Group Theory Exam Preparation Guide
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Soumya Ranjan SahooGroup Theory Exam Preparation Guide
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Soumya Ranjan SahooCommon questions
Powered by AIThe set of odd permutations in Sn is not a subgroup because it does not satisfy the subgroup property of closure. The product of two odd permutations is an even permutation, thus the set of odd permutations does not even satisfy closure, one of the basic subgroup requirements .
The alternating group An is not abelian for n ≥ 4 because not all even permutations commute. For example, consider the even permutations (1 2 3) and (2 3 4) in A4. Their products in different orders, (1 2 3)(2 3 4) ≠ (2 3 4)(1 2 3), demonstrate non-commutativity, proving that An is not abelian .
To prove that An, the set of all even permutations in Sn, forms a subgroup, we must show closure, identity, and inverse properties. Closure is given because the product of two even permutations is even. The identity permutation is even, as it can be seen as a product of zero transpositions. The inverse of an even permutation is also even, as shown by considering that inverting a permutation does not change the parity of the number of transpositions. Therefore, An satisfies all subgroup properties in Sn .
There are (n choose r) * (r-1)! r-cycles in Sn. This can be generalized by observing that r-cycles can be constructed by choosing r elements from n, and each choice forms (r-1)! distinct cycles due to cyclic permutations. Evaluating smaller cases such as r=1, 2, etc., illustrates the pattern .
If α is an even permutation, α−1 is also even. This is because an even permutation is a product of an even number of transpositions, and inverting each transposition does not alter the overall parity, maintaining the even nature. The same logic applies to odd permutations, maintaining parity upon inversion .
The cardinality of the symmetric group Sn on n letters is n!. This is derived from the number of bijections from the set {1, 2, ..., n} to itself, equivalent to the number of ways to permute n distinct objects. There are n choices for the first position, (n-1) for the second, and so on, leading to a total of n! permutations .
To determine the disjoint cycle decompositions of a permutation, start with any element and follow its mapping until you return to the starting element, forming a cycle. Exclude these elements and repeat with remaining elements until all are used, thus decomposing the permutation into disjoint cycles .
The inverse of an r-cycle (a1, a2, ..., ar) is found by reversing the cycle to (ar, ar-1, ..., a1). The order of an r-cycle is r, as applying the cycle r times returns the set to its original arrangement .
The product of two permutations is an even permutation if both are either even or odd. Multiplying two even permutations preserves evenness as does multiplying two odd permutations, since the product of the signatures (+1 for even and -1 for odd) will be +1 in both cases .
The symmetric group Sn is not abelian for n ≥ 3 because the elements (permutations) in Sn do not commute with each other. To demonstrate this, consider the permutations σ = (1 2) and τ = (1 3) in S3. Computing their product in different orders, στ = (1 2 3) and τσ = (1 3 2), shows that στ ≠ τσ. This non-commutativity of permutations implies that Sn is not abelian for n ≥ 3 .