PERMUTATION GROUP

Permutation of 𝑆𝑛
A permutation of n symbols is a one-to-one mapping of the set of
n symbols onto itself. We use the integers 1,2,3,…,n to represent
the set of n symbols. The onto mapping means that the integers
1,2,3,…,n goes to the same line of integers, but on certain different
arrangements. Under one permutation, say α, we have a mapping
as:
α:(1,2,3, … , 𝑛) → (2,3,4, … , 1),
Or
𝟏 𝟐 … 𝒏
α=
𝟐 𝟑 … 1
The general form of a permutation where 1 maps into 1𝑖 , 2 into 2𝑖 ,
3 into 3𝑖 , …,n into n, is
𝟏 𝟐 … 𝒏
1𝑖 2𝑖 … 𝑛𝑖
For example, let θ be the permutation in the set of
permutations of integers from 1 to 4. Such that
θ(1)=3, θ(2)=4, θ(3)=2 and θ(4)=1. The symbols
θ(a) represents the notation for the image of a under
mapping θ. The elements of θ will be enclosed by a
bracket. Thus, in the mapping of θ, we have the
permutation θ as
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ=
3 4 2 1
For example, if we have another permutation called β such
that β(1)=3, β(2)=1, β(3)=4 and β(4)=2. Then have
the permutation β as
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
β=
3 1 4 2
If α and β are two of the permutations, we define the
product of α and β by
αβ(x)=α (β(x))

That is, α times β means perform the mapping β first,

then perform the mapping α on the result of β.
The multiplication of permutation such as θβ is done by performing β
first followed by θ.
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ= ,β=
3 4 2 1 3 1 4 2

𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θβ = =
3 4 2 1 3 1 4 2 2 3 1 4

for the element 1: β(1)=2 but θ(2)=4, thus 1 goes to 4, then

θβ(1)=4
for the element 2: β(2)=1 but θ(1)=3, thus 2 goes to 3, then
θβ(2)=3
for the element 3: β(3)=4 but θ(4)=1, thus 3 goes to 1, then
θβ(3)=1
for the element 4: β(4)=2 but θ(2)=4, thus 4 goes to 4, then
θβ(4)=4
Another multiplication of permutation such as βθ is done by
performing β first followed by θ.
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ= ,β=
3 4 2 1 3 1 4 2

𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
βθ = =
3 1 4 2 3 4 2 1 4 2 1 3
for the element 1: θ(1)=3 but β(3)=4, thus 1 goes to 4, then
βθ(1)=4
for the element 2: θ(2)=4 but β(4)=2, thus 2 goes to 2, then
βθ(2)=2
for the element 3: θ(3)=2 but β(2)=1, thus 3 goes to 1, then
βθ(3)=1
for the element 4: θ(4)=1 but β(1)=3, thus 4 goes to 3, then
βθ(4)=3
 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ= ,β=
3 4 2 1 3 1 4 2
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θβ = =
3 4 2 1 3 1 4 2 2 3 1 4

𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
βθ = =
3 1 4 2 3 4 2 1 4 2 1 3

Notice that θβ ≠ βθ, thus, the multiplication of

permutation is not commutative.
The identity element is the permutation ε whose
movement goes to the same number, i.e.

αε = α = εα 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
ε=
1 2 3 4

𝟏 𝟐 … 𝒏
For any permutation α = … 𝒂𝒏
𝒂𝟏 𝒂𝟐
Example:
We illustrate the identity as follows:
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ=
3 4 2 1

𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θε = =
3 4 2 1 1 2 3 4 3 4 2 1

for the element 1: ε(1)=1 but θ(2)=3, thus 1 goes to 3, then

θε(1)=3
for the element 2: ε(2)=2 but θ(2)=4, thus 2 goes to 4, then
θε(2)=4
for the element 3: ε(3)=3 but θ(3)=2, thus 3 goes to 2, then
θε(3)=2
for the element 4: β(4)=4 but θ(4)=1, thus 4 goes to 1, then
θε(4)=1
The inverse of permutation α denoted by α−𝟏, is defined as
αα−𝟏 = ε = α−𝟏α
We call inverse of permutation α is such that αα−𝟏 = ε,
where ε is the identity permutation on *1,2,…,n+

The inverse of permutation is obtained by reversing the

elements of the rows, so

𝒂𝟏 𝒂𝟐 … 𝒂𝒏
α−𝟏 =
1 2 … 𝑛
Example:
We illustrate the inverse as follows:
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ=
3 4 2 1
So,
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θ−1 =
4 3 1 2
Checking:
−1 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟒
θθ = = =ε
3 4 2 1 4 3 1 2 1 2 3 4

Notice that when we multiply one element and its inverse the result is
always the identity.
We will denote the set of permutation on the integers
1,2,…,n by the symbol 𝑺𝒏. Thus, the set of all the permutation
to integers 1,2 and 3 is called 𝑺𝟑. The mapping of the integers
{1,2,3} into the integers {1,2,3} is called 𝑺𝟑. If we have one
element of 𝑺𝟑, say β, then the permutation will be
defined in the set of integers from 1 to 3 such as
β(1)=3, β(2)=1 and β(3)=2
Then we write the permutation as
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
β= ∈ 𝑺𝟑
3 1 2
There are 6 arrangements of the elements 1,2 and 3. The possible arrangements of the
integers are:

These 6 arrangements may serve as the images of the 6 permutations of the mapping of
integers 1,2 and 3 in 𝑺𝟑.
1 23 12 123 132 13

Thus, we have six permutations of 𝑺𝟑, as:

𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
𝑺𝟑 = , , , , ,
1 2 𝟑 1 3 2 2 1 𝟑 2 3 𝟏 3 1 2 3 2 𝟏
Though multiplication of permutation does not hold in two
permutations, it is satisfied in three permutations, i.e,
multiplication is not commutative but associative under set of
permutations.
For instance 𝑺𝟑 ,
(αβ)γ=α(βγ)
θγ=αε
α=α
Special Permutation
Permutation is obtained from symmetries about the plane
figure where movement may either be rotation or reflection.
For example, a cycle is symmetric with respect to every
diameter and an equivalent triangle is symmetric with every
median.

Permutation are obtained by movements of vertices through

rotations or reflections, and such is done without changing the
shape of an object. We will consider an equivalent triangle to
obtain the set of permutations called 𝑆3.
Symmetries about the Equivalent triangle
The reflections pertaining to permutations in the
equivalent triangle are as follows:
Reflection about 𝑀1: 3 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑,thus we have
1 2 3
2 1 3
Reflection about 𝑀2: 1 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑,thus we have
1 2 3
1 3 2
Reflection about 𝑀3: 2 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑥𝑒𝑑,thus we have
1 2 3
3 2 1
In the movement of elements about rotation, we get the
permutations as follows:
Symmetries about the square
We consider here another special set of permutations denoted by
𝑆4 which are movement about the square.
Since movement are either by reflection or rotation then we will
classify the permutation as follows:
Symmetries about the square
We consider here another special set of permutations denoted by
𝑆4 which are movement about the square.
Since movement are either by reflection or rotation then we will
classify the permutation as follows:
Reflection about Diagonal 𝐷1 Reflection about Diagonal 𝐷2
 Permutation Group
A permutation group is a set of permutations satisfying the four properties of a
group.

Symmetries of Equivalent Triangle

Consider the permutations from the symmetries of an equivalent triangle 𝑆3.

𝑺𝟑
𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑 𝟏 𝟐 𝟑
= , , , , ,
1 2 𝟑 1 3 2 2 1 𝟑 2 3 𝟏 3 1 2 3 2 𝟏

The cyclic form of the permutations are given respectively in the elements of 𝑆3 .
𝑆3 = 1 , 23 , 12 , 123 , 132 , (13)

The respective notations of the elements of 𝑆3 are also given in the set as follows.
𝑆3 = ε, θ, α, β, γ, τ
We test the properties of a group in 𝑆3 as follows:
Closure. 𝑆3 is closed under multiplication since ∀ A, 𝐵 ∈ 𝑆3 ,
then A(⋅)𝐵 ∈ 𝑆3.

Associative: We test all the possible cases of elements of 𝑆3

with 3 elements at a time to test the associative law. One
possible case of the associative is as follows:
θ(⋅) β(⋅)α = (θ(⋅)β)(⋅)α
θ(⋅)θ = α(⋅)α
ε=ε

This will go with all the possible cases of the elements of 𝑆3.
Identity. The identity elements of 𝑆3 is ε.
Inverse. The inverse of all elements of 𝑆3 is as follows:
Inverse of θ = θ−1 = θ, 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 θ(⋅)θ = ε,
Inverse of α = α−1 = α, 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 α(⋅)α = ε,
Inverse of β = β−1 = γ,
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 β(⋅)γ = ε,
Inverse of γ = γ−1 = β,
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 γ(⋅)β = ε,
Inverse of τ = τ−1 = τ,
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 τ(⋅)τ = ε,

Thus, 𝑆3 is a permutation
group.
Commutative. The multiplication operation is not
commutative in 𝑆3. The following give one counter example
that (⋅) is not commutative.
α(⋅)β ≠ β(⋅)α
τ≠θ
Exercise
Determine whether the symmetries of square is a permutation
group.