Paulin, Corwin - Introduction To Abstract Algebra (2019)
Paulin, Corwin - Introduction To Abstract Algebra (2019)
Paulin, Corwin - Introduction To Abstract Algebra (2019)
Contents
1 Introduction 4
1.2 Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.3 Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Congruences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3 Groups 23
1
3.1 Basic Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2
4.1 Basic Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
3
5.3.2 Consequences of Being a PID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
1 Introduction
If you ask someone on the street this question, the most likely response will
be: “Something horrible to do with x, y and z”. If you’re lucky enough to
bump into a mathematician then you might get something along the lines
4
of: “Algebra is the abstract encapsulation of our intuition for composition”.
By composition, we mean the concept of two object coming together to form
a new one. For example adding two numbers, multiplying two numbers, or
composing real valued single variable functions. As we shall discover, the
seemly simple idea of composition hides vast hidden depth.
N := {1, 2, 3...}, the natural numbers. N comes equipped with two natural
operations + and ×.
a
Q := { | a, b ∈ Z, b 6= 0}, the rational numbers. We form these by taking
b
Z and formally dividing through by non-negative integers. We can again
5
use geometric insight to picture Q as points on a line. The rational
numbers also come equipped with + and ×. This time, multiplication is
has particularly good properties, e.g non-zero elements have multiplicative
inverses.
We could continue by going on to form R, the real numbers and then C, the
complex numbers. The motivation for passing to R is about analysis rather
than algebra (limits rather than binary operations). But R has binary oper-
ations of addition and multiplication just like Q, so one may still study it in
the context of algebra.
Notice that at each stage the operations of + and × gain additional prop-
erties. These ideas are very simple, but also profound. We spend years
understanding how + and × behave in Q. For example
a + b = b + a for all a, b ∈ Q,
or
a × (b + c) = a × b + a × c for all a, b, c ∈ Q.
The central idea behind abstract algebra is to define a larger class of objects
(sets with extra structure), of which Z and Q are definitive members.
(Z, +) −→ Groups
(Z, +, ×) −→ Rings
(Q, +, ×) −→ F ields
In linear algebra the analogous idea is
(Rn , +, scalar multiplication) −→ V ector Spaces over R
The amazing thing is that these vague ideas mean something very precise
and have far far more depth than one could ever imagine.
1.2 Sets
A set is any collection of objects. For example six dogs, all the protons on
Earth, every thought you’ve ever had, N, Z, Q, R, C. Observe that Z and
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Q are sets with extra structure coming from + and ×. In this whole course,
all we will study are sets with some carefully chosen extra structure.
7
• The standard way of writing down a set S is using curly bracket nota-
tion.
S = {x ∈ Z | 2 divides x}.
We can also use the curly bracket notation for finite sets without using
the | symbol. For example, the set S which contains only 1,2 and 3 can
be written as
S = {1, 2, 3}.
• If S ⊂ T then T \S := {x ∈ T | x ∈
/ S}. T \S is called the complement
of S in T .
• The collection of all objects which are in either S or T is call the union
on S and T . In mathematical notation we denote this by S ∪ T .
• The set which contains no objects is called the empty set. We denote
the empty set by ∅. We say that S and T are disjoint a if S ∩ T = ∅.
The union of two disjoint sets is often written as S T.
8
We recommend looking at https://math.berkeley.edu/~gbergman/ug.
hndts/sets_etc,t=1.pdf for a guide to basic logic and set notation. We
also highly recommend Section 6 of that article for some subtleties about
the use of English in the logic of mathematical proofs.
1.3 Functions
f :S → T
x 7→ f (x)
1. S = T = N,
f :N → N
a 7→ a2
2. S = Z × Z, T = Z,
f :Z×Z → Z
(a, b) 7→ a + b
This very simple looking abstract concept hides enormous depth. To illus-
trate this, observe that calculus is just the study of certain classes of functions
(continuous, differentiable or integrable) from R to R.
Definition 1.2. Let S and T be two sets, and let f : S → T be a map.
9
2. We say that f is the identity map if S = T and f (x) = x, ∀x ∈ S. In
this case we write f = IdS .
(h ◦ g) ◦ f : R → U
and
h ◦ (g ◦ f ) : R → U
are the same function.
You might be surprised to see the word “codomain” where you might be
used to seeing the word “range”. In fact, we will also talk about the range
(or “image”), of a function, but it is not the same thing as codomain:
Definition 1.4. Let S and T be two sets, and let f : S → T be a map. We
define the image (also known as range) of f to be:
f −1 (U ) := {s ∈ S | f (s) ∈ U }
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Note that f −1 (T ) = S always. In fact, f −1 (Im(f )) = S. In general,
−1
f (U ) is a subset of S.
Remark 1.6. The codomain and image of f are the same if and only if f is
surjective.
Remark 1.7. If S and T are finite, then they are in bijection if and only if
they have the same number of elements. More general, for infinite sets, one
defines what it means to “have the same number of elements” by saying that
two sets have the same number of elements if they are in bijection.
Remark 1.8. A set is infinite if and only if it has the same number of
elements as a proper subset of itself. (In particular, if S is finite, then any
proper subset of S has strictly fewer elements than S.)
Exercise 1.1. Let S and T be two sets. Let f be a map from S to T . Show
that f is a bijection if and only if there exists a map g from T to S such that
f ◦ g = IdT and g ◦ f = IdS .
Definition 1.9. Let f be a map from S to T .
For example, let S = {1, 2, 3} and T = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, and let f (x) = x for
x ∈ S. Define g : T → S so that g(x) = x for 1 ≤ x ≤ 3, and g(4) = g(5) = 1.
Then g is a left inverse for f but not a right inverse. One can show that f
does not have a right inverse because it is not surjective.
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In this language, Exercise 1.1 is asking you to show that f is a bijection
if and only if there is a map g that is both a left and right inverse for f .
Note that some books define the notion of a binary operation that is
“closed” and will say that the last example is not closed. But for us, we will
simply say that that last example is not a binary operation in the first place.
12
Definition 1.12. A relation on a set S is a subset U ⊂ S × S. (This
is also sometimes called a homogeneous relation, such as at https://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_relation#Definition.)
[x] := {y ∈ S | y ∼ x} ⊂ S.
Remark 1.15. 1. Notice that the reflexive property implies that x ∈ [x].
Hence equivalence classes are non-empty and their union is S.
2. The symmetric and transitive properties imply that y ∈ [x] if and only
if [y] = [x]. Hence two equivalence classes are equal or disjoint. It
should also be noted that we can represent a given equivalence class
using any of its members using the [x] notation.
13
We’ve seen that the equivalence classes of an equivalence relation natu-
rally form a partition of the set. Actually there is a converse: Any partition
of a set naturally gives rise to an equivalence relation whose equivalence
classes are the members of the partition. The conclusion of all this is that
an equivalence relation on a set is the same as a partition. In the example
given above, the equivalence classes are the odd integers and the even inte-
gers. Equivalence relations and equivalence classes are incredibly
important. They will the foundation of many concepts throughout
the course. Take time to really internalize these ideas.
1. Equivalence relations on S
2. Partitions of S
3. Surjective maps with domain S
In the case of the partition of Z into the even and odd numbers, these
three are
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3. We have a map f : Z → {0, 1} sending even numbers to 0 and odd
numbers to 1
+:Z×Z → Z
(a, b) 7→ a + b
×:Z×Z → Z
(a, b) 7→ a × b
• (Associativity): a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c ∀a, b, c ∈ Z
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• (Commutativity) a + b = b + a ∀a, b ∈ Z.
• (Associativity): a × (b × c) = (a × b) × c ∀a, b, c ∈ Z
• (Commutativity) a × b = b × a ∀a, b ∈ Z.
• (Distributivity) a × (b + c) = (a × b) + (a × c) ∀a, b, c ∈ Z.
Remarks
1. Each of these properties is totally obvious but will form the foundations
of future definitions: groups and rings.
2. All of the above hold for + and × on Q. In this case there is an extra
property that non-zero elements have multiplicative inverses:
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either a = 0 or b = 0. Later this property will mean that Z is something
called an integral domain. This has the following useful consequence:
This is proven using the distributive law together with the fact that Z is
an integral domain. I leave it an exercise to the reader.
You might wonder why we are making such a big point about the cancel-
lation law - after all, you already know this from your previous experience
with. The reason we emphasize it is that the cancellation law does not always
hold in Z/mZ; it holds only for certain m.
Observe that 0 is divisible by every integer. The only integers which divide
1 are 1 and -1. Any way of expressing an integer as the product of a finite
collection of integers is called a factorization.
17
Here are some important elementary properties of divisibility dating back
to Euclid (300BC), which I’ll state without proof. We’ll actually prove them
later in far more generality.
Theorem 2.5 (Remainder Theorem). Given a, b ∈ Z, if b > 0 then ∃! q, r ∈
Z such that a = bq + r with 0 ≤ r < b.
Theorem 2.6. Given a, b ∈ Z, ∃u, v ∈ Z such that au + bv = HCF (a, b).
In particular, a and b are coprime if an only if there exist u, v ∈ Z such that
au + bv = 1.
Euclid’s Lemma. Let p be a prime number and a, b ∈ Z. Then
p | ab ⇒ p | a or p | b
a = p1 p2 ...pr .
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assume i = 1. However q1 is a prime, so p1 = q1 . Applying the cancellation
law we obtain
p2 ...pr = q2 ...qs .
Assume that r < s. We can continue this process until we have:
1 = qr+1 ..qs .
Proof. Suppose that there are finitely many distinct primes p1 , p2 .....pr . Con-
sider c = p1 p2 ...pr + 1. Clearly c > 1. By the Fundamental Theorem of
Arithmetic, c is divisible by at least one prime, say p1 . Then c = p1 d for
some d ∈ Z. Hence we have
p1 (d − p2 ...pr ) = c − p1 p2 ..pr = 1.
The Fundamental Theorem also tells us that two positive integers are coprime
if and only if they have no common prime divisor. This immediately shows
that every positive element a ∈ Q can be written uniquely in the form:
α
a= , α, β ∈ N and coprime.
β
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We have seen that both Z and Q are examples of sets with two concepts of
composition (+ and ×) which satisfy a collection of abstract conditions. We
have also seen that the structure of Z together with × is very rich. Can we
think of other examples of sets with a concept of + and × which satisfy the
same elementary properties?
2.3 Congruences
Exercise 2.1. Check this really is an equivalence relation! (We did most of
this in class.)
Definition. a, b ∈ Z are congruent modulo m ⇔ m | (a − b). This can
also be written:
a ≡ b mod m.
Remark 2.8. 1. The equivalence classes of Z under this relation are in-
dexed by the possible remainders modulo m. These possible remainders
are the integers 0 through m − 1. Hence, there are m distinct equiva-
lence classes which we call residue classes. We denote the set of all
residue classes Z/mZ.
2. There is a natural surjective map
[ ] : Z → Z/mZ
a 7→ [a] (1)
Note that this is clearly not injective as many integers have the same
remainder modulo m. Also observe that Z/mZ = {[0], [1], ...[m − 1]}.
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The following result allows us to define + and × on Z/mZ.
Remark 2.9. Note that there is ambiguity in the definition, because it seems
to depend on making a choice of representative of each residue class. The
proposition shows us that the resulting residue classes are independent of this
choice, hence + and × are well defined on Z/mZ. This means that addition
and multiplication mod n are well-defined.
We say that [a] ∈ Z/mZ is non-zero if [a] 6= [0]. Even though + and × on
Z/mZ share the same elementary properties with + and × on Z, they behave
quite differently in this case. As an example, notice that
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Hence we can add 1 (in Z/mZ) to itself and eventually get 0 (in Z/mZ).
Also observe that if m is composite with m = rs, where r < m and s < m
then [r] and [s] are both non-zero (6= [0]) in Z/mZ, but [r] × [s] = [rs] =
[m] = [0] ∈ Z/mZ. Hence we can have two non-zero elements multiplying
together to give zero, unlike in Z.
ax ≡ 1 mod m
Proof. This is just a restatement of the fact that a and m coprime ⇔ ∃u, v ∈
Z such that au + mv = 1.
Observe that the congruence above can be rewritten as [a] × [x] = [1] in
Z/mZ. We say that [a] ∈ Z/mZ has a multiplicative inverse if ∃[x] ∈ Z/mZ
such that [a] × [x] = [1]. Hence we deduce that the only elements of Z/mZ
with muliplicative inverse are those given by [a], where a is coprime to m.
Recall that Q had the extra property that all non-zero elements had
multiplicative inverses. When does this happen in Z/mZ?. By the above we
see that this can happen ⇔ {1, 2, · · · , m − 1} are all coprime to m. This can
only happen if m is prime. We have thus proven the following:
Exercise 2.2. Show that if m is prime then the product of two non-zero
elements of Z/mZ is again non-zero.
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Key Observation: There are naturally occuring sets (other than Z and Q)
which come equipped with a concept of + and ×, whose most basic properties
are the same as those of the usual addition and multiplication on Z or Q.
Don’t be fooled into thinking all other examples will come from
numbers. As we’ll see, there are many examples which are much
more exotic.
3 Groups
∗ : G × G → G.
1. (Associativity): (a ∗ b) ∗ c = a ∗ (b ∗ c) ∀a, b, c ∈ G.
2. (Existence of identity): ∃e ∈ G such that a ∗ e = e ∗ a = a ∀a ∈ G.
3. (Existence of inverses): Given a ∈ G, ∃b ∈ G such that a ∗ b = b ∗ a = e.
Remark 3.1. 1. We have seen five different examples thus far: (Z, +),
(Q, +), (Q\{0}, ×), (Z/mZ, +), and (Z/mZ \ {[0]}, ×) if m is prime.
Another example is that of a real vector space under addition. Note
that (Z, ×) is not a group. Also note that this gives examples of groups
which are both finite and infinite. The more mathematics you learn the
more you’ll see that groups are everywhere.
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2. A set with a single element admits one possible binary operation. This
makes it a group. We call this the trivial group.
3. A set with a binary operation is called a monoid if only the first two
properties hold. From this point of view, a group is a monoid in which
every element is invertible. (Z, ×) is a monoid but not a group. We
will not talk about monoids anymore, but it’s good to know that the
word exists.
4. Observe that in all of the examples given the binary operation is com-
mutative, i.e. a ∗ b = b ∗ a ∀a, b ∈ G. We give this a name:
a ∗ b = b ∗ a ∀a, b ∈ G.
The most basic Abelian group is (Z, +). Notice also that any vector space
is an Abelian group under its natural addition.
You might be wondering why we care about groups that a not Abelian (or
“non-abelian”). Here’s an important example of a non-abelian group that
you should have already seen in linear algebra:
Note that a square matrix has nonzero determinant if and only if it is in-
vertible, i.e., has an inverse under matrix multiplication. This means that
every element of GLn (R) has an inverse under matrix multiplication. Be-
cause matrix multiplication is associative and because there is an identity
matrix, {GLn (R), ×} forms a group. For n ≥ 2, it is a non-abelian group.
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So a group is a set with extra structure. In set theory we have the natural
concept of a map between sets (a function). The following is the analogous
concept for groups:
Fundamental Definition. Let (G, ∗) and (H, ◦) be two groups. A ho-
momorphism f , from G to H, is a map of sets f : G → H, such that
f (x ∗ y) = f (x) ◦ f (y) ∀x, y ∈ G. If G = H and f = IdG we call f the
identity homomorphism.
Remark 3.2. 1. Intuitively one should thing about a homomorphism as
a map of sets which preserves the underlying group structure. It’s the
same idea as a linear map between vector spaces.
5. The map from GLn (R) to (R \ {0}, ×) sending a matrix A to its de-
terminant det(A) is a homomorphism. This is because det(AB) =
det(A)det(B).
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7. The complex exponential z 7→ ez from (C, +) to (C \ {0}, ×) is a ho-
momorphism. In contrast with the real exponential function, it is sur-
jective but not injective, because ez = ez+2πi .
8. The logarithm is a homomorphism from (R>0 , ×) to (R, +). In fact, it
is an isomorphism.
9. For any group G and any group H, the map sending all elements of G
to eH ∈ H is a homomorphism. It is the trivial homomorphism from
G to H.
Proposition 3.4. Let (G, ∗), (H, ◦) and (M, ) be three groups. Let f : G →
H and g : H → M be homomorphism. Then the composition gf : G → M is
a homomorphism.
26
The first proposition tells us that we can write e ∈ G for the identity and
it is well-defined. Similarly the second proposition tells us that for a ∈ G
we can write a−1 ∈ G for the inverse in a well-defined way. The proof of
the second result gives a good example of how we prove results for abstract
groups. We use only the axioms, nothing else.
a ∗ c = a ∗ b ⇒ c = b and c ∗ a = b ∗ a ⇒ c = b
Proof. Compose on left or right by a−1 ∈ G, then apply the associativity and
inverses and identity axioms.
Remark 3.8. Here are a couple of facts that follow easily from the group
axioms:
• f (eG ) = eH .
• f (x−1 ) = (f (x))−1 , ∀x ∈ G
27
Proof. • f (eG ) ◦ eH = f (eG ) = f (eG ∗ eG ) = f (eG ) ◦ f (eG ). By the
cancellation law we deduce that f (eG ) = eH .
a b c d
a
b
c
d
a b c d
a a b c d
b a c a d
c d b d c
d b c a a
28
This is what you know from grade school as a multiplication table. Many
abstract algebra textbooks call it the Cayley table of the binary operation.
However, this binary operation does not make S into a group. To see
why, we prove the following proposition:
Proposition 3.11. In the Cayley table of a group G, every element of G
appears exactly once in every row and in every column.
Proof. To say that every row contains every element of G exactly once is to
say that if (G, ∗) is a group, then for fixed a, b ∈ G the equation
a∗x=b
has exactly one solution x ∈ G.
Why is this true? Well, the fact that it has at most one solution is the
Cancellation Law for groups, which we already proved.
How do we know that there is at least one solution? Well, for the row
equation, we just take x = a−1 ∗ b, and for the column equation, we take
x = b ∗ a−1 .
How do we know that the Cayley table of Example 3.10 is not a group?
We can note, for example, that the second row contains a twice rather than
once (as well, we could note that it does not contain b).
As another example, we can consider ({0, 1}, ×). The Cayley table is
0 1
0 0 0
1 0 1
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One can check that this is not a group because, for example, 0 appears
twice in the first row.
a b c d
a a b c d
b b c d a
c c d a b
d d a b c
Finally, here’s another Cayley table of a group on the set S = {a, b, c, d}:
a b c d
a a b c d
b b a d c
c c d a b
d d c b a
This group is called the Klein Four-group1 . Later, in Section 3.8, we will
see that it is isomorphic to something we will call Z/2Z × Z/2Z. It is also
isomorphic to the group
1 0 −1 0 1 0 −1 0
, , , ,×
0 1 0 1 0 −1 0 −1
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Intuitively, a subgroup H of (G, ∗) is just a subset H of G that is a group
under the same operation as G. Formally, we can define it as follows:
Definition. Let (G, ∗) be a group. A subgroup of G is a subset H ⊂ G
such that
1. e ∈ H
2. x, y ∈ H ⇒ x ∗ y ∈ H
3. x ∈ H ⇒ x−1 ∈ H
Remark 3.12. If H is a subgroup of G, and K is a subgroup of H (all with
the same operation), then K is a subgroup of G.
Example 3.13. 1. If G is any group, then {eG } and G are both subgroups
of G. The former is called the trivial subgroup. The latter is a non-
proper subgroup (so all subgroups not equal to the whole group are
called proper subgroups).
2. The group (Z, +) is a subgroup of (Q, +), which is a subgroup of (R, +),
which is itself a subgroup of (C, +).
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10. The set of matrices of the form
a b
| a, b, c ∈ R ac 6= 0
0 c
2. x, y ∈ H ∩ K ⇒ x ∗ y ∈ H and x ∗ y ∈ K ⇒ x ∗ y ∈ H ∩ K.
Given x, y ∈ G, x ∼ y ⇔ x−1 ∗ y ∈ H
32
1. (Reflexive )e ∈ H ⇒ x−1 ∗ x ∈ H ∀x ∈ G ⇒ x ∼ x
xH := {x ∗ h | h ∈ H} ⊂ G
Proof. The easiest way to show that two subsets of G are equal is to prove
containment in both directions.
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written with different representatives at the front - just like an equivalence
class modulo n can be written with many different representatives.
This is very important.
(G : H) = |G/H|,
φ : H −→ xH
h −→ x ∗ h
is a bijection.
Proof. We need to check that φ is both injective and surjective. For injectiv-
ity observe that for g, h ∈ H, φ(h) = φ(g) ⇒ x ∗ h = x ∗ g ⇒ h = g. Hence
φ is injective. For surjectivity observe that g ∈ xH ⇒ ∃h ∈ H such that
g = x ∗ h ⇒ g = φ(h).
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Now let’s restrict to the case where G is a finite group.
Proposition. Let (G, ∗) be a finite group and H ⊂ G a subgroup. Then
∀x ∈ G , |xH| = |H|.
Proof. We know that there is a bijection between H and xH. Both must be
finite because they are contained in a finite set. A bijection exists between
two finite sets if and only if they have the same cardinality.
Lagrange’s Theorem. Let (G, ∗) be a finite group and H ⊂ G a subgroup.
Then |H| divides |G|.
We know that each equivalence class is of the form xH for some (clearly
non-unique in general) x ∈ G. We know that any left coset of H has size
equal to |H|. Hence we have partitioned G into subsets each of size |H|. We
conclude that |H| divides |G|.
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Remark 3.20. 1. gp(X) is the minimal subgroup containing X. By min-
imal we mean that if H ⊂ G is a subgroup such that X ⊂ H then
gp(X) ⊂ H.
3. The fact that there are infinitely many primes implies that (Q\{0}, ×)
is not finitely generated.
Remark 3.25. It is important to understand that not all groups are cyclic.
We’ll see many examples throughout the course.
36
Let G be a group (not necessarily cyclic). For r, s ∈ Z and x ∈ G,
x x = xr+s = xs+r = xs xr . Hence gp({x}) ⊂ G is Abelian. We deduce that
r s
1. If G is infinite, G ∼
= (Z, +)
2. If |G| = m ∈ N, then G ∼
= (Z/mZ, +)
φ:G → Z
xn → n
φ : G → Z/mZ
xn → [n] for n ∈ {0, ...m − 1}
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This is clearly a surjection, hence a bijection because |G| = |Z/mZ| = m.
Again ∀a, b ∈ {0, ..., m−1} we know φ(xa ∗xb ) = φ(xa+b ) = [a+b] = [a]+[b] =
ϕ(xa ) + ϕ(xb ) is a homomorphism. Hence (G, ∗) is isomorphic to (Z/mZ, +).
Hence two finite cyclic groups of the same size are isomorphic. What are the
possible subgroups of a cyclic group?
1. (G, ∗) ∼
= (Z, +). Let H ⊂ Z be a non-trivial subgroup. Choose m ∈ N
minimal such that m ∈ H(m 6= 0). Hence mZ = {ma | a ∈ Z} ⊆ H.
Assume ∃n ∈ H such that n ∈ / mZ. By the remainder theorem, n =
qm + r, r, q ∈ Z and 0 < r < m ⇒ r ∈ H. This is a contradiction by the
minimality of m. Therefore mZ = H. Observe that gp({m}) = mZ ⊂
Z. Hence H is cylic.
2. (G, ∗) ∼
= (Z/mZ, +). Let H ⊂ Z/mZ be a non-trivial subgroup. Again,
choose n ∈ N minimal and positive such that [n] ∈ H. The same argu-
ment as above shows that the containment gp({[n]}) ⊆ H is actually
equality. Hence H is cyclic.
Proof. Because |G| = d we know that G ∼ = (Z/dZ, +). Hence we need only
answer the question for this latter group. Let m be a divisor of d. Then
if n = d/m then gp({[n]}) ⊂ Z/dZ is cyclic of order m by construction. If
H ⊂ Z/dZ is a second subgroup of order m then by the above proof we
38
know that the minimal n ∈ N such that [n] ∈ H must be n = d/m. Hence
H = gp({[n]}).
Definition 3.27. If |gp({x})| < ∞ we say that x is of finite order and its
order, written ord(x) equals |gp({x})|. If not we say that x is of infinite order.
39
3.4 Permutation Groups and Finite Symmetric Groups
The symmetric groups Symn give lots of good examples of finite groups
(both themselves, and, as we shall see later, some of their subgroups). They
also give a bunch of examples of non-abelian groups besides groups of matri-
ces. Let’s study them in detail.
Before we go on, I need to tell you that there are two different ways to write
the same permutation, and that can lead to some confusion.
40
Recall that a permutation of a set S is a bijection from S to itself. So let
S = {1, 2, 3}, and let σ be a permutation for which σ(1) = 2, σ(2) = 3, and
σ(3) = 1. Thus σ ∈ Sym3 . We often represent σ by the notation (123).
1 −→ 2
σ : 2 −→ 3
3 −→ 1
Writing down all of these arrows is a bit cumbersome. So it’s easier to refer
to a permutation by a sequence of numbers. Notice that from the notation
above we get the sequence 2, 3, 1. So it would seem that the sequence 2, 3, 1
is a good way to represent this permutation.
Here’s a different way to think of it. The fact that σ(1) = 2 suggests that
we should move 1 to the place of 2. Similarly, we should move 2 to where 3
was, and move 3 to where 1 was.
41
We will
primarily use passive notation via the unambiguous notation
1 2 3
, and because this is in Judson.
2 3 1
Let’s see what happens when we think about σ and τ in active notation.
We apply σ to get the sequence 3, 1, 2. Then, when we wish to apply τ = (23)
to the sequence 3, 1, 2, there is some ambiguity. Do we switch the numbers
3 and 2, to get 2, 1, 3, or do we switch the numbers in the second and third
places to get 3, 2, 1? Since we know the answer should give us 3, 2, 1, it turns
out that when applying a permutation to a sequence in active notation, the
permutation (23) switches whatever is in the second and third places.
42
Remark 3.31. Notice that the active notation for σ −1 is 2, 3, 1, and the
passive notation for σ −1 is 3, 1, 2. This is not an accident. In general, for
ANY permutation σ, the active notation for σ −1 is the passive notation for
σ, and vice versa.
1 −→ 2
σ : 2 −→ 1
3 −→ 3
1 −→ 2
σ : 2 −→ 3
3 −→ 1
43
We also have the 3-cycle (132):
1 −→ 3
σ : 2 −→ 1
3 −→ 2
Note that (321) and (213) refer to the same thing as (132). Similarly, (123) =
(231) = (312).
Thus far we have listed five elements of Sym3 , namely, (12), (23), (13), (123), (132).
We expect there to be 3! = 6 in total. The one element we have not listed
is the identity. It is the identity both in the sense that it is the identity
function from {1, 2, 3} to itself, and in that it is the identity of the group
Sym3 . We denote the identity either by e or by (1) (or (2) or (3) are equally
good notation).
Now that we’ve listed some elements of Sym3 , let’s talk about the group
operation. As described above, the group operation is just composition of
functions. Let’s give an example to make sure it’s clear
The most basic property of a finite group is how many elements it has (also
known as its order ). Let’s see what this is for Symn .
Proposition 3.32. For n ∈ N, |Symn | = n!.
44
We need to think of a way of elegantly representing elements of Symn .
For a ∈ {1, 2...n} and σ ∈ Symn we represent the action of σ on a by a cycle.
For example, we represent a 6-cycle as:
Note that a, b, c, d, e, f can be any elements of the set {1, 2, · · · , n}, and
they don’t have to be in order. In general, we define:
Definition 3.33. If S is a set, and a1 , a2 , · · · , ak is sequence of distinct
elements of S, then the k-cycle
σ = (a1 a2 · · · ak )
is the element of Σ(S) such that σ(a1 ) = a2 , σ(a2 ) = a3 , · · · , σ(ak−1 ) =
ak , σ(ak ) = a1 , and σ(a) = a whenever a is NOT in the finite set {a1 , · · · , ak }.
Remark 3.34. 1. A k-cycle always has order k.
2. There are exactly k different ways to write a given k-cycle. For example,
(123) = (231) = (312) ∈ Sym3 .
3. A 1-cycle is the same as idS .
45
Definition 3.36. Let S be a set and s ∈ S. Then we define
Notice that s ∈ F ixed(σ) iff σ ∈ F ix(s). In this case, we say that σ fixes
s.
Proof. We need to show that for every s ∈ S, we have σ(τ (s)) = τ (σ(s)).
Since Symn is finite, every element has finite order by Proposition 3.29.
We know that eventually we get back to a because σ has finite order. Thus
σ eventually takes everything back to where it started. In this way every
σ ∈ Symn can be written as a product of disjoint cycles:
46
This representation is unique up to internal shifts and reordering the cycles.
We will give a detailed example of this in Example 3.40.
1 −→ 2
2 −→ 3
σ: 3 −→ 1
4 −→ 5
5 −→ 4
1 −→ 1
2 −→ 3
σ: 3 −→ 5
4 −→ 4
5 −→ 2
This notation makes it clear how to compose two permutations. For example,
let n = 5 and σ = (23), τ = (241), then τ σ = (241)(23) = (1234) and
στ = (23)(241) = (1324). Observe that composition is on the left when
composing permutations. This example also shows that in general Symn is
not Abelian.
σ = σ1 σ2 · · · σm ,
X
where σi is a ki -cycle, and ki = n, and the σi are all disjoint, then the
i
cycle structure is {k1 , · · · , km }. Note that the ki need not be all distinct, and
47
we usually write them in ascending order. The number of ki ’s equal to 1 is
just the size of F ixed(σ).
Example 3.40. Let’s give an example of how you would write a permuta-
tion in disjoint cycle notation. For example, suppose we have the following
element of Sym9 :
1 −→ 5
2 −→ 1
3 −→ 7
4 −→ 3
σ: 5 −→ 2
6 −→ 6
7 −→ 9
8 −→ 8
9 −→ 4
48
For 3, we see what happens when we keep applying σ. We get σ(3) = 7,
σ (3) = 9, σ 3 (3) = 4, and finally σ 4 (3) = 3 again. So 3 goes to 7, then to 9,
2
Finally, the only number left out is 8, and like with 6, we have σ(8) = 8.
Thus the disjoint cycle notation for σ is (152)(3794). Note that we could
also write (152)(3794)(6)(8), if we want to remember the 1-cycles, but we
usually leave them out. The one good thing about including the one-cycles
is that it helps you write the cycle structure: in this case, the cycle structure
is {1, 1, 3, 4}.
Let’s also see what Proposition 3.39 says in this case. The order must be
LCM (1, 1, 3, 4) = 12.
49
Definition 3.41. A transposition is a cycle of length 2.
Proof. First notice that a cycle of length r can be written as the product of
r − 1 transpositions by the above. Let us call σ even if there are an even
number of even length cycles (once expressed as a disjoint product); let us
call σ odd if there are an odd number of even length cycles. We also define
the sign of σ, denoted sgn(σ), to be +1 or −1 depending on whether σ is
even or odd.
If r is even then either we get two odd length cycles or two even length
cycles. If r is odd then exactly one of the cycles on the right is even
length. In either case, sgn((1 i)σ) = −sgn(σ).
50
2. 1 and i occur in distinct cycles. Again, without loss of generality we
may assume that (1 · · · i − 1)(i · · · r) occurs in σ. In this case
In either of the cases r even or odd, we see that the number of even
length cycles must drop or go up by one. Hence sgn((1 i)σ) = −sgn(σ)
as in case 1.
We should observe that from the proof of the above we see that ∀σ, τ ∈
Symn , sgn(στ ) = sgn(σ)sgn(τ ). Because sgn(e) = 1 we deduce that
sgn(σ) = sgn(σ −1 ) for all σ ∈ Symn .
In particular this shows that the set of even elements of Symn contains
the identity and is closed under composition and taking inverse. Hence we
have the following:
51
Proof. By generate we mean that any element of Altn can be expressed as the
product of three cycles. As any element of Altn can be written as the product
of three cycles we only have to do it for the product of two transpositions.
There are two cases:
2. (i j)(i k) = (i k j).
n!
Proposition 3.44. |Altn | = .
2
Proof. Recall that |Symn | = n!, hence we just need to show that (Symn :
Altn ) = 2. Let σ, τ ∈ Symn . Recall that
Hence Altn has two left cosets in Symn , one containing even permutations
and one odd permutations.
Later we shall see that the alternating groups for n ≥ 5 have a very
special property.
ϕ : G → Σ(S)
52
If the action of the group is understood we will write
g(s) = ϕ(g)(s) ∀ g ∈ G, s ∈ S.
Note that ϕ(g)(s) means that ϕ(g) is an element of Σ(S), and we apply that
element of Σ(S) to s ∈ S.
Remark 3.45. An action of G on S is the same as a map:
µ:G×S →S
such that
It is an exercise for you to check that µ then satisfies the axioms listed,
and conversely that every such µ corresponds to an action ϕ.
We will often define actions in terms of µ rather than ϕ. But the definition
in terms of ϕ is more intuitive for most people.
The notation g(s) = µ(g)(s) makes the axioms clearer: (1) becomes (x ∗
y)(s) = x(y(s)) ∀x, y ∈ G, s ∈ S and (2) becomes e(s) = s ∀s ∈ S.
Example 3.46. 1. Notice that there is a natural action of Σ(S) on S:
µ : Σ(S) × S → S
(f, s) → f (s)
In terms of ϕ, this is just the identity homomorphism from Σ(S) to
itself.
53
2. Let (G, ∗) be a group. There is a natural action of G on itself:
µ:G×G → G
(x, y) → x ∗ y
µ:G×S → S
(g, s) → s ∀s ∈ S, g ∈ G
µ:G×G → G
(x, y) → x∗ y ∗ x−1
ϕ : G → Σ(S)
is injective.
54
Notice that if G and H are two groups and f : G → H is an injective
homomorphism then we may view G as a subgroup of H by identifying it
with its image in H under f . Hence if G acts faithfully on S then G is
isomorphic to a subgroup of Σ(S).
Cayley’s Theorem. Let G be a group. Then G is isomorphic to a subgroup
of Σ(G). In particular if |G| = n ∈ N, then G is isomorphic to a subgroup of
Symn .
Proof. The result will follow if we can show that the left regular represen-
tation is faithful. Let ϕ : G → Σ(G) be the homomorphism given by the
left regular representation. Hence for g, s ∈ G, ϕg (s) = g ∗ s. Forh, g ∈ G,
suppose ϕh = ϕg . Then h ∗ s = g ∗ s ∀s ∈ G ⇒ h = g. Hence ϕ is injective.
55
for the equivalence class containing s ∈ S. We call it the orbit of s.
Stab(s) = {g ∈ G | g(s) = s} ⊂ G
For this definition to make sense we must prove that Stab(s) is genuinely
a subgroup.
56
Thus we may form the left cosets of Stab(s) in G:
Proof. Recall that x and y are in the same left coset ⇔ x−1 y ∈ Stab(s).
Hence x−1 y(s) = s. Composing both sides with x and simplifying by the
axioms for a group action implies that x(s) = y(s).
φ : G/Stab(s) −→ Orb(s)
xStab(s) −→ x(s)
Proposition. φ is a bijection.
57
x(s) = y(s) ⇒ x−1 (y(s)) = s
⇒ (x−1 ∗ y)(s) = s
⇒ x−1 ∗ y ∈ Stab(s)
⇒ xStab(s) = yStab(s)
Therefore φ is injective.
(G : Stab(s)) = |Orb(s)|
58
2. In the left regular representation, all stabilisers are trivial, i.e. {e}.
This is because if gx = x, then g = e. The action is transitive, i.e.,
there is one orbit.
3. In the conjugation action of G on itself, we have Stab(x) = {g ∈ G |
gx = xg}. This is known as the centraliser of x and is the topic of
Section 3.5.2.
4. In the natural action of GLn (R) on Rn , the stabiliser of the unit vector
(1, 0, · · · , 0) is the set of invertible matrices whose first column is
1
0
..
.
0
More generally, the stabiliser of the ith unit vector is the set of invertible
n × n matrices whose ith column is the ith unit vector.
In all of these cases, the orbit is the set of nonzero elements of Rn .
5. When G = Symn acts in the natural way on S = {1, · · · , n}, the
stabiliser of any k ∈ S is a subgroup of Symn isomorphic to Symn−1 .
Note that this agrees with the Orbit-Stabiliser Theorem: the action is
transitive, so the orbit of any k ∈ S is all of S, hence has size n. Thus
|Symn | n!
the stabiliser has size = = (n − 1)!, which is indeed the size
n n
of Symn−1 .
6. More specifically, in the previous example, if n = 2, then Stab(1) =
{id, (23)}, and Stab(3) = {id, (12)}.
7. Again referring to the previous example, if n = 4, then Stab(2) =
{id, (13), (14), (34), (134), (143)}.
59
For g ∈ G, the map
[g] : G → G
defined by
[g](x) = gxg −1
for x ∈ G is called conjugation by g. For a fixed g, this gives a bijection
from G to itself (to see that it is bijection, notice that [g −1 ] gives the inverse
bijection). As we let g vary, this defines an action of G on itself.
StabG (x)
CG (x) = {g ∈ G | x ∈ CG (g)}.
Z(G) := {h ∈ G | g ∗ h = h ∗ g, ∀g ∈ G}.
60
Note that the conjugation action is faithful iff the center is trivial, i.e.,
Z(G) = {e}.
ϕ(g) : G → G
x 7→ gxg −1
Proof. We have
ϕ(g)(xy) = gxyg −1
= gxeyg −1
= gxg −1 gyg −1
= (gxg −1 )(gyg −1 )
= ϕ(g)(x)ϕ(g)(y),
On the other hand, for the left regular representation, notice that ϕ(g)
sends e to g, so it can’t be a homomorphism from G to itself unless g = e.
Thus in the case of the conjugation action, the image of the homomor-
phism
ϕ : G → Σ(G)
sits inside the subset
Aut(G) ⊆ Σ(G)
of bijections from G to itself that also happen to be homomorphisms. One
implication of this is that every element in the same conjugacy class must
have the same order.
61
The orbit of x under this action is known as the conjugacy class of x and
is denoted
Conj(x) = Orb(x) = {g −1 ∗ x ∗ g | g ∈ G}.
• x ∈ Z(G)
• CG (x) = G
gp({x}) ⊆ CG (x).
62
that are cycled, and there are two cycles for each triple (think about how
(123) and (132) are different elements of Sym5 ), so there are 20 three-cycles.
Since |Sym5 | = 5! = 120, the size of CG (x) must be 120/20 = 6.
What are these six elements? We can take the subgroup generated by
(123)(45). Notice that this element has order 6 (as it’s the LCM of 2 and 3)
and is in CG (x), so it must in fact generate all of CG (x).
Example 3.61. For G = Sym3 , the conjugacy classes are {id}, {(12), (23), (31)},
and {(123), (132)}. Since |G| = 6, the stabilizer of id is G, the centralizer
of (12) has two elements, and the centralizer of (123) has three elements. In
fact, in the latter two cases, the centralizer of the element is just the sub-
group it generates (so the inclusion in Remark 3.58 is in fact an equality of
subgroups in these cases).
(s1 · · · sk ),
Theorem 3.63. Two permutations are conjugate in Symn if and only if they
have the same cycle structure.
Proof. Let σ, τ ∈ Symn have the same cycle structure {k1 , · · · , kr }. Hence
we may represent both in the form:
σ = σ1 σ2 · · · σr ,
τ = τ1 τ2 · · · τr ,
63
r
X
where σi is a ki -cycle, and ki = 1. Write
i=1
σi = (ai1 · · · aiki )
τi = (bi1 · · · biki )
for i = 1, 2, · · · , r. Define α ∈ Symn such that α(aij ) = bij for all 1 ≤ i ≤ r,
1 ≤ j ≤ ki . Then by Lemma 3.62, we have
ασi α−1 = τi
σ = σ1 σ2 · · · σr ,
then
ασi α−1
is a ki -cycle for each i by Lemma 3.62, and they are all disjoint (because α
is a bijection), so ασα−1 has the same cycle structure as σ.
64
Example 3.65. For G = Sym4 , the conjugacy classes are {id}, {(12), (23), (34), (41), (13), (24)},
{(123), (132), (124), (142), (134), (143), (234), (243)}, {(1234), (1243), (1324), (1342), (1423), (1432)}
and {(12)(34), (13)(24), (14), (23)}.
The centralizer of (12) must have four elements, as its conjugacy class
has 24/4 = 6 elements. Recall that disjoint cycles don’t commute, so (34) is
in CG ((12)). As well, by Remark 3.58, we know that (12) ∈ CG ((12)). So we
have CG ((12)) = {id, (12), (34), (12)(34)}.
Notice that the conjugacy class of (123) has eight elements, so its cen-
tralizer has 24/8 = 3 elements. In fact, it has order 3, so its centralizer is
just the subgroup it generates. Similarly, the conjugacy class of (1234) has
six elements, so its centralizer has 4 elements, and it has order 4, so it must
generate its centralizer.
Finally, note that the conjugacy class of (12)(34) has three elements, so
its centralizer must have eight elements. Recall that (12)(34) commutes with
the cycles (12) and (34), so it commutes with the subgroup they generate,
i.e., {id, (12), (34), (12)(34)}. Finally, more subtle is the fact that (13)(24)
also commutes with (12)(34). Note carefully that (13) and (24) do NOT
commute with it. We can then take the subgroup generated by (13)(24)
and {id, (12), (34), (12)(34)}, and this indeed has eight elements so it is the
centralizer.
65
if and only if
τ στ −1 ∈ Stab(y).
We start with a remark that will help us prove Theorem 3.69. This will be
our first example of a non-trivial theorem that uses the theory of conjugacy
classes.
and |Ci | | |G| ∀i ∈ {1, · · · , r}. This is known as the class equation.
Theorem 3.69. If |G| > 1 is a power of some prime number p, then Z(G)
is nontrivial (i.e., has more than one element).
Proof. This essentially follows by Remarks 3.57 and 3.68. Note that every
conjugacy class has size dividing |G|, so it must be a power of p. Therefore,
every conjugacy class has size divisible by p or size 1.
Let’s group the conjugacy classes into those of size 1 and those of size p;
say C1 , · · · , Cs have size 1, and Cs+1 , · · · , Cr have size divisible by p. Notice
that by Remark 3.57, s is just the size of Z(G).
We have r r
X X
|G| = |Ci | = s + |Ci |,
i=1 i=s+1
66
so r
X
s = |G| − |Ci |.
i=s+1
But p | |G|, and p | |Ci | for i > s, so p | s. Thus s > 1, and we are
done.
Sylow’s Theorem. Let (G, ∗) be a finite group such that pn divides |G|,
where p is prime. Then there exists a subgroup of order pn .
f : Stab(ω) → ω
g → g ∗ ω1
67
• Observe that
pn −1 n pn −1 n
pn m!
n Y p m−j Y p m−j
p m
|S| = = = = m .
pn pn !(pn m − pn )! pn − j pn − j
j=0 j=1
j=1
pn − j
Let S be a set and Σ(S) its permutation group. The permutation group
completely ignores the fact that there may be extra structure on S.
68
Symmetry in Euclidean Space
x1 y1
.. ..
Concretely, if x = . , y = . ∈ Rn then hx, yi := x1 y1 + · · · +
xn yn
xn yn .
f : Rn −→ Rn
x −→ x + y.
for some y ∈ Rn .
69
Definition 3.74. We define the symmetry group of X to be the subgroup
Sym(X) ⊂ Isom(Rn ) with the property that f ∈ Sym(X) if and only if f
permutes X.
There is a natural action of Sym(X) on the set X, coming from the fact
there is a natural homomorphism Sym(X) → Σ(X). Sym(X) measures how
much symmetry X has. The more symmetric X, the larger Sym(X).
First observe that every element of Dm must fix the center of X (the
origin). Thus we may view Dm as a subgroup of the group of 2×2 orthogonal
matrices. We shall not take this approach here.
a
Dm = Rotm τ Rotm .
The left coset τ Rotm is precisely the set of reflective symmetries. Hence
every element of Dm can be written in the form σ k (if a rotation) or τ σ k (if
70
a reflection). The group structure is completely determined by the following
properties
• ord(σ) = m
• ord(τ ) = 2
Observe that the third property implies that Dm is not Abelian. Here is a
picture for n = 3.
The Cube in R3
71
If τ ∈ Sym(X) is the symmetry sending x to −x (this is not a rotation),
then again
a
Sym(X) = Rot τ Rot .
Color the vertices with four colors, making sure that opposite vertices
have the same color (see below figure). Rotational symmetries act on this set
of four colors, inducing a homomorphism from Rot to Sym4 . Given any two
colors, it is possible to transpose them (leaving the others fixed) by a rotation.
Because Sym4 is generated by transpositions, the induced homormorphism
Rot → Sym4 must be surjective. However, |Rot | = 24 = 4! = |Sym4 |.
Hence it must be an isomorphism. We deduce that Rot is isomorphic to
Sym4 .
72
Interesting Question:
In linear algebra the predominant objects we study are the maps between
vector spaces, and not the vector spaces themselves. The structure preserving
maps between vector spaces are more interesting than the spaces themselves.
This a deep observation and it is true far beyond the confines of linear algebra.
Philosophically it’s saying that an object in isolation is uninteresting; it’s
how it relates to what’s around it that matters. The world of group theory
is no different. Here the objects are groups and the maps between them are
homomorphisms. Now we’ll study homomorphisms between abstract groups
in more detail.
Ker(f ) := {x ∈ G | f (x) = eH }
73
Proof. First we will show true for Ker(f ):
1. f (eG ) = eH ⇒ eG ∈ Ker(f ).
1. f (eG ) = eH so eH ∈ Im(f ).
Thus f is injective.
74
Recall that for m ∈ N the set of left cosets of mZ in Z, denoted Z/mZ natu-
rally inherited the structure of a group from + on Z. It would be reasonable
to expect that this was true in the general case, i.e. given G a group and H,
a subgroup, the set G/H naturally inherits the structure of a group from G.
To make this a bit more precise let’s think about what naturally means. Let
xH, yH ∈ G/H be two left cosets. Recall that x and y are not necessarily
unique. The only obvious way for combining xH and yH would be to form
(xy)H.
Warning: in general this is not well defined. It will depend on the choice of
x and y.
Some examples of kernels and images are given in Example 3.77, after
the statement of the First Isomorphism Theorem.
Remark 3.75. 1. Observe that this is not saying that given g ∈ G and
h ∈ H, then ghg −1 = h. It is merely saying that ghg −1 ∈ H. See
Example 3.78 for a good example of this.
4. For any group G, the whole group G and the trivial group {eG } are
both normal as subgroups.
75
Proof. Let h ∈ Ker(f ) and g ∈ G. Then f (ghg −1 ) = f (g)f (h)f (g −1 ) =
f (g)eH f (g)−1 = eH ⇒ ghg −1 ∈ Ker(f ).
is well defined.
Proof. As usual the problem is that that coset representatives are not unique
and thus we could have two representatives giving different maps. Thus our
goal is to show:
76
Hence uy2−1 y1 = y1−1 (x−1 −1
1 x2 )y1 . Therefore, by the normality of H, uy2 y1 ∈
H ⇒ u ∈ H ⇒ (x1 y1 )H = (x2 y2 )H.
φ : G −→ G/H
x −→ xH
Recall that the identity element in G/H is the coset H. Hence for x ∈ Ker(φ)
⇔ φ(x) = xH = H ⇔ x ∈ H. Hence Ker(φ) = H.
77
Observe that this shows that any normal subgroup can be realised as the
kernel of a group homomorphism.
ϕ : G/Ker(φ) −→ Im(φ)
xKer(φ) −→ φ(x)
This is well define precisely because of the above observations.
The First Isomorphism Theorem. Let G and H be two groups. Let
φ : G → H be a homomorphism, then the induced map
ϕ : G/Ker(φ) −→ Im(φ)
xKer(φ) −→ φ(x)
is an isomorphism of groups.
78
It is left for us to show that ϕ is a homomorphism. Given x, y ∈ G,
ϕ(xKer(φ)yKer(φ)) = ϕ(xyKer(φ)) = φ(xy) = φ(x)φ(y) = ϕ(xKer(φ))ϕ(yKer(φ)).
1. The inclusion map from (Z, +) into (Q, +) is a homomorphism. Its ker-
nel is trivial, and its image is isomorphic to (Z, +), so it just expresses
the fact that for any group G, we have G/{eG } is isomorphic to G.
5. The map from GLn (R) to (R \ {0}, ×) sending a matrix A to its deter-
minant det(A) is a homomorphism. The kernel is the group SLn (R) of
matrices with determinant 1. The image is all of R \ {0}, so this tells
us that GL2 (R)/SL2 (R) is isomorphic to (R \ {0}, ×).
79
8. The logarithm is a homomorphism from (R>0 , ×) to (R, +). In fact, it
is an isomorphism, so the same comment as in the first example applies.
9. For any group G and any group H, the map sending all elements of G
to eH ∈ H is a homomorphism. Its kernel is the whole group G, and is
image is the trivial group {eH }. The First Isomorphism Theorem here
expresses the fact that that for any group G, G/G is isomorphic to the
trivial group.
Example 3.78. Consider the group Aff(1, R) of invertible affine maps from
the line R to itself. This may defined as the subset of Σ(R) consisting of
maps of the form x 7→ ax + b for a, b ∈ R, a 6= 0.
One can also define it as the set R \ {0} × R, with the binary operation
(a, b) ∗ (c, d) = (ac, ad + b). Notice that the group is not abelian. When we
write Aff(1, R), we thus mean R \ {0} × R with this group operation.
80
Lemma. H/N ⊂ G/N is a subgroup.
Lemma. HM ⊂ G is a subgroup.
81
α : {Subgroups of G containing N } −→ {Subgroups of G/N }
H −→ H/N
and
β : {Subgroups of G/N } −→ {Subgroups of G containing N }
M −→ HM
Proposition 3.79. These maps of sets are inverse to each other.
Proof. We need to show that composition in both directions gives the identity
function.
We deduce that both α and β are bijections and we have the following:
The Third Isomorphism Theorem. Let G be a group and N ⊂ G a
normal subgroup. There is a natural bijection between the subgroups of G
containing N and subgroups of G/N .
Normalizers
82
Since conjugation by g is a group automorphism of G, and the image of a
subgroup under a homomorphism is also a subgroup, we find that gHg −1 is
a subgroup of G. Letting Sub(G) denote the set of all subgroups of G, this
construction defines an action of G on Sub(G).
83
There is an obvious generalization of this concept to any finite collection of
groups.
Remark 3.81. The set {(x, eG ) | x ∈ G} is a subgroup of G×H isomorphic
to G. It is in fact a normal subgroup, and the quotient by this subgroup is
isomorphic to H.
1. ∀h ∈ H and ∀k ∈ K, hk = kh.
2. Given g ∈ G there exist unique h ∈ H, k ∈ K such that g = hk.
φ : H × K −→ G
(h, k) −→ hk
Let x, y ∈ H and g, h ∈ K. By property one φ((x, g)(y, h)) = φ(xy, gh) =
xygh = xgyh = φ(x, g)φ(y, h). Hence φ is a homomorphism. Property two
ensures that φ is bijective.
84
Remark 3.84. As in Remark 3.81, the subgroups H and K are normal in
G. Then G/K is isomorphic to H, and G/H is isomorphic to K.
The concept of direct sum has a clear generalization to any finite collection
of subsets of G.
Note that for us, the main use of the term ‘direct sum’ is as a way to
recognize when a group is the direct product of two of its subgroups. So
1. m(a + b) = ma + mb
2. (m + n)a = ma + na
3. (mn)a = m(na)
∀a, b ∈ G; m, n ∈ Z
x = λ1 a1 + · · · + λn an λi ∈ Z.
85
In general such an expression is not unique. For example is G is of order
m ∈ N then (m + 1)a = a for all a ∈ G. This is because ma = 0 A
reasonable goal would be to find a generating set such that every expression
of the above form was unique (after possibly restricting 0 ≤ λ1 < ord(ai )) for
a given x ∈ G. Such a generating set is called a basis for G. Observe that it
is not clear that such a basis even exists at present. If {a1 , · · · , an } ⊂ G were
a basis then letting Ai = gp(ai ) ⊂ G we have the direct sum decomposition:
G = A1 ⊕ · · · ⊕ An .
Conversely, if G can be represented as the direct sum of cyclic subgroups
then choosing a generator for each gives a basis for G.
Lemma. tG ⊂ G is a subgroup.
1. ord(0) = 1 ⇒ 0 ∈ tG
86
Proof. Let {a1 , · · · , an } ⊂ G be a generating set. Each element is of finite
order hence every element x ∈ G can be written in the form
x = λ1 a1 + · · · + λn an , λi ∈ Z, 0 ≤ λ1 < ord(ai ).
λ1 a1 + · · · λn an where λi ∈ Z.
In other words, if we can find a basis for G consisting of non-torsion elements.
In this case
G = gp(a1 ) ⊕ · · · ⊕ gp(an ) ∼
= Z × Z · · · × Z = Zn .
Proposition 3.89. Let G be a finitely generated free abelian group. Any two
bases must have the same cardinality.
87
Theorem 3.91. A finitely generated abelian group is free Abelan ⇔ it is
torsion free.
(⇐)
λ1 a1 + λ2 a2 + · · · + λn an = 0
λ1 a1 λ2 a2
If ∃d ∈ Z such that d | λi for all i, then have d( + + · · · + ...) = 0.
d d
λ1 a1 λ2 a2
As G is torsion-free, ( + + · · · + ...) = 0. We can therefore assume
d d
that the λi are collectively coprime. If λ1 = 1, then we can shift terms
to get a1 = −(λ2 a2 + λ3 a3 + · · · + λn an ). Therefore, G is generated by the
{a2 , · · · , an } ⊂ G and the result follows by induction. We will reduce to
this cases as follows: Assume |λ1 | ≥ |λ2 | > 0. By the remainder theorem
we may choose α ∈ Z such that |λ1 − αλ2 | < |λ2 |. Let a02 = a2 + αa1 and
λ01 = λ1 − αλ2 , then
λ01 a1 + λ2 a02 + · · · + λn an = 0.
Also observe that {a1 , a02 , · · · , an } ⊂ G is still a generating set and {λ01 , · · · , λn }
are still collectively coprime. This process must must eventually terminate
with one of the coefficients equal either 1 or −1. In this case we can apply
the inductive step as above to conclude that G is free abelian.
88
Proof. G/tG is torsion free. We must show that G/tG is finitely generated.
Let {a1 , · · · , an } ⊂ G generate G. Then {a1 + tG, · · · , an + tG} ⊂ G/tG
forms a generating set. By the above theorem G/tG is free Abelian.
Definition 3.93. Let G be a finitely generated Abelian group. We define
the rank of G to be the rank of G/tG.
φ(λ1 e1 + · · · + λn en ) = λ1 f1 + · · · + λn fn ∈ G/tG.
89
G = F ⊕ tG
G = F ⊕ tG −→ tG
f + h −→ h
Proof. 1. ord(0) = 1 = p0 ⇒ 0 ∈ Gp .
90
3. Let g ∈ Gp ⇒ ∃r ∈ N such that pr g = 0 ⇒ −pr g = pr (−g) = 0 ⇒
−g ∈ Gp
G = Gp1 ⊕ · · · ⊕ Gpr
Moreover this is the unique way to express as the direct sum of p-subgroups
for distinct primes.
P1 Q1 + · · · + Pr Qr = 1 (Extension of Euclid)
91
u(p1 x) + v(q1 x) = 0 + 0 = 0 ⇒ g1 = g10 . Similarly we find gi = gi0 for all
i ∈ {1, · · · , r}, hence the sum is unique and we deduce
G = Gp1 ⊕ · · · ⊕ Gpr .
G = H1 ⊕ · · · ⊕ Hs ∼
= H1 × · · · × Hs
where Hi is a finite qi -subgroup. Clearly Gqi = Hi and if p is a prime not
in {q1 , · · · , qs } Gp = {0}. Thus {p1 , · · · , pr } = {q1 , · · · , qs } and any such
representation is unique.
We have however reduced the study of finite abelian groups to finite abelian
p-groups.
92
Let BC = {ab | a ∈ B, b ∈ C}. We claim that BC ⊂ G is a subgroup.
1. eG ∈ B and eG ∈ C ⇒ eG ∈ BC.
First observe that |G/C| < |G|. Hence the inductive hypothesis applies
to G/C. Observe that BC ⊂ G is a subgroup containing C. Observe that
BC/C is cyclic, generated by bC ∈ BC/C. Because B ∩ C = {0} we also
know that |BC/C| = pn . Note that the size of the maximal cyclic subgroup of
G must be larger than or equal to the size of the maximal cyclic subgroup of
G/C. However we have constructed a cyclic subgroup BC/C ⊂ G/C whose
order equals that of a B. Hence BC/C ⊂ G/C is a maximal cyclic subgroup.
Thus by our inductive hypothesis ∃N ⊂ G/C such that BC/C ⊕ N = G/C.
By the third isomorphism theorem we know that N = D/C for a unique
subgroup D ⊂ G containing C. We claim that G is the direct sum of B and
D.
Thus we have shown that given any finite Abelian p-group G and a max-
imal cyclic subgroup B ⊂ G, there exists a subgroup D ⊂ G such that
G = B ⊕ D. Observe that D is a finite Abelian p-group, thus we can con-
tinue this process until eventually it must terminate. The end result will be
an expression of G as a direct sum of cyclic p-groups.
93
Corollary 3.96. For any finite Abelian p-group G , there exist a unique
decreasing sequence of natural numbers {r1 , · · · , rn } ⊂ N such that
G∼
= Z/pr1 Z × · · · × Z/prn Z.
Proof. By the previous theorem we know that G is the direct sum of cyclic
groups each of p-power order. Thus we know that such integers exist . We will
prove uniqueness by induction on |G|. Assume that there is are isomorphisms
G∼
= Z/pr1 Z × · · · × Z/prn Z ∼
= Z/ps1 Z × · · · × Z/psm Z,
where the ri and sj are a decreasing sequence of natural numbers. We there-
n m
Pn Pm X X
r s
fore see that |G| = p i=1 = p j=1 . Hence
i j
ri = sj .
i=1 j=1
pG ∼
= Z/pr1 −1 Z × · · · × Z/prn −1 Z ∼
= Z/ps1 −1 Z × · · · × Z/psm −1 Z.
Observe now that |pG| < |G|, thus by induction we deduce that the ri
and sj agree when restricted to entries strictly greater than 1. This, together
n
X Xm
with the fact that ri = sj , implies that the two sets are the same and
i=1 j=1
thus uniqueness is proven.
94
Proof. Recall that if {p1 , · · · , pr } are the primes dividing |G| then
G∼
= Gp1 × · · · × Gpr .
Hence |G| = |Gp1 | · · · |Gpr |. By the above corollary pi divides |G| if and
only if Gpi is non-trivial.
Structure Theorem for Finitely Generated Abelian Groups. Every
finitely generated Abelian group G can be written as a direct sum of cyclic
groups:
G = β1 ⊕ · · · ⊕ βr
where each βi is either infinite or of prime power order, and the orders which
occur are uniquely determined (up to reordering of the indices).
Proof. G=F ⊕ tG. F is free and finitely generated, hence the direct sum of
infinite cyclic groups (Z, +). The number equals the rank of G. tG is finite
Abelian, hence the is the unique direct sum of p-groups for distinct primes
p. Each p-group is the unique direct sum (up to order) of p-power cyclic
groups.
Note that we could have stated this theorem with direct product in place of
direct sum. Thus we have classified all finitely generate Abelian groups up
to isomorphism.
95
Here is the basic strategy:
• Show that any finite group G can be broken down into simple pieces.
{e} = G0 / G1 / · · · / Gr−1 / Gr = G.
such that
If G = Sym3 then
{e} = G0 / G1 / · · · / Gr−1 / Gr = G.
96
{e} = H0 / H1 / · · · / Hs−1 / Hs = G.
Then r = s and the quotient groups
{e} = G0 / G1 / · · · / Gr−1 / Gr = G.
To summarize our study: Finite group theory if much like the theory of
chemical molecules.
97
We now have two goals
The theory of groups was initiated by Galois in 1832. Galois was the first to
discover the first known simple groups, namely Z/pZ for p prime and Altn
for n > 4. Amazingly it took until 2004 until a complete classification was
known. The proof stretches across over 10000 pages and is the combined
work of thousands of mathematicians. Here’s a very rough breakdown the
the different four distinct classes of finite simple group:
• Cyclic groups of prime order. These are the only Abelian simple groups.
• Finite groups of Lie type. These groups are very complicated to de-
scribe in general. The basic idea is that they can be realized as sub-
groups and quotients of matrix groups. There are 16 infinite families
of finite simple groups of Lie type.
• There are 26 sporadic groups. Very strangely these do not fall into
any fixed pattern. The first were discovered in 1852 by Mathieu, while
he was thinking about subgroups of finite permutation groups with
extremely strong transitivity properties. The largest sporadic group
was discovered in the 1970s. It’s called the monster group and has size
The monster contains all but six of the other sporadic groups as quo-
tients of subgroups.
The theory of finite simple groups is one of the crown jewels of mathematics.
It’s demonstrates how profound the definiton of a group really is. All of this
complexity is contained in those three innocent axioms.
98
The next question, of course, is to classify all finite groups with given
simple components. This is still a wide open problem. As such a complete
classification of all finite groups is still unknown.
One may ask about classifying infinite groups. Unsurprisingly the situ-
ation is even more complicated, although much progress has been made if
specific extra structure (topological, analytic or geometric) is imposed.
99
4 Rings, Ideals, and Homomorphisms
The identity for + is “zero”, denoted 0R (often just written as 0), and the
identity for × is “one”, denoted 1R (often just written as 1).
Remark 4.1. 1. To simplify the notation we will write x × y = xy for all
x, y ∈ R.
in a well-defined way.
100
2. The rational numbers under the usual addition and multiplication.
6. Let S be a set and P(S) be the set of all subsets. This is called the
power set of S. On P(S) define + and × by
X + Y = (X ∩ Y 0 ) ∪ (X 0 ∩ Y ), XY = X ∩ Y
10. If R is any ring, then the set Mn×n (R) of n×n matrices with coefficients
in R is a ring, with addition component-wise, and multiplication defined
by the usual formulas for matrix multiplication. If n ≥ 2, this is not
commutative.
101
11. If R is any ring, there is a ring R[x] of polynomials in the variable x with
coefficients in R. A polynomial is a sequence a0 +a1 x+a2 x2 +· · ·+an xn ,
where ai ∈ R for 0 ≤ i ≤ n. Addition and multiplication are defined
like usual addition and multiplication of polynomials. We discuss this
in much more detail in Section 4.4.
12. The subset of C defined by
{a + bi | a, b ∈ Z},
with the usual operations of addition and multiplication, is a ring
known as the Gaussian Integers. This ring is denoted Z[i].
13. The subset of R defined by
√
{a + b 2 | a, b ∈ Q}
√ √
is a ring. This ring is denoted Q[ 2]. There is also a version Z[ 2]
with integer instead of rational coefficients.
102
Remark 4.4.
Example 4.5. Here’s an example that shows why the last remark is impor-
tant. The map from Z to Z × Z sending n ∈ Z to (n, 0) ∈ Z × Z satisfies the
first two properties of ring homomorphisms, but it is NOT a ring homomor-
phism. That’s because the multiplicative identity of Z × Z is (1, 1).
103
7. The previous example actually works with R replaced by ANY ring R
(yes, even a finite ring like Z/mZ).
evr : R[x] → R
x0 = x(0 + 0) = x0 + x0 ⇒ x0 = 0
a + a + a + · · · + a (n times) = na(n ∈ N)
104
Similarly,
a × a × · · · × a (n times) = an f or n ∈ N.
1. m(a + b) = ma + mb
2. (m + n)a = ma + na
3. (mn)a = m(na)
∀a, b ∈ R and m, n ∈ Z.
3. 1S ∈ R.
105
G/ker(φ) ∼
= Im(φ).
Does something analogous hold for rings?
ker(φ) := {r ∈ R | φ(r) = 0S } ⊂ R.
Proof. We need to check that Im(φ) is closed under multiplication and con-
tains 1S . Let s1 , s2 ∈ Im(φ). Hence ∃r1 , r2 ∈ R such that φ(r1 ) = s1 and
φ(r2 ) = s2 . But s1 s2 = φ(r1 )φ(r2 ) = φ(r1 r2 ). Hence s1 s2 ∈ Im(φ). Hence
Im(φ) is closed under multiplication.
106
1. ker(φ) ⊂ R is a subgroup under +.
(a + I) × (b + I) := (ab) + I, ∀a, b ∈ R.
107
is contained in I because I is an ideal. Thus
a1 b1 + I = a2 b2 + I.
Proof. This is just a long and tedious exercise to check the axioms which all
follow because they hold on R. Unsurprisingly 0 + I is the additive identity
and 1 + I is the multiplicative identity.
ϕ : R/ker(φ) −→ Im(φ)
a + ker(φ) −→ φ(a)
is a ring isomorphism.
Proof. The first isomorphism theorem for groups tells us that it is an iso-
morphism of additive group. Hence we merely need to check that it is a ring
homomorphism.
108
Definition 4.15. An injective ring homomorphims φ : R → S is called
and embedding. By the first isomorphism theorem, R is isomorphic to the
subring Im(φ) ⊂ S.
Example 4.16. Here are some examples of how the First Isomorphism The-
orem applies:
1. Most of the examples in Example 4.6 are injective, which means their
kernel is the zero ideal {0R } (which is the same as 0R R, the set of
multiples of 0R ).
2. The kernel of the homomorphism from Z to Z/nZ listed in Example
4.6 is nZ, the set of multiples of n.
3. We will later prove that the kernel of evi : R[x] → C is (x2 + 1)R[x],
the set of multiples of the polynomial x2 + 1.
4. As an example of an ideal not of the form aR, consider the ring R =
Z[x], and consider the set of elements of the form
{5f (x) + xg(x) | f (x), g(x) ∈ Z}.
This is the set of polynomials with integers coefficients whose constant
term is a multiple of 5. Then the quotient by this ideal is the ring Z/5Z
(with the usual operations, of course).
To see this, consider the homomorphism from Z[x] to Z/5Z sending
a polynomial f (x) ∈ Z[x] to the residue class of its constant term
modulo 5. This is a homomorphism because it is the composition of
the homomorphism ev0 : Z[x] → Z with the projection homomorphism
Z → Z/5Z. Its kernel is precisely the ideal mentioned above.
109
It is clear that for any ring R, (R∗ , ×) is a group.
Definition. A non-trivial ring R in which every non-zero element is invertible
(i.e R \ {0} = R∗ ) is called a division ring (or skew field). If R is a
commutative division ring then R is called a field.
Remark 4.18. 1. (Q, +, ×) is the canonical example of a field. Other
natural examples include (R, +×), (C, +, ×) and (Z/pZ, +, ×), where
p is a prime number. There are examples of division rings which are
not fields (i.e. not commutative) but we will not encounter them in
this course.
0 1 0 2
A= and B =
0 0 0 0
multiply to give the zero matrix.
Definition. Let R be a non-trivial ring. Given a ∈ R \ {0}, if there exists
b ∈ R \ {0} such that ab = 0 or ba = 0, then a is said to be a zero-divisor.
Note that 0 is not a zero-divsor.
Definition 4.19. A non-trivial ring R with no zero divisors is said to
be entire; a commutative entire ring is called an integral domain. More
concretely: R is entire if and only if 1 6= 0 and ∀x, y ∈ R, xy = 0 ⇒ x = 0 or
y = 0.
110
Proof. In any ring R observe that if x, y ∈ R are two non-zero divisors then
by definition xy ∈ R must be a non-zero divisor. Hence, If R is non-trivial
the non-zero divisors of R are a monoid under multiplication. If R is entire
the set of non-zero divisors is precisely R\{0}, which implies it is a monoid
under multiplication. Conversly if R\{0} is a monoid then firstly it is non-
empty so R is non-tivial. But if x, y ∈ R\{0} then xy ∈ R\{0}. Hence R is
entire by definition.
Cancellation Law:
ψ : R \ {0} → R \ {0}
r 7→ ra.
111
ψ is well define because R is an integral domain. By the cancellation law for
integral domains, we know thatgiven r1 , r2 ∈ R r1 a = r2 a ⇒ r1 = r2 ⇒ ψ
injective. Since R\{0} is finite, ψ is surjective ⇒ ∃ b ∈ R\{0} such that ba =
ab = 1. Hence a has a multiplicative inverse. Therefore, R∗ = R \ {0}.
Let R be a ring.
g(x) = b0 + b1 x + b2 x2 + · · · + bm xm , bi ∈ R, m ∈ N
Exercise 4.1. Check this genuinely gives a ring structure on the set of
polynomials in x with coefficients in R.
112
φ : R −→ R[x]
a −→ a (polynomial with m = 0 and a = a0 )
ϕf : R −→ R
a 7→ f (a),
eva : R[x] → R
113
Theorem 4.25. The following facts are true about degree:
Proof. By the definition of degree, (1) and (2) are clear. (3) follows easily
from (2). For (4):
114
The process of adjoining indeterminants to a ring R can be iterated to form
polynomials in more than one variable with coefficients in R. We of course
use another symbol for the indeterminants, ie. R[x][y], polynomials in x and
y with coefficients in R, e.g. x2 + y 2 x + x3 y 6 .
X
f= ai1 ···in xi1 · · · xinn (ai1 ···in ∈ R)
Expressions of the form m(i) = xi11 · · · xinn are called monomials. The exam-
ple we’ll study most deeply is when R is a field.
115
Given a ring extension S of R and (a1 , · · · , an ) ∈ S n , we have a more
general form of evaluation homomorphism:
ev(a1 ,··· ,an ) = eva : R[x1 , · · · , xn ] → S
√
Example 4.29. Let’s suppose that R = Q and S = R, and let α = 2.
Then we have the evaluation homomorphism
ev√2 : Q[x] → R
√
The image of this homomorphism is the √ ring Q[ 2]. It follows by the First
Isomorphism Theorem (for rings) that Q[ 2] is a quotient of the ring Q[x] by
ev√2 . Notice that x2 − 2 is in this ideal; we will explain in Proposition 5.19
and Remark 5.20 why this kernel is precisely the principal ideal (x2 − 2)Q[x].
Remark 4.30. In the preceding example, the kernel of ev√2 contains no
√
nonzero polynomials of degree less than 2, because if it did, then 2 would
be rational.
This is the intersection of all subrings of S that contain both R and the
subset {α1 , · · · , αn }.
116
to R an integral domain. What is an element of Q? We usually write it in
a a c
the form with a, b ∈ Z, b 6= 0. This is not unique. = ⇔ ad − bc = 0.
b b d
As we are all aware, we define + and × by the following rules:
a c ad + cb
1. + =
b d bd
a c ac
2. × =
b d bd
(a, b) ∼ (c, d) ⇔ ad − cb = 0
(a, b) ∼ (c, d) ⇔ ad − bc = 0.
Proposition. ∼ is an equivalence relation.
117
d 6= 0 ⇒ af − be = 0 ⇒ (a, b) ∼ (e, f )
a c ad + bc a c ac
+ = × =
b d bd b d bd
a 1 a1 a
× = =
b 1 b1 b
Both operations are clearly commutative because R is commutative. Hence
we are done.
118
It is a straight forward exercise to check that under these operations (R×(R\
{0}))/ ∼ is a commutative ring. Also observe that (a, b) ∈ (R × (R \ {0})) is
in the zero class if and only if a = 0. Similarly (a, b) give the one class if and
only in a = b. This is good. It’s the same as in Q, so we’ve done something
right.
Theorem. (R × (R \ {0}))/ ∼ is a field.
φ : R → F rac(R)
a
a 7→
1
119
is an embedding.
a+b a b
1. Given a, b ∈ R, φ(a + b) = = + = φ(a) + φ(b).
1 1 1
ab a b
2. Given a, b ∈ R, φ(ab) = = × = φ(a)φ(b).
1 1 1
1
3. φ(1) = .
1
To check it is injective we just need to show that the kernel (as a homomor-
phism of Abelain groups) is trivial.
a 0
φ(a) = = ⇔ a = 0. Thus the kernel is trivial and so φ is injective.
1 1
Corollary 4.34. Every integral domain may be embedded in a field.
120
4.7 Characteristic
For any two rings A, B, we let Hom(A, B) denote the set of ring homomor-
phisms from A to B. We then have the following fact:
Fact 4.35. For any ring R, the set Hom(Z, R) has exactly one element.
Definition 4.36. For a ring R, let I denote the kernel of the unique homo-
morphism Z → R. Let m denote the unique non-negative positive integer
such that I = mZ. Then m is called the characteristic of R.
Fact 4.37. By the First Isomorphism Theorem for rings, the image of this
homomorphism is a subring of R isomorphic to Z/mZ (note that Z/0Z = Z,
and Z/1Z is the trivial ring).
121
8. For example, Z/2Z × Z/4Z has characteristic 4, Z/6Z × Z/4Z has
characteristic 12, and Z × R has characteristic 0 for any R.
In the last example, different elements have different additive orders (i.e.,
orders as elements of the abelian group (R, +)). In an entire ring, however,
every element has the same additive order. We therefore now focus our
attention on entire rings:
Now assume that 1R ∈ R has finite order k > 1 and that we have factored
k = rs in N. Then k1R = (rs)1R = (r1R )(s1R ) = 0. Since R entire, either
r1R = 0 or s1R = 0. However, since k is the minimal order of 1R , r = k or
s = k. Therefore, k must be prime.
122
When studying abstract fields, the characteristic is very important.
φ:Z→F
n 7→ n1F
ψ:Q→F
n
7→ φ(n)φ(m)−1
m
123
This shows that ψ is well defined.
Next: ψ is a homomorphism.
a n am + bn
ψ( + ) = ψ( )
b m bm
= (φ(a)φ(m) + φ(b)φ(n))φ(bm)−1
= φ(a)φ(b)−1 + φ(n)φ(m)−1
a n
= ψ( ) + ψ( )
b m
an an
ψ( ) = ψ( )
bm bm
=φ(an)φ(bm)−1
=φ(a)φ(n)φ(b)−1 φ(m)−1
=φ(a)φ(b)−1 φ(n)φ(m)−1
a n
= ψ( )ψ( )
b m
1
By definition ψ( ) = 1F . Thus we have a homomorphism. We claim that
1
it is injective.
124
4.8 Principal, Prime and Maximal Ideals
Assume that R/I is an integral domain but I is not prime. Hence we can
find a, b ∈ R such that ab ∈ I but a, b ∈/ I. But then (a + I) and (b + I) are
zero divisors, which is a contradiction.
125
Proposition 4.45. Let R be a commutative ring. Let I ⊂ R be an ideal.
Then I is maximal if and only if R/I is a field.
Proof. First observe that R commutative trivially implies that R/I is com-
mutative.
126
3. In R = Q[x], the ideal {0} is prime but not maximal. The ideals xR,
(x − 3)R, (x2 + 1)R, (x2 − 2), and (x2 − 3)R, are maximal.
4. In R = R[x], the ideals (x2 − 2)R and (x2 − 3)R are not prime, but the
ideal (x2 + 1)R is maximal (and therefore also prime).
5. In R = C[x], and f ∈ R, then the ideal f R is maximal iff f is a linear
polynomial with nonzero slope.
6. In R = Z[x], the ideals {0}, (7), and (x−3) are prime but not maximal,
and the ideal ({7, x − 3}) is maximal.
7. If S is an integral domain, and R = S[x], then every ideal of the form
(x − s)R is prime, and such an ideal is maximal iff S is a field.
In this section, we will define some useful terms to explain what we even
mean by unique factorization in a general integral domain.
127
Let a, b ∈ R. As in Z, a | b will mean that ∃ c ∈ R such that b = ac.
The first thing we have to deal with is what “unique” means in unique fac-
torization. More specifically, in Z, there is the subtlety that a and −a are
essentially the same as far as divisibility is concerned. We formalize this with
the following notion:
Definition. Two non-zero elements a, b in an integral domain R are associ-
ated if a | b and b | a, i.e. ∃ c, d ∈ R such that b = ac and a = bd.
Theorem 5.1. In R an integral domain, and a, b ∈ R be two non-zero
elements. Then, a and b are associated ⇔ a = bu for u ∈ R∗ .
128
6. In Z[1/2], the units are all numbers of the form ±2n for n ∈ Z.
7. In Z[1/6], the units are all numbers of the form ±2n 3m for m, n ∈ Z.
The second issue to address is what does a prime element of R mean? The
problem, as we will see, is that we can easily come up with several different
natural definitions which are equivalent in Z, but may not be equivalent
in every integral domain. Those two notions are those of prime element
and
√ irreducible element, which are√equivalent√ in Z but not, for example, in
Z[ −5]. As√ we shall see, 2, 3, 1 + −5, 1 − −5 are all irreducible, but not
prime, in Z[ −5].
Proof. Suppose that a were reducible, i.e., a = bc, where b and c are non-
units. Then a | b or a | c, so WLOG let a | b. Then b | a, so a and b are
associated, hence Theorem 5.1 tells us that a = bu for a unit u. But then
bu = bc, so since R is an integral domain, we have c = u, contradicting the
assumption that c is not a unit.
129
√
2. In Z[ −5], √the element
√ 2 is irreducible, but not √prime, because
√ it
divides (1 + −5)(1 − −5) yet divides neither 1 + −5 nor 1 − −5.
x = a1 · · · an = b 1 · · · b m ,
1. d | a and d | b
130
2. Given d0 ∈ R such that d0 | a and d0 | b, then d0 | d.
1. a | c and b | c
131
Proof. Exactly the same argument as above works in this case observing that
Yr
d= pδi i is a common multiple of a and b if and only if δi ≥ αi and δi ≥ βi
i=1
for all i ∈ {1, · · · pr }.
Remark 5.10. If a ∈ R a unit then
Note that a polynomial f (x) has degree zero if and only if it is nonzero
and constant.
132
Remark 5.12. Notice this proof crucially uses the fact that F is a field,
because you might have to divide by a coefficient. Therefore, the theorem
is false for Z[x] in place of F [x], as can be seen by taking f (x) = x and
g(x) = 2.
Remark 5.13. Notice that this looks very similar to the Remainder Theorem
for integers (2.5), with the absolute value in place of the degree function. The
notion of Euclidean Domain is a generalization of both of these examples,
and the absolute value (in the case of Z) and the degree (in the case of F [x])
are examples of Euclidean functions.
You don’t technically need to know the term “Euclidean domain,” but
you should understand the similarity between the Remainder Theorem for
Z and that for F [x]. And that similarity is precisely what the notion of
“Euclidean domain” is about.
The Remainder Theorem is useful because it allows one to show that F [x]
is a PID, which also implies that it is a UFD. We now talk about PID’s.
5.3 PID
133
√
√ √
−163 + 1
Example 5.18. The rings Z, Z[i], Z[ 2], Z[ −2], and Z are
2
PID’s. The first four can be proven using methods similar to those used for
F [x] below; the last one is harder to prove (and is not something we will
cover).
We now explain how the remainder theorem can be used to show that F [x]
is a PID.
If not, then I has at least some nonzero element, call it f (x). Then f (x)
has a degree, which is a non-negative integer. If f (x) has the smallest possible
degree among nonzero elements of I, then we fix f (x); if not, we replace f (x)
with an element of I with smallest possible degree (there is always a smallest
possible degree, because the degree is ≥ 0). Let this element be g(x).
We want to show that I = g(x)R. For this, let h(x) be a general element
of I. We want to show that h(x) is a multiple of g(x). For this, apply the
remainder theorem to find h(x) = q(x)g(x) + r(x), where r(x) is zero or has
smaller degree than g(x). Note that because g(x), h(x) ∈ I, we have r(x) =
h(x) − q(x)g(x) ∈ I. Therefore, r(x) cannot have smaller degree than g(x)
(by the definition of g(x)), so r(x) = 0. That means that h(x) = g(x)q(x),
so g(x) divides h(x), as desired.
Remark 5.20. The proof of Proposition 5.19 implies that if I is an ideal and
f is an element of I of minimal degree, then f generates I. This is explained
in more detail in Proposition 5.30 below.
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5.3.2 Consequences of Being a PID
One important fact about PID’s is that they are UFD’s. We will not give
the entire proof of this fact. The proof has two important steps:
1. can be proven using the stuff about ascending chains of ideals in 4.10 of
Paulin, but we won’t worry about that. For 2., an important step is showing
that all irreducible elements are prime (this fact is both true in a UFD and
is a step in proving that a given ring is a UFD).
Example 5.21. To see why “irreducible implies
√ prime” is related to unique-
ness of factorization, consider the ring Z[ √−5], which√ is neither a PID nor
a UFD. Then the fact that (2)(3) = (1 + −5)(1 − −5) are two different
factorizations into irreducibles of the same element (6) is related
√ to the
√ fact
that 2 is not prime. Indeed, 2 is irreducible, divides (1 + −5)(1 − −5),
but does not divide either factor. So 2 is irreducible but not prime.
Let’s now prove that every irreducible element of a UFD is prime. Re-
member that a nonzero element is prime if and only if the ideal it generates
is prime (by definition), and recall that maximal ideals are always prime.
Therefore, it suffices to prove that every irreducible element generates an
ideal that is maximal:
Proposition 5.22. Let R be a PID, and suppose a ∈ R is irreducible. Then
aR is maximal.
Proof. First, note that aR is not R, or else a would be a unit, and by defi-
nition irreducible elements are not units.
135
former case, we have J = R, and in the latter case, we have J = aR. As J
was arbitrary, this means that aR is maximal.
In fact, note that the ONLY non-maximal prime ideal in a PID is the
zero ideal. Therefore, if R is a PID, then every prime ideal is either aR for
a ∈ R irreducible
√ or {0}. This latter fact can be used to prove, for example,
that Q[ 2] is not just a ring but also a field; for it is the quotient of Q[x] by
the ideal generated by the irreducible polynomial x2 − 2, and this ideal must
be maximal.
Here’s another fact that holds in PID’s but not in general UFD’s: Recall
that HCF’s always exist in a UFD. In a PID, we can say a little bit more
about HCF’s than just that they exist. Specifically, we can say the following:
Proof. Let I be the ideal generated by x and y. Then I is the set of all
elements of R of the form ax + by for a, b ∈ R. Thus we have to show that
d ∈ I.
136
5.4 Factorization of Polynomials
Fact 5.25. 1. Every ideal in F [x] is of the form (f (x)) for f (x) ∈ F [x].
2. Two such ideals (f (x)) and (g(x)) are the same ideal if and only if g(x)
is a nonzero constant multiple of f (x).
4. The maximal ideals are precisely those of the form (p(x)) for an irre-
ducible polynomial p(x).
Now let’s talk about how to recognize whether a given element generates
an ideal. First, a definition:
Example 5.29. An ideal I ⊆ F [x] has elements of degree zero if and only
if it is the whole ring.
137
We then have the following facts, which essentially follow from the proof
of 5.11 and from the facts mentioned above:
Proof. The ideal (p(x)) is then contained in I. Since (p(x)) is maximal, and
I is not all of R, we must have I = (p(x)).
138
Conversely, suppose f (α) = 0. By the Remainder Theorem, we can write
where r(x) is either zero or has degree 0. Therefore, r(x) is constant. But
r(α) = f (α)−q(α)(α−α) = 0, so r(x) is just 0. Therefore, f (x) = q(x)(x−α),
so (x − α) | f (x).
If R and S are both fields, then we let R(α) denote the smallest subfield
of S containing R and α. Note that we always have R[α] ⊆ R(α), and these
are equal if and only if R[α] is already a field. We want to understand when
this does and doesn’t happen.
Iα := ker evα .
139
By the first isomorphism theorem for rings, we have F [α] ∼= F [x]/Iα . Note
that E is a field and therefore an integral domain, so it has no zero-divisors.
But that means that F [α], being a subring of E, also has no zero-divisors.
Therefore, F [α] is an integral domain (ID), so Iα is a prime ideal in F [x].
By Fact 5.25, we find that F [α] is a field (and hence F [α] = F (α)) if and
only if α is algebraic over F .
Example 5.37. The complex number i is algebraic over Q (and over R).
140
Definition 5.40. A complex number α is said to be an algebraic number
if it is algebraic over Q. It is said to be a transcendental number if it is
transcendental over Q.
For some time, people didn’t know if there even were transcendental num-
bers. The first number proven to be transcendental was
∞
X 1
n!
,
n=1
10
which was done by Liouville. You can find out about more numbers that are
known to be transcendental at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcendental_
number#Numbers_proven_to_be_transcendental.
Remark 5.41. This material is non-examinable: The subset of C consisting
of all algebraic numbers is denoted Q. It turns out that this subset is in fact a
subfield, and it is known as the algebraic closure of Q. It is algebraically closed
in the sense that every polynomial with coefficients in it has a root (and in fact
splits into linear factors). You can read more at https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Algebraic_number#The_field_of_algebraic_numbers and the
links contained therein.
Let E/F be a field extension, and suppose that α ∈ E is algebraic. Then the
ideal Iα ⊆ F [x] has a unique monic generator by Fact 5.25. This generator
is called the minimal polynomial of α over F .
141
√ √ √
Example 5.43. The minimal polynomial of 2 over Q[ 2] is just x − 2.
x7 − 1
f (x) = ,
x−1
so it is clear that f (α) = 0. To show that f (x) is irreducible in Q[x], one
needs to use the Eisenstein Criterion from p.74 of Paulin’s notes. However,
we will not cover the Eisenstein Criterion in this semester.
Proof. If f (x) were reducible, then because degrees add when you multiply
polynomials, it would have to have a (non-constant) linear factor. But any
nonconstant linear polynomial over F is of the form ax + b for a, b ∈ F , with
b
a 6= 0. Since F is a field, this linear polynomial has a solution − ∈ F .
a
Therefore, if f (x) is reducible, then f (x) has a root in F .
142
Example 5.48. √ This allows one to prove that x2 − 2 is indeed the minimal
2
polynomial of 2 or that x + 1 is indeed the minimal polynomial of i (once
you prove that neither 2 nor −1 has a square root in Q).
Example 5.49. For a cubic example, note that 2 has no cube root in Q,√so
x3 − 2 is irreducible in Q[x], hence x3 − 2 is the minimal polynomial of 2
3
over Q.
Note that there are reducible quartic polynomials with no root in F . For
an easy example, take (x2 − 2)2 for F = Q.
λ 1 x1 + λ 2 x2 + · · · + λ n xn
for λi ∈ F .
143
Given √ an extension,
√ how can one determine its degree? It should be clear
that Q[ 2] = {a + b 2 | a, b ∈ Q} has degree 2 over Q. We also know that
[E : F ] = 1 if and only if E = F . The following fact is helpful:
The notion of degree of a field extension is the key to showing that one
cannot construct, for example, a septagon, using ruler and compass. The idea
is this: whenever one does a ruler and compass construction, the coordinates
of the points one can construct can be found by addition, multiplication,
subtraction, division, and square roots (because of the distance formula in
Cartesian geometry, and because ruler and compass construction is all about
drawing circles!). This means that they all lie in a field extension of Q given
by taking square roots; by applying Fact 6.4 over and over, one sees that
such an extension must have degree a power of 2.
144
2π x2 x 1
6.4. However, the number cos has minimal polynomial x3 + − − ,
7 2 2 8
2π
which has degree 3. Therefore, Q[cos ] has degree 3 over Q, so it cannot
7
be contained in a field extension of Q whose degree is a power of 2.
Given a polynomial f (x) ∈ F [x], one can define the splitting field Ef of f (x)
over F . It is a field obtained by “adjoining” (inside some larger field, such
as C) all the roots of f (x) to F . In other words, it is the smallest field E in
which f (x) splits into linear factors in E[x].
One then defines the Galois group Gal(Ef /F ) of f (x) over F to be the
group of automorphisms of the field Ef that act as the identity on F .
A basic result of Galois says that Gal(Ef /F ) acts transitively on the set
of roots. The philosophy behind this is that any two roots “look the same
algebraically, from the viewpoint of F .”
145
√3
√3
Example 6.7. The field Q[ 2] is not a splitting field, because 2 is not
the only root of the polynomial x3 − 2 ∈ Q[x]. √ In fact, we have to all add
√ √ −1 + i 3
the roots ω 2 and ω 2 2, where ω =
3 3
is a primitive third root of
√ 2
unity. The field Q[ 2, ω] is the splitting field of x3 − 2 over Q. In this case,
3
there are three roots, and the Galois group is the full symmetric group Sym3 .
This is an example of a non-abelian Galois group.
To learn more about Galois theory, pick up any text on abstract algebra,
search “Galois theory notes” on Google, or see my notes at https://math.
berkeley.edu/~dcorwin/files/galoisthy.pdf.
One set of notes I particularly like are those of Miles Reid at https:
//homepages.warwick.ac.uk/~masda/MA3D5/Galois.pdf. He has a really
nice introductory section that explains the cubic and quartic formulas in
light of the philosophy of Galois theory, so it really helps motivate Galois
theory. Or see my account of the same topic at https://math.berkeley.
edu/~dcorwin/files/symmetry_cubic.pdf.
You can also find some short articles about topics in Galois theory at
https://kconrad.math.uconn.edu/blurbs/.
146
variables with coefficients in a field F . We define the solution set or variety
defined by f1 , · · · , fm to be the set
V (f1 , · · · , fm ) = {(x1 , · · · , xn ) ∈ F n | fi (x1 , · · · , xn ) = 0 ∀ i = 1, · · · , m}.
The ring A(V (f1 , · · · , fm )) is known as the affine coordinate ring of the
variety. Algebraic geometers in the first half of the 20th century made the
important observation that geometric properties of V (f1 , · · · , fm ) are equiv-
alent to certain algebraic properties of the ring A. Here are three examples
of this phenomenon:
If the variety is smooth (this means that the Jacobian of partial deriva-
tives of the map from F n to F m defined by the polynomials fi has full rank
at every point of V (f1 , · · · , fm ), so that one may apply the implicit function
theorem), then A is a UFD.
147
6.3 p-adic Numbers
However, the basics of p-adic numbers are not too difficult, and I recom-
mend learning about them now!
Galois theory studies fields, especially fields of the form Q[α], where α ∈ C
is some algebraic number. Because Q[α] is a field, every nonzero element
divides every other element, so divisibility isn’t interesting. Similarly, every
ideal is either {0} or the whole ring, so the theory of ideals is not interesting.
On the other hand, if we consider Z[α], divisibility and ideals are both
much more
√ interesting.
√ For example, we might consider rings of the form
Z[i], Z[ 2], Z[ −5], and more. We might ask whether or not they are UFD
or PID. Algebraic number theory studies questions like these.
148
study quadratic integer rings, as the Galois theory in that case is very simple
(it is just conjugation). The quadratic integer rings take the form
√
Z[ d]
d−1
if d ≡ 2, 3 (mod 4). If d ≡ 1 (mod 4), then x2 −x− is monic polynomial
√ 4
1± d
with integer coefficients with roots , so
2
"√ #
d + 1
OQ[√d] = Z
2
if d ≡ 1 (mod 4), for d a squarefree integer. To read more about quadratic in-
teger rings, check out https://kconrad.math.uconn.edu/blurbs/gradnumthy/
quadraticgrad.pdf or Chapter 13 of Algebra by Michael Artin. These are
sources you should be able to read now.
If you want to learn even more about the general theory of commutative
rings, check out http://www.math.toronto.edu/jcarlson/A--M.pdf.
149
commutative algebra. On the other hand, some people may like to learn
abstract theory before learning how to apply it.
150