Lecture 20

FUNDAMENTAL Theorem of
Finitely Generated Abelian Groups
(FTFGAG)

Warm up:
1. Let n  1500.
Find all sequences n1 ¥ n2 ¥ . . . ns ¥ 2 satisfying ni 1 ni


and n1      ns  n (where s can vary from sequence to

sequence)
2. Is Z3  Z3 cyclic? How about Z3  Z2 ?
Proposition
Let m, n P Z .
1. Zm  Zn  Zmn if and only if pm, nq  1.
2. If n  . . . pαk then Zn  Zp      Zp
pα1 1 k α1 αk .
1 k
Last time:

Definition
1. A group G is finitely generated if there is a finite subset A of
G such that G  xAy.
Last time:

Definition
1. A group G is finitely generated if there is a finite subset A of
G such that G  xAy.
2. For each r P Z with r ¥ 0, let Zr  Z  Z      Z be the
direct product of r copies of the group Z, where Z0  1. The
group Zr is called the free abelian group of rank r.
Last time:

Definition
1. A group G is finitely generated if there is a finite subset A of
G such that G  xAy.
2. For each r P Z with r ¥ 0, let Zr  Z  Z      Z be the
direct product of r copies of the group Z, where Z0  1. The
group Zr is called the free abelian group of rank r.

Theorem (FUNDAMENTAL Theorem of Finitely Generated

Abelian Groups)
If G is a finitely generated abelian group, then

G  Zr  Zn1  Zn      Zn
2 s

for some integers r, n1 ¥    ¥ ns ¥ 2 such that r ¥ 0 and


ni 
ni . Moreover, this expression is unique.
1
Theorem (FTFGAG)
If G is a finitely generated abelian group, then

G  Zr  Zn1  Zn      Zn
2 s

for some integers r, n1 ¥    ¥ ns ¥ 2 such that r ¥ 0 and


ni 
ni . Moreover, this expression is unique.
1

Definition
The integer r is called the free rank or Betti number of G and the
integers n1 , n2 , . . . , ns are called the invariant factors of G. The
description is called the invariant factor decomposition of G. If G
is finite, we call s the rank, and G is of type pn1 , . . . , ns q.
Theorem (FTFGAG)
If G is a finitely generated abelian group, then

G  Zr  Zn1  Zn      Zn
2 s

for some integers r, n1 ¥    ¥ ns ¥ 2 such that r ¥ 0 and


ni 
ni . Moreover, this expression is unique.
1

Definition
The integer r is called the free rank or Betti number of G and the
integers n1 , n2 , . . . , ns are called the invariant factors of G. The
description is called the invariant factor decomposition of G. If G
is finite, we call s the rank, and G is of type pn1 , . . . , ns q.
Proposition
Every prime divisor of n must divide the first invariant factor n1 .
Theorem (FTFGAG)
If G is a finitely generated abelian group, then

G  Zr  Zn1  Zn      Zn
2 s

for some integers r, n1 ¥    ¥ ns ¥ 2 such that r ¥ 0 and


ni 
ni . Moreover, this expression is unique.
1

Definition
The integer r is called the free rank or Betti number of G and the
integers n1 , n2 , . . . , ns are called the invariant factors of G. The
description is called the invariant factor decomposition of G. If G
is finite, we call s the rank, and G is of type pn1 , . . . , ns q.
Proposition
Every prime divisor of n must divide the first invariant factor n1 .

Corollary
If n is the product of distinct primes, then up to isomorphism the
only abelian group of order n is Zn , the cyclic group of order n.
Theorem (Primary decomposition theorem)
Let G be an abelian group of order n ¡ 1 where n factors into
primes as n  pα1 1 . . . pαk k . Then

G  A1  A2      Ak with |Ai |  pαi i .

Theorem (Primary decomposition theorem)
Let G be an abelian group of order n ¡ 1 where n factors into
primes as n  pα1 1 . . . pαk k . Then

G  A1  A2      Ak with |Ai |  pαi i .

Moreover, for each A P tA1 , . . . , Ak u with |A|  pα ,

A  Zpβ1      Zp βt

for some partition β1 ¥    ¥ βt ¥ 1 of α.

Theorem (Primary decomposition theorem)
Let G be an abelian group of order n ¡ 1 where n factors into
primes as n  pα1 1 . . . pαk k . Then

G  A1  A2      Ak with |Ai |  pαi i .

Moreover, for each A P tA1 , . . . , Ak u with |A|  pα ,

A  Zpβ1      Zp βt

for some partition β1 ¥    ¥ βt ¥ 1 of α.

Finally, these decompositions are unique.
Theorem (Primary decomposition theorem)
Let G be an abelian group of order n ¡ 1 where n factors into
primes as n  pα1 1 . . . pαk k . Then

G  A1  A2      Ak with |Ai |  pαi i .

Moreover, for each A P tA1 , . . . , Ak u with |A|  pα ,

A  Zpβ1      Zp βt

for some partition β1 ¥    ¥ βt ¥ 1 of α.

Finally, these decompositions are unique.

Definition
The integers pβj are called the elementary divisors of G. This
description of G is called its elementary divisor decomposition.
 G  A1  A2      Ak with |Ai |  pαi i .

Note: Ai is the unique Sylow pi -subgroup of G, so the primary

decomposition theorem really says
Every finite abelian group is isomorphic to
a direct product of its Sylow p-subgroups.
PART II: RING THEORY

Definition
1. A ring R is a set together with two binary operations and
 such that
1.1 pR, q is an abelian group,
1.2  is associative: pa  bq  c  a  pb  cq,
1.3 the distributive laws hold for R

pa bq c  pa  cq pb  cq and a pb cq  pa  bq pa  cq.

PART II: RING THEORY

Definition
1. A ring R is a set together with two binary operations and
 such that
1.1 pR, q is an abelian group,
1.2  is associative: pa  bq  c  a  pb  cq,
1.3 the distributive laws hold for R

pa bq c  pa  cq pb  cq and a pb cq  pa  bq pa  cq.

2. The ring R is commutative if  is commutative.
PART II: RING THEORY

Definition
1. A ring R is a set together with two binary operations and
 such that
1.1 pR, q is an abelian group,
1.2  is associative: pa  bq  c  a  pb  cq,
1.3 the distributive laws hold for R

pa bq c  pa  cq pb  cq and a pb cq  pa  bq pa  cq.

2. The ring R is commutative if  is commutative.
3. The ring R is said to have an identity if there is an element
1 P R with

1aa1a for all a P R.