
1
g
1
, which as hh
1
H, is also a member of gHg
1
. Thus, gHg
1
is a
subgroup.
If for a specic g, g is also H, then as the subgroup H is closed, gHg
1
= H, just rearranged. If gHg
1
= H is true for every g G, even those not
in H, then H is said to be a normal subgroup of G. This is a very important
type of subgroup that Ill revisit in later talks. Now Ill move onto the last topic
for the moment, a look at a specic family of abstract groups, known as cyclic
groups.
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1.4 Cyclic Groups
Cyclic groups are those of the form {1, a, a
2
, a
3
, a
4
...a
n1
}, and are denoted C
n
,
with n being the number of elements in the group, or alternatively a. If you
look at the additive integers, they are an example of a cyclic group, with a =
1 (the number, not the identity), and 1
2
meaning 1+1. Another example is the
group of rotational symmetries of a triangle - or any regular polygon. Heres
the rst important theorem about these types of groups:

Theorem 1: Let g be the cyclic group generated by g:

If | g | (the size of the group) is nite, with g
n
= 1 (n > 0 and is the
smallest such integer) then:
1. g
k
= 1 if and only if n|k (this means that n is a divisor of k, or, if you
like, k is a multiple of n).
2. g
k
= g
m
if and only if k m (mod n).
3. g = {1, g, g
2
. . . g
n1
} and all of these powers up to n are distinct.
If | g | is innite, then:
4. g
k
= 1 if and only if k = 0
5. g
k
= g
m
if and only if k = m
6. g = {. . . g
2
, g
1
, 1, g, g
2
. . . } and every single power is distinct.
Proof:
1. If n|k, then k = qn, q Z, thus g
k
= (g
n
)
q
= 1
q
= 1. Conversely, if
g
k
= 1, then k = qn + r, with r being the remainder of
k
n
, r < n. r = k qn,
so g
r
= g
kqn
= g
k
(g
n
)
q
= 1. But r < n, and we said that n is the smallest
such integer, so r = 0, thus k = qn.
2. g
k
= g
m
if and only if g
km
= 1, therefore as k m is a multiple of n by
(1), k and m must have the same remainder if divided by n, so k m (mod n).
3. Clearly {1, g, g
2
. . . g
n1
} is at least subset of g. To prove it equals g
take some g
k
, with k = qn + r (r < n), then g
k
= g
r
(g
n
)
q
, = g
r
1, so every
member of g is also a member of {1, g, g
2
. . . g
n1
}, so - as the two are subsets
of each other - they equal each other.
4. Clearly g
k
= 1 if k = 0. If g
k
= 1 when k = 0, then g
k
= g
k
1
= 1, too.
Thus g
n
= 1 for some n > 0. This implies that | g | is nite, and thus cant
be true as we said that | g | is innite.
5. g
k
= g
m
if and only if g
km
= 1, thus k m = 0 by (4), so k = m.
6. g = {g
k
|k Z} by denition, so all you need to do is show that the
powers are all distinct, but this was proven in (5).
Note: A if and only if B means that if A is true, then B is true, and if B
is true, then A is true. A if B means that if B is true, then A is true, but if A
is true, then B is not necessarily true also.
.
Due to the fact that powers of an element in a group will always form a cyclic
group, we can dene the order of an element g, | g |, as the order (number of
elements) of the cyclic group formed by that element, | g |. Ill now move on
to prove several more theorems about these groups:
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.
Theorem 2: Every cyclic group is abelian, i.e. its operation is commuta-
tive.
Proof: Let G = g be a cyclic group generated by g. If x, y G, let
x = g
k
and y = g
m
, with k, m Z. The exponent laws show that xy = g
k
g
m
=
g
k+m
= g
m+k
= g
m
g
k
= yx, so G is an abelian group.
Theorem 3: Every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic.
Proof: Suppose that G = g is cyclic and let H be a subgroup of G. If
H = {1}, i.e. it only contains the identity element, then H = 1 and so is
cyclic. Otherwise let g
k
H, k = 0. As H is a subgroup (g
k
)
1
= g
k
H,
so we can assume k > 0 as if it is not we can just use its inverse instead to the
same eect. Hence let m be the smallest positive integer such that g
m
H.
Then g
m
H, at least. If for a g
k
H, k = qm + r and the remainder
r = 0, then g
m
= H for every k is a multiple of m. This condition is true as
g
r
= (g
m
)
q
g
k
H, which cannot be true unless r = 0 as r < m and we said
that m was the smallest positive integer for which g
m
H.
Theorem 4: Let G = g be a cyclic group, where | g | = n. Then G could
also be generated by other elements g
k
, if and only if the greatest common
denominator between k and n (from now on written gcd(k,n)) = 1.
Proof: If G = g
k
, then g g
k
, say g = g
km
, where m Z. Thus g
1
=
g
km
, so n divides 1km as g
1km
= g
kmkm
= 1. So 1km = qn (q Z), and
1 = km + qn. If you were to look up something called Euclids algorithm you
would see formally that this implies that the greatest common denominators
between the two are 1, but to help accept that fact think about whether or not
it would be possible for mk +qn to = 1 (m or q could be negative), if gcd(k,n)
= 1. Conversely, by the same logic, gcd(k,n) = 1 implies that 1 = xk + yn for
some integers x and y, hence g = g
1
= g
xk+yn
= g
xk
1
y
= (g
k
)
x
g
k
, so G =
g
k
, too.
Now onto the last and most important theorem for the moment, The Fundamental
Theorem of Finite Cyclic Groups:
Theorem 5: Let G = g be a cyclic group of order n, then:
1. If H is any subgroup of G, then H = g
d
for some d|n.
2. If H is any subgroup of G with | H | = k, then k|n.
3. Following (2), if k|n, then g
n/k
is the subgroup of G of order k.
Proof: Starting with 1:
1. If | H | = 1, then this is true as 1 is a divisor of everything. If the order
is not 1, then let H = g
m
for some m > 0. Let d = gcd(m,n), then as d|n
if we show that H = g
d
then it is proven. Well d|m too, say m = qd, so
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g
m
= (g
d
)
q
g
d
, hence H g
d
. However d = xm + yn (again, by Euclids
Algorithm), with x, y Z, so g
d
= (g
m
)
x
(g
n
)
y
= (g
m
)
x
1
y
= (g
m
)
x
g
m
= H.
Thus g
d
H, and therefore g
d
= H.
2. By (1) let H = g
d
, where d|n, then
n
d
= | H | = k. Thus k|n.
3. Let K be a subgroup of G of order k. (1) shows that K = g
m
, with
m|n, thus k =| K |=| g
m
|=
n
m
. Algebraic manipulation shows that
n
k
= m, so
K = g
n/k
.
Part (2) of that theorem is actually true for every single group, even those
that are not cyclic. This is a result known as Lagranges theorem, which you will
see after Cayleys Theorem. That wraps it up for the rst, and almost certainly
longest, part of this series on Abstract Algebra, there are some questions here
for you to try out if you want to have a go at the university style of questions,
involving logical proof.
QUESTIONS
In order of diculty:
1. Show that | h | = | ghg
1
| for all g, h G.
2. Show that | gh | = | hg | for all g, h G.
3. If G = {1, g
1
, g
2
, g
2
, . . . g
r
} is an abelian group, show that the product
1g
1
g
2
g
3
. . . g
r
is equal to the product of the elements of order 2 (the self inverse
ones).
4. Prove Wilsons Theorem: If p is a prime number then (p 1)! 1
(mod p). [Hint: Consider the group Z
p

- the group of multiplicative integers

modulo p, which contains every residue class except 0 - as well as Q3.]
To be clear, G refers to any group, thus you simply need to think using the
axioms, the theorems shown and whatever algebraic manipulation is possible.
Also, for those who havent encountered it yet, n! mean n factorial, or 1 2
3 ... (n 1) n.
If you need help with what the questions are asking, or have an answer you
want checked but dont want to visit the Maths Group to give it to me, then
just email me on G-online.
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