MAT2ALC: Algebra, Linear Codes and Automata Assignment 3, 2018

Due: Monday, 10 September, 10AM.

Each page of your solutions must carry your name and your student number.
Scan your assignment, and submit it as a single pdf file through the LMS. The printers around
campus can be used to scan your assignment pages, and they can send a pdf of the scans to your
student email. There are also smart phone apps that you can use to scan your assignment. Submis-
sions that are not single pdf files will not be marked. By submitting your work electronically, you
are affirming that it is all your own work, and you will be asked to confirm this as you submit it.
Your assignment will be marked by your Monday practice class demonstrator. If you need an
extension, you must arrange it with your Monday demonstrator before the due time. The
names and emails of the demonstrators for each practice class are listed on the LMS.

Questions
All questions on Assignment 3 are based on the material covered in Weeks 5 and 6. See the bottom
of the last page for a breakdown of the marks for this assignment.

Q 1. (a) Write down the set U9 .

(b) Find the order of each element of U9 in the group (U9 ; ⊗9 ). Give the details of your calculations.
You may find it convenient to give your final answer in table form.

(c) Is (U9 ; ⊗9 ) a cyclic group? Justify your answer.

(d) Write down all subgroups of (U9 ; ⊗9 ), and explain why there are no subgroups other than these.
You may use any of the results from Chapter 6 in your explanation.

Q 2. Let G be the group of symmetries (including flips) of the regular 6

heptagon (7-gon) shown at right. As usual, we regard the elements 7
of G as permutations of the set of vertex labels; thus, G 6 S7 .
5
(a) Calculate the order of G using the Stabiliser-Orbit Theorem. 1
(b) Let ρ denote the rotation of the 7-gon that takes the vertex 1 to
4
the vertex 6. Write the permutation ρ in cycle form (as a cycle
or a product of disjoint cycles). 2
3
(c) What is the order of ρ in the group G?

(d) Find the smallest non-negative integer r such that ρ133 = ρr , and hence calculate ρ133 .

(e) Determine the order of the cyclic subgroup hρi of G. Justify your answer.

(f) Show that G is non-Abelian.

(g) Is G a cyclic group? Justify your answer.

· e a b c d
(h) Write down a subgroup of G whose order is 2. e e a b c d
a a b e d c
Q 3. By the Latin Square Theorem, any group table for a finite b b c d a e
group forms a latin square. Show that the converse of this result is c c d a e b
false by showing that the table on the right is not a group table. d d e c b a
Q 4. (a) Apply the Suffix Equivalence Algorithm to 0
1
the complete DFA shown at right. (Just the table A B C
is required for the answer.) 1

0 1 1 1
(b) Hence, write down the partition induced by the 0
suffix equivalence relation.

(c) Draw the diagram of the simplified machine. 0 D E

0

Q 5. Consider the regular grammar G with terminal symbols {0, 1}, non-terminal symbols {σ, A, B},
starting symbol σ, and production rules
  
σ → 1σ  0A  1B  ε, A → 0B, B → ε.

(a) Convert the grammar G to an NFA over {0, 1}. (Just give the transition diagram.)

(b) Let N be the NFA from (a). Give an accepting computation (in N ) of the string 11100.

(c) Give the derivation of the string 11100 in G corresponding to the computation in (b).

(d) The partial DFA M shown at right is equivalent to N . 1

Convert M to a regular grammar. Clearly identify the
sets of terminal and non-terminal symbols, the starting 0 0
S U V
symbol, and the production rules.
(e) Let H be the regular grammar from (d). Derive the string 11100 in H.

(f) Optional Question (2 Bonus Marks). Convert N to a DFA and simplify the resulting
machine. (You may find it convenient to re-label the states at certain stages.) Hence, show
that M is indeed equivalent to N , and write down a regular expression for the language, L(G),
generated by G.

The following question is a proof question. It will be worth 3% of your final mark, so you
are strongly advised to attempt it.

Q 6. Proof Question. Let ? : G × X → X be an action of a group G on a set X. Define the binary

relation θ on X by 
θ := (x, y) ∈ X × X | y = g ? x for some g ∈ G .

Prove that θ is an equivalence relation on X.

This assignment will be worth 8% of your final mark.

Your assignment is marked out of 24, according to Mathematics 10 marks
the breakdown shown in the table. Not every question
is marked ; you should self-assess the unmarked ques- Completeness 2 marks
tions. You will get 2 completeness marks for making
a serious attempt at all questions. The 3 written com- Written communication 3 marks
munication marks are based on your usage of English Proof question 9 marks
and mathematical grammar for the non-proof ques-
tions. The 9 marks for the proof question will include Total 24 marks
marks for written communication as well.