Algebraic Structures

Algebraic Structures
Compiled from Wikipedia-EJH2013
Contents
1
Abelian group
1.1
Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2
Facts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.1
Notation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.2.2
Multiplication table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.4
Historical remarks
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.5
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6
Finite abelian groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.1
Classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.6.2
Automorphisms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.7.1
Torsion groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.7.2
Torsion-free and mixed groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.7.3
Invariants and classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.7.4
Additive groups of rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.8
Relation to other mathematical topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.9
A note on the typography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.10 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.11 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.12 References
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.13 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Category theory
1.7
Innite abelian groups
2.1
Basic concepts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.2
Applications of Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3
Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.1
Categories, objects, and morphisms
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.2
Functors
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.3.3
Natural transformations
2.4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Categories, objects, and morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.1
Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.4.2
Morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ii
CONTENTS
2.5
Functors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.6
Natural transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2.7
Other concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
2.7.1
Universal constructions, limits, and colimits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
2.7.2
Equivalent categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
2.7.3
Further concepts and results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
2.7.4
Higher-dimensional categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10
2.8
Historical notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
2.9
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
2.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11
2.11 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
2.12 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
2.13 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13
Field
14
3.1
Denition and illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
3.1.1
First example: rational numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
3.1.2
Second example: a eld with four elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
3.1.3
Alternative axiomatizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
Related algebraic structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15
3.2.1
Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
3.3
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
3.4
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
3.4.1
Rationals and algebraic numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
3.4.2
Reals, complex numbers, and p-adic numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16
3.4.3
Constructible numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
3.4.4
Finite elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
3.4.5
Archimedean elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
17
3.4.6
Field of functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3.4.7
Local and global elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3.5
Some rst theorems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3.6
Constructing elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3.6.1
Closure operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3.6.2
Subelds and eld extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18
3.6.3
Rings vs elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
3.6.4
Ultraproducts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
3.7
Galois theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19
3.8
Generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
3.8.1
Exponentiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
3.10 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
3.11 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
3.2
3.9
CONTENTS
iii
3.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
20
3.13 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
3.14 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21
Galois group
22
4.1
Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
4.2
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
4.3
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
4.4
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
4.5
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
4.6
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
4.7
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
23
Group
24
5.1
24
5.1.1
First example: the integers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24
5.1.2
Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
5.1.3
Second example: a symmetry group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
5.2
History
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26
5.3
Elementary consequences of the group axioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
5.3.1
Uniqueness of identity element and inverses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
5.3.2
Division . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
5.4
5.5
5.6
Basic concepts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
27
5.4.1
Group homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
5.4.2
Subgroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
5.4.3
Cosets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28
5.4.4
Quotient groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
Examples and applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
29
5.5.1
Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
5.5.2
Modular arithmetic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30
5.5.3
Cyclic groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
5.5.4
Symmetry groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
31
5.5.5
General linear group and representation theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
32
5.5.6
Galois groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
Finite groups
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
Classication of nite simple groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33
Groups with additional structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
5.7.1
Topological groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
5.7.2
Lie groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
34
5.8
Generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
5.9
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
5.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35
5.6.1
5.7
iv
CONTENTS
5.11 Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
5.12 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
5.12.1 General references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
5.12.2 Special references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
5.12.3 Historical references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
39
Group theory
40
6.1
Main classes of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
6.1.1
Permutation groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
6.1.2
Matrix groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
40
6.1.3
Transformation groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
6.1.4
Abstract groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
6.1.5
Topological and algebraic groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
Branches of group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
6.2.1
Finite group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
41
6.2.2
Representation of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
6.2.3
Lie theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
6.2.4
Combinatorial and geometric group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
42
6.3
Connection of groups and symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
6.4
Applications of group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
6.4.1
Galois theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
43
6.4.2
Algebraic topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
6.4.3
Algebraic geometry and cryptography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
6.4.4
Algebraic number theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
44
6.4.5
Harmonic analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
6.4.6
Combinatorics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
6.4.7
Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
6.4.8
Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
6.4.9
Chemistry and materials science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45
6.4.10 Statistical Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
6.5
History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
6.6
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
6.7
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
46
6.8
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
6.9
External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
47
6.2
Homomorphism
48
7.1
48
7.1.1
Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
7.1.2
Basic examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
7.2
Informal discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
49
7.3
Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
CONTENTS
7.3.1
v
Category theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
7.4
Kernel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
7.5
Relational structures
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
7.6
Formal language theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
7.7
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
7.8
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
7.9
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51
Ideal
52
8.1
History
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.2
Denitions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
52
8.3
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
8.4
Motivation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
8.5
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
8.6
Ideal generated by a set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
53
8.6.1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
8.7
Types of ideals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54
8.8
Further properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
8.9
Ideal operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
8.10 Ideals and congruence relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
8.11 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55
8.12 References
56
Example
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Integral domain
52
57
9.1
Denitions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
9.2
Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
9.3
Non-examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58
9.4
Divisibility, prime elements, and irreducible elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58
9.5
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
58
9.6
Field of fractions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
9.7
Algebraic geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
9.8
Characteristic and homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
9.9
See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
9.10 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
59
9.11 References
59
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10 Isometry
61
10.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
10.2 Formal denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
61
10.3 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
10.4 Linear isometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
10.5 Generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
vi
CONTENTS
10.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
10.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62
10.8 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
63
11 Magma
64
11.1 History and terminology
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
11.2 Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
11.3 Morphism of magmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
11.4 Notation and combinatorics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
64
11.5 Free magma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
11.6 Types of magmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
11.7 Classication by properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65
11.8 Generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
11.9 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
11.10References
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
11.11Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
12 Order
67
12.1 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
12.2 Order and structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
12.3 Counting by order of elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
12.4 In relation to homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
12.5 Class equation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
12.6 Open questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
12.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
12.8 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
68
13 Ring
69
13.1 Denition and illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69
13.1.1 Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
13.1.2 Notes on the denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
13.1.3 Basic properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
13.1.4 Example: Integers modulo 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
13.1.5 Example: 2-by-2 matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
13.2 History
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
13.2.1 Dedekind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
13.2.2 Hilbert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
13.2.3 Fraenkel and Noether . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
13.2.4 Multiplicative identity: mandatory vs. optional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71
13.3 Basic examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
13.4 Basic concepts
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
13.4.1 Elements in a ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
CONTENTS
vii
13.4.2 Subring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
13.4.3 Ideal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
73
13.4.4 Homomorphism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74
13.4.5 Quotient ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74
13.5 Ring action: a module over a ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
13.6 Constructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
13.6.1 Direct product
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
75
13.6.2 Polynomial ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76
13.6.3 Matrix ring and endomorphism ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76
13.6.4 Limits and colimits of rings
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
77
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
77
13.6.6 Completion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
13.6.7 Rings with generators and relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
13.7 Special kinds of rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
13.7.1 Domains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
78
13.7.2 Division ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
13.7.3 Semisimple rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
13.7.4 Central simple algebra and Brauer group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
79
13.7.5 Valuation ring
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
80
13.8 Rings with extra structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
80
13.9 Some examples of the ubiquity of rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
13.9.1 Cohomology ring of a topological space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
13.9.2 Burnside ring of a group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
13.9.3 Representation ring of a group ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
13.9.4 Function eld of an irreducible algebraic variety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
13.9.5 Face ring of a simplicial complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
13.6.5 Localization
13.10Category theoretical description
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
81
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.11.1 Rng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.11.2 Nonassociative ring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.11.3 Semiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.11Generalization
13.12Other ring-like objects
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.12.1 Ring object in a category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.12.2 Ring scheme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.12.3 Ring spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.13See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
82
13.14Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
83
13.15Citations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
83
13.16References
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
84
13.16.1 General references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
84
13.16.2 Special references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85
viii
CONTENTS
13.16.3 Primary sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85
13.16.4 Historical references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
85
14 Subgroup
87
14.1 Basic properties of subgroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
87
14.2 Cosets and Lagranges theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.3 Example: Subgroups of Z8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.4 Example: Subgroups of S (the symmetric group on 4 elements) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.4.1 12 elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.4.2 8 elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.4.3 6 elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.4.4 4 elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.4.5 3 elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.5 Other examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
88
14.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
14.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
89
14.8 References
89
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
15 Symmetry
90
15.1 In mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
91
15.1.1 In geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
91
15.1.2 In logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
91
15.1.3 Other areas of mathematics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
92
15.2 In science and nature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
92
15.2.1 In physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
92
15.2.2 In biology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
92
15.2.3 In chemistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
15.3 In social interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
15.4 In the arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
15.4.1 In architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
15.4.2 In pottery and metal vessels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
93
15.4.3 In quilts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
15.4.4 In carpets and rugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
15.4.5 In music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
94
15.4.6 In other arts and crafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
15.4.7 In aesthetics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
15.4.8 In literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
15.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
15.6 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
15.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
95
15.8 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
96
15.9 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
97
CONTENTS
ix
16 Symmetry group
98
16.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
98
16.2 One dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
99
16.3 Two dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
99
16.4 Three dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

16.5 Symmetry groups in general . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
16.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
16.7 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
16.8 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
17 Vector eld
102
17.1 Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

17.1.1 Vector elds on subsets of Euclidean space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
17.1.2 Coordinate transformation law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
17.1.3 Vector elds on manifolds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
17.2 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
17.2.1 Gradient eld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
17.2.2 Central eld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
17.3 Operations on vector elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
17.3.1 Line integral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
17.3.2 Divergence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
17.3.3 Curl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
17.3.4 Index of a vector eld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
17.4 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
17.5 Flow curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
17.5.1 Complete vector elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
17.6 Dierence between scalar and vector eld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
17.6.1 Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
17.6.2 Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
17.7 f-relatedness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
17.8 Generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
17.9 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
17.10References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
17.11Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
17.12External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
18 Vector space
18.1 Introduction and denition
108
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
18.1.1 First example: arrows in the plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

18.1.2 Second example: ordered pairs of numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
18.1.3 Denition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
18.1.4 Alternative formulations and elementary consequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
CONTENTS
18.2 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
18.3 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
18.3.1 Coordinate spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
18.3.2 Complex numbers and other eld extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
18.3.3 Function spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
18.3.4 Linear equations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
18.4 Basis and dimension
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
18.5 Linear maps and matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

18.5.1 Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
18.5.2 Eigenvalues and eigenvectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
18.6 Basic constructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
18.6.1 Subspaces and quotient spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
18.6.2 Direct product and direct sum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
18.6.3 Tensor product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
18.7 Vector spaces with additional structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
18.7.1 Normed vector spaces and inner product spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
18.7.2 Topological vector spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
18.7.3 Algebras over elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
18.8 Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
18.8.1 Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
18.8.2 Fourier analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
18.8.3 Dierential geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
18.9 Generalizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
18.9.1 Vector bundles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
18.9.2 Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
18.9.3 Ane and projective spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
18.10See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
18.11Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
18.12Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
18.13References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
18.13.1 Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
18.13.2 Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
18.13.3 Historical references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
18.13.4 Further references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
18.14External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
19 Zero divisor
126
19.1 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

19.1.1 One-sided zero-divisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
19.2 Non-examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
19.3 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
19.4 Zero as a zero divisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
CONTENTS
xi
19.5 Zero divisor on a module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

19.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
19.7 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
19.8 References
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
19.9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

19.9.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
19.9.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
19.9.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Chapter 1
Abelian group
For the group described by the archaic use of the related More compactly, an abelian group is a commutative
group. A group in which the group operation is not
term Abelian linear group, see Symplectic group.
commutative is called a non-abelian group or nonIn abstract algebra, an abelian group, also called a com- commutative group.
mutative group, is a group in which the result of applying the group operation to two group elements does
not depend on the order in which they are written (the 1.2
axiom of commutativity). Abelian groups generalize the
arithmetic of addition of integers. They are named after 1.2.1
Niels Henrik Abel.[1]
Facts
Notation
See also: Additive group and Multiplicative group
The concept of an abelian group is one of the rst

concepts encountered in undergraduate abstract algebra,
from which many other basic concepts, such as modules
and vector spaces are developed. The theory of abelian
groups is generally simpler than that of their non-abelian
counterparts, and nite abelian groups are very well understood. On the other hand, the theory of innite abelian
groups is an area of current research.
There are two main notational conventions for abelian

groups additive and multiplicative.
Generally, the multiplicative notation is the usual notation for groups, while the additive notation is the usual
notation for modules and rings. The additive notation
may also be used to emphasize that a particular group
is abelian, whenever both abelian and non-abelian groups
are considered, some notable exceptions being near-rings
and partially ordered groups, where an operation is written additively even when non-abelian.
1.1 Denition
An abelian group is a set, A, together with an operation

that combines any two elements a and b to form another
element denoted a b. The symbol is a general place- 1.2.2 Multiplication table
holder for a concretely given operation. To qualify as an
abelian group, the set and operation, (A, ), must satisfy To verify that a nite group is abelian, a table (matrix)
known as a Cayley table can be constructed in a similar
ve requirements known as the abelian group axioms:
fashion to a multiplication table. If the group is G = {g1
= e, g2 , ..., gn} under the operation , the (i, j)th entry
Closure For all a, b in A, the result of the operation a
of this table contains the product gi gj. The group is
b is also in A.
abelian if and only if this table is symmetric about the
Associativity For all a, b and c in A, the equation (a b) main diagonal.
c = a (b c) holds.
This is true since if the group is abelian, then gi gj = gj

gi. This implies that the (i, j)th entry of the table equals
Identity element There exists an element e in A, such the (j, i)th entry, thus the table is symmetric about the
that for all elements a in A, the equation e a = a main diagonal.
e = a holds.
Inverse element For each a in A, there exists an element
b in A such that a b = b a = e, where e is the
identity element.
1.3 Examples
For the integers and the operation addition "+", denoted (Z, +), the operation + combines any two inte-
Commutativity For all a, b in A, a b = b a.

1
CHAPTER 1. ABELIAN GROUP

gers to form a third integer, addition is associative,
zero is the additive identity, every integer n has an
additive inverse, n, and the addition operation is
commutative since m + n = n + m for any two integers m and n.
Every cyclic group G is abelian, because if x, y are
in G, then xy = am an = am + n = an + m = an am = yx.
Thus the integers, Z, form an abelian group under
addition, as do the integers modulo n, Z/nZ.
Every ring is an abelian group with respect to
its addition operation. In a commutative ring
the invertible elements, or units, form an abelian
multiplicative group. In particular, the real numbers
are an abelian group under addition, and the nonzero
real numbers are an abelian group under multiplication.
Theorems about abelian groups (i.e. modules over the

principal ideal domain Z) can often be generalized to theorems about modules over an arbitrary principal ideal domain. A typical example is the classication of nitely
generated abelian groups which is a specialization of the
structure theorem for nitely generated modules over a
principal ideal domain. In the case of nitely generated
abelian groups, this theorem guarantees that an abelian
group splits as a direct sum of a torsion group and a free
abelian group. The former may be written as a direct sum
of nitely many groups of the form Z/pk Z for p prime,
and the latter is a direct sum of nitely many copies of Z.
If f, g : G H are two group homomorphisms between
abelian groups, then their sum f + g, dened by (f + g)
(x) = f(x) + g(x), is again a homomorphism. (This is not
true if H is a non-abelian group.) The set Hom(G, H) of
all group homomorphisms from G to H thus turns into an
abelian group in its own right.
Every subgroup of an abelian group is normal, so

each subgroup gives rise to a quotient group. Subgroups, quotients, and direct sums of abelian groups
are again abelian. The nite simple abelian groups
are exactly the cyclic groups of prime order.[2]
Somewhat akin to the dimension of vector spaces, every

abelian group has a rank. It is dened as the cardinality
of the largest set of linearly independent elements of the
group. The integers and the rational numbers have rank
one, as well as every subgroup of the rationals.
The concepts of abelian group and Z-module agree.

More specically, every Z-module is an abelian
group with its operation of addition, and every
abelian group is a module over the ring of integers
Z in a unique way.
The center Z(G) of a group G is the set of elements that

commute with every element of G. A group G is abelian
if and only if it is equal to its center Z(G). The center of
a group G is always a characteristic abelian subgroup of
G. If the quotient group G/Z(G) of a group by its center
is cyclic then G is abelian.[3]
In general, matrices, even invertible matrices, do not

form an abelian group under multiplication because matrix multiplication is generally not commutative. How- 1.6 Finite abelian groups
ever, some groups of matrices are abelian groups under
matrix multiplication one example is the group of 22 Cyclic groups of integers modulo n, Z/nZ, were among
rotation matrices.
the rst examples of groups. It turns out that an arbitrary
nite abelian group is isomorphic to a direct sum of nite cyclic groups of prime power order, and these orders
are uniquely determined, forming a complete system of
1.4 Historical remarks
invariants. The automorphism group of a nite abelian
group can be described directly in terms of these invariAbelian groups were named after Norwegian ants. The theory had been rst developed in the 1879
mathematician Niels Henrik Abel by Camille Jor- paper of Georg Frobenius and Ludwig Stickelberger and
dan because Abel found that the commutativity of the later was both simplied and generalized to nitely gengroup of a polynomial implies that the roots of the erated modules over a principal ideal domain, forming an
polynomial can be calculated by using radicals. See important chapter of linear algebra.
Section 6.5 of Cox (2004) for more information on the
Any group of prime order is isomorphic to a cyclic group
historical background.
and therefore abelian. Any group whose order is a square
of a prime number is abelian.[4] In fact, for every prime
number p there are (up to isomorphism) exactly two
1.5 Properties
groups of order p2 , namely Zp2 and ZpZp.
If n is a natural number and x is an element of an abelian
group G written additively, then nx can be dened as x + x 1.6.1 Classication
+ ... + x (n summands) and (n)x = (nx). In this way, G
becomes a module over the ring Z of integers. In fact, the The fundamental theorem of nite abelian groups
modules over Z can be identied with the abelian groups. states that every nite abelian group G can be expressed
1.7. INFINITE ABELIAN GROUPS
as the direct sum of cyclic subgroups of prime-power or- group can be used. Another special case is when n is arder. This is a special case of the fundamental theorem of bitrary but ei = 1 for 1 i n. Here, one is considering
nitely generated abelian groups when G has zero rank. P to be of the form
The cyclic group Zmn of order mn is isomorphic to the direct sum of Zm and Zn if and only if m and n are coprime.
It follows that any nite abelian group G is isomorphic to Zp Zp ,
a direct sum of the form
so elements of this subgroup can be viewed as comprising
a vector space of dimension n over the nite eld of p
u
elements Fp. The automorphisms of this subgroup are
therefore given by the invertible linear transformations,

Zki
i=1
so
in either of the following canonical ways:
the numbers k1 , ..., ku are powers of primes
k1 divides k2 , which divides k3 , and so on up to ku.
Aut(P )
= GL(n, Fp ),
where GL is the appropriate general linear group. This is
easily shown to have order
For example, Z15 can be expressed as the direct sum of

two cyclic subgroups of order 3 and 5: Z15 {0, 5, 10}
n
n
n1
).
{0, 3, 6, 9, 12}. The same can be said for any abelian |Aut(P )| = (p 1) (p p
group of order 15, leading to the remarkable conclusion
In the most general case, where the ei and n are arbitrary,
that all abelian groups of order 15 are isomorphic.
the automorphism group is more dicult to determine. It
For another example, every abelian group of order 8 is is known, however, that if one denes
isomorphic to either Z8 (the integers 0 to 7 under addition modulo 8), Z4 Z2 (the odd integers 1 to 15 under
multiplication modulo 16), or Z2 Z2 Z2 .
d = max{r|e = e }
k
See also list of small groups for nite abelian groups of

and
order 16 or less.
1.6.2
Automorphisms
ck = min{r|er = ek }
One can apply the fundamental theorem to count (and then one has in particular dk k, ck k, and
sometimes determine) the automorphisms of a given nite abelian group G. To do this, one uses the fact that if
n
n
n
G splits as a direct sum H K of subgroups of coprime

dk
k1
ej ndj
|Aut(P
)|
=
(p
p
)
(p
)
(pei 1 )nci +1 .
order, then Aut(H K) Aut(H) Aut(K).
k=1
j=1
i=1
Given this, the fundamental theorem shows that to compute the automorphism group of G it suces to compute One can check that this yields the orders in the previous
the automorphism groups of the Sylow p-subgroups sep- examples as special cases (see [Hillar,Rhea]).
arately (that is, all direct sums of cyclic subgroups, each
with order a power of p). Fix a prime p and suppose the
exponents ei of the cyclic factors of the Sylow p-subgroup 1.7 Innite abelian groups
are arranged in increasing order:
he simplest innite abelian group is the innite cyclic
group Z. Any nitely generated abelian group A is isoe1 e2 en
morphic to the direct sum of r copies of Z and a nite
abelian group, which in turn is decomposable into a difor some n > 0. One needs to nd the automorphisms of
rect sum of nitely many cyclic groups of primary orders.
Even though the decomposition is not unique, the number r, called the rank of A, and the prime powers giving
Zpe1 Zpen .
the orders of nite cyclic summands are uniquely deterOne special case is when n = 1, so that there is only one mined.
cyclic prime-power factor in the Sylow p-subgroup P. In By contrast, classication of general innitely generated
this case the theory of automorphisms of a nite cyclic abelian groups is far from complete. Divisible groups, i.e.
abelian groups A in which the equation nx = a admits a solution x A for any natural number n and element a of A,
constitute one important class of innite abelian groups
that can be completely characterized. Every divisible
group is isomorphic to a direct sum, with summands isomorphic to Q and Prfer groups Qp/Zp for various prime
numbers p, and the cardinality of the set of summands of
each type is uniquely determined.[5] Moreover, if a divisible group A is a subgroup of an abelian group G then
A admits a direct complement: a subgroup C of G such
that G = A C. Thus divisible groups are injective modules in the category of abelian groups, and conversely, every injective abelian group is divisible (Baers criterion).
An abelian group without non-zero divisible subgroups is
called reduced.
is not a direct summand of A, so A is not isomorphic to

T(A) A/T(A). Thus the theory of mixed groups involves
more than simply combining the results about periodic
and torsion-free groups.
1.7.3 Invariants and classication
One of the most basic invariants of an innite abelian

group A is its rank: the cardinality of the maximal linearly
independent subset of A. Abelian groups of rank 0 are
precisely the periodic groups, while torsion-free abelian
groups of rank 1 are necessarily subgroups of Q and can
be completely described. More generally, a torsion-free
abelian group of nite rank r is a subgroup of Qr . On the
other hand, the group of p-adic integers Zp is a torsionTwo important special classes of innite abelian groups
free abelian group of innite Z-rank and the groups Zpn
with diametrically opposite properties are torsion groups
with dierent n are non-isomorphic, so this invariant
and torsion-free groups, exemplied by the groups Q/Z
does not even fully capture properties of some familiar
(periodic) and Q (torsion-free).
groups.
1.7.1
Torsion groups
An abelian group is called periodic or torsion if every

element has nite order. A direct sum of nite cyclic
groups is periodic. Although the converse statement is
not true in general, some special cases are known. The
rst and second Prfer theorems state that if A is a periodic group and either it has bounded exponent, i.e. nA =
0 for some natural number n, or if A is countable and the
p-heights of the elements of A are nite for each p, then
A is isomorphic to a direct sum of nite cyclic groups.[6]
The cardinality of the set of direct summands isomorphic to Z/pm Z in such a decomposition is an invariant of
A. These theorems were later subsumed in the Kulikov
criterion. In a dierent direction, Helmut Ulm found
an extension of the second Prfer theorem to countable
abelian p-groups with elements of innite height: those
groups are completely classied by means of their Ulm
invariants.
1.7.2
Torsion-free and mixed groups
An abelian group is called torsion-free if every non-zero

element has innite order. Several classes of torsion-free
abelian groups have been studied extensively:
Free abelian groups, i.e. arbitrary direct sums of Z
Cotorsion and algebraically compact torsion-free
groups such as the p-adic integers
Slender groups
The classication theorems for nitely generated, divisible, countable periodic, and rank 1 torsion-free abelian
groups explained above were all obtained before 1950
and form a foundation of the classication of more general innite abelian groups. Important technical tools
used in classication of innite abelian groups are pure
and basic subgroups. Introduction of various invariants
of torsion-free abelian groups has been one avenue of further progress. See the books by Irving Kaplansky, Lszl
Fuchs, Phillip Grith, and David Arnold, as well as the
proceedings of the conferences on Abelian Group Theory published in Lecture Notes in Mathematics for more
recent results.
1.7.4 Additive groups of rings

The additive group of a ring is an abelian group, but not
all abelian groups are additive groups of rings (with nontrivial multiplication). Some important topics in this area
of study are:
Tensor product
Corners results on countable torsion-free groups
Shelahs work to remove cardinality restrictions.
1.8 Relation to other mathematical

topics
Many large abelian groups possess a natural topology,

An abelian group that is neither periodic nor torsion- which turns them into topological groups.
free is called mixed. If A is an abelian group and T(A) The collection of all abelian groups, together with the
is its torsion subgroup then the factor group A/T(A) is homomorphisms between them, forms the category Ab,
torsion-free. However, in general the torsion subgroup the prototype of an abelian category.
1.10. SEE ALSO

Nearly all well-known algebraic structures other than
Boolean algebras are undecidable. Hence it is surprising that Tarskis student Wanda Szmielew (1955) proved
that the rst order theory of abelian groups, unlike its
nonabelian counterpart, is decidable. This decidability,
plus the fundamental theorem of nite abelian groups described above, highlight some of the successes in abelian
group theory, but there are still many areas of current research:
Amongst torsion-free abelian groups of nite rank,
only the nitely generated case and the rank 1 case
are well understood;
There are many unsolved problems in the theory of
innite-rank torsion-free abelian groups;
While countable torsion abelian groups are well understood through simple presentations and Ulm invariants, the case of countable mixed groups is much
less mature.
Many mild extensions of the rst order theory of
abelian groups are known to be undecidable.
Finite abelian groups remain a topic of research in
computational group theory.
Moreover, abelian groups of innite order lead, quite surprisingly, to deep questions about the set theory commonly assumed to underlie all of mathematics. Take the
Whitehead problem: are all Whitehead groups of innite
order also free abelian groups? In the 1970s, Saharon
Shelah proved that the Whitehead problem is:
Undecidable in ZFC (ZermeloFraenkel axioms),
the conventional axiomatic set theory from which
nearly all of present-day mathematics can be derived. The Whitehead problem is also the rst question in ordinary mathematics proved undecidable in
ZFC;
Undecidable even if ZFC is augmented by taking the
generalized continuum hypothesis as an axiom;
Positively answered if ZFC is augmented with the
axiom of constructibility (see statements true in L).
1.10 See also

Abelianization
Class eld theory
Commutator subgroup
Dihedral group of order 6, the smallest non-Abelian
group
Elementary abelian group
Pontryagin duality
Pure injective module
Pure projective module
1.11 Notes
[1] Jacobson (2009), p. 41
[2] Rose 2012, p. 32
[3] Rose 2012, p. 48
[4] Rose 2012, p. 79
[5] For example, Q/Z p Qp/Zp.
[6] Countability assumption in the second Prfer theorem
cannot be removed: the torsion subgroup of the direct
product of the cyclic groups Z/pm Z for all natural m is
not a direct sum of cyclic groups.
[7] Abel Prize Awarded: The Mathematicians Nobel.
Archived from the original on 1 July 2013. Retrieved 3
July 2016.
1.12 References
Cox, David (2004). Galois Theory.
Interscience. MR 2119052.
Wiley-
Fuchs, Lszl (1970). Innite Abelian Groups. Pure

and Applied Mathematics 36I. Academic Press.
MR 0255673.
Fuchs, Lszl (1973). Innite Abelian Groups. Pure
and Applied Mathematics. 36-II. Academic Press.
MR 0349869.
1.9 A note on the typography
Grith, Phillip A. (1970).

Innite Abelian
group theory. Chicago Lectures in Mathematics.
University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-30870-7.
Among mathematical adjectives derived from the proper

name of a mathematician, the word abelian is rare in
that it is often spelled with a lowercase a, rather than an
uppercase A, indicating how ubiquitous the concept is in
modern mathematics.[7]
Rose, John S. (2012). A Course on Group Theory. Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-68194-7.
Unabridged and unaltered republication of a work
rst published by the Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, England, in 1978.

Herstein, I. N. (1975). Topics in Algebra (2nd ed.).
John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-02371-X.
Hillar, Christopher; Rhea, Darren (2007). Automorphisms of nite abelian groups. American
Mathematical Monthly 114 (10):
917923.
arXiv:math/0605185.
Jacobson, Nathan (2009). Basic Algebra I (2nd ed.).
Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-47189-1.
Szmielew, Wanda (1955). Elementary properties
of abelian groups. Fundamenta Mathematicae 41:
203271.
1.13 External links

Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), Abelian group,
Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN 9781-55608-010-4
Chapter 2
Category theory
study of monads in functional programming.
2.1 Basic concepts

Categories represent abstraction of other mathematical
concepts. Many areas of mathematics can be formalised
by category theory as categories. Hence category theory
uses abstraction to make it possible to state and prove
many intricate and subtle mathematical results in these
elds in a much simpler way.[2]
A basic example of a category is the category of sets,
where the objects are sets and the arrows are functions
from one set to another. However, the objects of a category need not be sets, and the arrows need not be functions. Any way of formalising a mathematical concept
such that it meets the basic conditions on the behaviour
Schematic representation of a category with objects X, Y, Z and of objects and arrows is a valid categoryand all the remorphisms f, g, g f. (The categorys three identity morphisms sults of category theory apply to it.
1X, 1Y and 1Z, if explicitly represented, would appear as three
arrows, next to the letters X, Y, and Z, respectively, each having
as its shaft a circular arc measuring almost 360 degrees.)
The arrows of category theory are often said to represent a process connecting two objects, or in many cases a
structure-preserving transformation connecting two objects. There are, however, many applications where much
more abstract concepts are represented by objects and
morphisms. The most important property of the arrows
is that they can be composed, in other words, arranged
in a sequence to form a new arrow.
Category theory[1] formalizes mathematical structure

and its concepts in terms of a collection of objects and of
arrows (also called morphisms). A category has two basic
properties: the ability to compose the arrows associatively
and the existence of an identity arrow for each object.
The language of category theory has been used to formalize concepts of other high-level abstractions such as
sets, rings, and groups.
2.2 Applications of Categories
Several terms used in category theory, including the term

morphism, are used dierently from their uses in the Categories now appear in many branches of mathematics,
rest of mathematics. In category theory, morphisms obey some areas of theoretical computer science where they
can correspond to types, and mathematical physics where
conditions specic to category theory itself.
they can be used to describe vector spaces.[3] Linear alSamuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane introduced the gebra can also be expressed in terms of categories of
concepts of categories, functors, and natural transforma- matrices.[4]
tions in 194245 in their study of algebraic topology,
with the goal of understanding the processes that preserve
mathematical structure.
2.3 Utility
Category theory has practical applications in

programming language theory, in particular for the
7
2.3.1
CHAPTER 2. CATEGORY THEORY
Categories, objects, and morphisms
The study of categories is an attempt to axiomatically capture what is commonly found in various classes of related
mathematical structures by relating them to the structurepreserving functions between them. A systematic study
of category theory then allows us to prove general results
about any of these types of mathematical structures from
the axioms of a category.
Consider the following example. The class Grp of groups
consists of all objects having a group structure. One
can proceed to prove theorems about groups by making
logical deductions from the set of axioms. For example,
it is immediately proven from the axioms that the identity
element of a group is unique.
Instead of focusing merely on the individual objects (e.g.,
groups) possessing a given structure, category theory emphasizes the morphisms the structure-preserving mappings between these objects; by studying these morphisms, we are able to learn more about the structure of
the objects. In the case of groups, the morphisms are
the group homomorphisms. A group homomorphism between two groups preserves the group structure in a precise sense it is a process taking one group to another,
in a way that carries along information about the structure of the rst group into the second group. The study
of group homomorphisms then provides a tool for studying general properties of groups and consequences of the
group axioms.
one category an object of another category, and to every

morphism in the rst category a morphism in the second.
In fact, what we have done is dene a category of categories and functors the objects are categories, and the
morphisms (between categories) are functors.
By studying categories and functors, we are not just
studying a class of mathematical structures and the morphisms between them; we are studying the relationships
between various classes of mathematical structures. This
is a fundamental idea, which rst surfaced in algebraic
topology. Dicult topological questions can be translated into algebraic questions which are often easier to
solve. Basic constructions, such as the fundamental group
or the fundamental groupoid of a topological space, can
be expressed as functors to the category of groupoids in
this way, and the concept is pervasive in algebra and its
applications.
2.3.3 Natural transformations

Main article: Natural transformation
Abstracting yet again, some diagrammatic and/or sequential constructions are often naturally related a vague
notion, at rst sight. This leads to the clarifying concept
of natural transformation, a way to map one functor to
another. Many important constructions in mathematics
can be studied in this context. Naturality is a princiA similar type of investigation occurs in many mathemat- ple, like general covariance in physics, that cuts deeper
ical theories, such as the study of continuous maps (mor- than is initially apparent. An arrow between two functors
phisms) between topological spaces in topology (the as- is a natural transformation when it is subject to certain
sociated category is called Top), and the study of smooth naturality or commutativity conditions.
functions (morphisms) in manifold theory.
Functors and natural transformations ('naturality') are the
[5]
Not all categories arise as structure preserving (set) key concepts in category theory.
functions, however; the standard example is the category
of homotopies between pointed topological spaces.
If one axiomatizes relations instead of functions, one obtains the theory of allegories.
2.4 Categories, objects, and morphisms

Main articles: Category (mathematics) and Morphism
2.3.2
Functors
Main article: Functor

See also: Adjoint functors Motivation
2.4.1 Categories
A category C consists of the following three mathematical

A category is itself a type of mathematical structure, so entities:
we can look for processes which preserve this structure
in some sense; such a process is called a functor.
A class ob(C), whose elements are called objects;
Diagram chasing is a visual method of arguing with abstract arrows joined in diagrams. Functors are rep A class hom(C), whose elements are called
morphisms or maps or arrows. Each morphism f
resented by arrows between categories, subject to spehas a source object a and target object b.
cic dening commutativity conditions. Functors can deThe expression f : a b, would be verbally stated
ne (construct) categorical diagrams and sequences (viz.
as "f is a morphism from a to b".
Mitchell, 1965). A functor associates to every object of
2.5. FUNCTORS
The expression hom(a, b) alternatively expressed as homC(a, b), mor(a, b), or C(a, b)
denotes the hom-class of all morphisms from a to b.
A binary operation , called composition of morphisms, such that for any three objects a, b, and c,
we have hom(b, c) hom(a, b) hom(a, c). The
composition of f : a b and g : b c is written as
g f or gf,[6] governed by two axioms:
Associativity: If f : a b, g : b c and h : c
d then h (g f) = (h g) f, and
9
f is a monomorphism and a retraction;
f is an epimorphism and a section;
f is an isomorphism.
2.5 Functors
Main article: Functor
Functors are structure-preserving maps between cate Identity: For every object x, there exists a mor- gories. They can be thought of as morphisms in the catephism 1x : x x called the identity morphism gory of all (small) categories.
for x, such that for every morphism f : a b,
A (covariant) functor F from a category C to a category
we have 1b f = f = f 1a.
D, written F : C D, consists of:
From the axioms, it can be proved
that there is exactly one identity
morphism for every object. Some
authors deviate from the denition
just given by identifying each object with its identity morphism.
2.4.2
Morphisms
for each object x in C, an object F(x) in D; and

for each morphism f : x y in C, a morphism F(f)
: F(x) F(y),
such that the following two properties hold:
For every object x in C, F(1x) = 1Fx;
For all morphisms f : x y and g : y z, F(g f)
= F(g) F(f).
Relations among morphisms (such as fg = h) are often depicted using commutative diagrams, with points A contravariant functor F: C D, is like a covariant
(corners) representing objects and arrows representing functor, except that it turns morphisms around (remorphisms.
verses all the arrows). More specically, every morMorphisms can have any of the following properties. A phism f : x y in C must be assigned to a morphism
F(f) : F(y) F(x) in D. In other words, a contravarimorphism f : a b is a:
ant functor acts as a covariant functor from the opposite
op
monomorphism (or monic) if f g1 = f g2 implies category C to D.
g1 = g2 for all morphisms g1 , g2 : x a.
epimorphism (or epic) if g1 f = g2 f implies g1
= g2 for all morphisms g1 , g2 : b x.
2.6 Natural transformations
bimorphism if f is both epic and monic.
Main article: Natural transformation
isomorphism if there exists a morphism g : b a

A natural transformation is a relation between two funcsuch that f g = 1b and g f = 1a.[7]
tors. Functors often describe natural constructions and
endomorphism if a = b. end(a) denotes the class of natural transformations then describe natural homomorendomorphisms of a.
phisms between two such constructions. Sometimes two
quite dierent constructions yield the same result; this
automorphism if f is both an endomorphism and an
is expressed by a natural isomorphism between the two
isomorphism. aut(a) denotes the class of automorfunctors.
phisms of a.
If F and G are (covariant) functors between the categories
retraction if a right inverse of f exists, i.e. if there C and D, then a natural transformation from F to G
exists a morphism g : b a with f g = 1b.
associates to every object X in C a morphism X : F(X)
G(X) in D such that for every morphism f : X Y in

section if a left inverse of f exists, i.e. if there exists
C,
we have Y F(f) = G(f) X; this means that the
a morphism g : b a with g f = 1a.
following diagram is commutative:
Every retraction is an epimorphism, and every section is a The two functors F and G are called naturally isomorphic
monomorphism. Furthermore, the following three state- if there exists a natural transformation from F to G such
ments are equivalent:
that X is an isomorphism for every object X in C.
10

can two categories be considered essentially the same, in
the sense that theorems about one category can readily
be transformed into theorems about the other category?
The major tool one employs to describe such a situation
is called equivalence of categories, which is given by appropriate functors between two categories. Categorical
equivalence has found numerous applications in mathematics.
2.7.3 Further concepts and results
Commutative diagram dening natural transformations
2.7 Other concepts

2.7.1
Universal constructions, limits, and

colimits
Main articles: Universal property and Limit (category

theory)
Using the language of category theory, many areas of
mathematical study can be categorized. Categories include sets, groups and topologies.
The denitions of categories and functors provide only

the very basics of categorical algebra; additional important topics are listed below. Although there are strong
interrelations between all of these topics, the given order
can be considered as a guideline for further reading.
The functor category DC has as objects the functors
from C to D and as morphisms the natural transformations of such functors. The Yoneda lemma is one
of the most famous basic results of category theory;
it describes representable functors in functor categories.
Duality: Every statement, theorem, or denition in
category theory has a dual which is essentially obtained by reversing all the arrows. If one statement
is true in a category C then its dual is true in the dual
category C op . This duality, which is transparent at
the level of category theory, is often obscured in applications and can lead to surprising relationships.
Each category is distinguished by properties that all its

objects have in common, such as the empty set or the
Adjoint functors: A functor can be left (or right)
product of two topologies, yet in the denition of a cateadjoint to another functor that maps in the oppogory, objects are considered atomic, i.e., we do not know
site direction. Such a pair of adjoint functors typiwhether an object A is a set, a topology, or any other
cally arises from a construction dened by a univerabstract concept. Hence, the challenge is to dene spesal property; this can be seen as a more abstract and
cial objects without referring to the internal structure of
powerful view on universal properties.
those objects. To dene the empty set without referring
to elements, or the product topology without referring to
open sets, one can characterize these objects in terms
of their relations to other objects, as given by the mor- 2.7.4 Higher-dimensional categories
phisms of the respective categories. Thus, the task is to
nd universal properties that uniquely determine the ob- Many of the above concepts, especially equivalence of
categories, adjoint functor pairs, and functor categories,
jects of interest.
can be situated into the context of higher-dimensional
Indeed, it turns out that numerous important construc- categories. Briey, if we consider a morphism between
tions can be described in a purely categorical way. The two objects as a process taking us from one object
central concept which is needed for this purpose is called to another, then higher-dimensional categories allow
categorical limit, and can be dualized to yield the notion us to protably generalize this by considering higherof a colimit.
dimensional processes.
For example, a (strict) 2-category is a category together
with morphisms between morphisms, i.e., processes
2.7.2 Equivalent categories
which allow us to transform one morphism into another.
We can then compose these bimorphisms both horMain articles:
Equivalence of categories and izontally and vertically, and we require a 2-dimensional
Isomorphism of categories
exchange law to hold, relating the two composition
laws. In this context, the standard example is Cat, the
It is a natural question to ask: under which conditions 2-category of all (small) categories, and in this example,
2.9. SEE ALSO

bimorphisms of morphisms are simply natural transformations of morphisms in the usual sense. Another basic
example is to consider a 2-category with a single object;
these are essentially monoidal categories. Bicategories
are a weaker notion of 2-dimensional categories in which
the composition of morphisms is not strictly associative,
but only associative up to an isomorphism.
11
as a specic type of category with two additional topos
axioms. These foundational applications of category theory have been worked out in fair detail as a basis for, and
justication of, constructive mathematics. Topos theory
is a form of abstract sheaf theory, with geometric origins,
and leads to ideas such as pointless topology.
Categorical logic is now a well-dened eld based on

This process can be extended for all natural numbers n, type theory for intuitionistic logics, with applications in
and these are called n-categories. There is even a notion functional programming and domain theory, where a
of -category corresponding to the ordinal number .
cartesian closed category is taken as a non-syntactic deHigher-dimensional categories are part of the broader scription of a lambda calculus. At the very least, category
mathematical eld of higher-dimensional algebra, a con- theoretic language claries what exactly these related arcept introduced by Ronald Brown. For a conversational eas have in common (in some abstract sense).
introduction to these ideas, see John Baez, 'A Tale of n- Category theory has been applied in other elds as
categories (1996).
well. For example, John Baez has shown a link between
Feynman diagrams in Physics and monoidal categories.[8]
Another application of category theory, more specically: topos theory, has been made in mathematical mu2.8 Historical notes
sic theory, see for example the book The Topos of Music,
Geometric Logic of Concepts, Theory, and Performance
Main article: Timeline of category theory and related by Guerino Mazzola.
mathematics
More recent eorts to introduce undergraduates to categories as a foundation for mathematics include those
In 194245, Samuel Eilenberg and Saunders Mac Lane of William Lawvere and Rosebrugh (2003) and Lawintroduced categories, functors, and natural transfor- vere and Stephen Schanuel (1997) and Mirroslav Yotov
mations as part of their work in topology, especially (2012).
algebraic topology. Their work was an important part
of the transition from intuitive and geometric homology
to axiomatic homology theory. Eilenberg and Mac Lane
2.9 See also
later wrote that their goal was to understand natural transformations. That required dening functors, which re Domain theory
quired categories.
Stanislaw Ulam, and some writing on his behalf, have
claimed that related ideas were current in the late 1930s
in Poland. Eilenberg was Polish, and studied mathematics
in Poland in the 1930s. Category theory is also, in some
sense, a continuation of the work of Emmy Noether (one
of Mac Lanes teachers) in formalizing abstract processes;
Noether realized that understanding a type of mathematical structure requires understanding the processes that
preserve that structure. To achieve this understanding,
Eilenberg and Mac Lane proposed an axiomatic formalization of the relation between structures and the processes that preserve them.
The subsequent development of category theory was
powered rst by the computational needs of homological
algebra, and later by the axiomatic needs of algebraic geometry, the eld most resistant to being grounded in either axiomatic set theory or the Russell-Whitehead view
of united foundations. General category theory, an extension of universal algebra having many new features allowing for semantic exibility and higher-order logic, came
later; it is now applied throughout mathematics.
Certain categories called topoi (singular topos) can even
serve as an alternative to axiomatic set theory as a foundation of mathematics. A topos can also be considered
Enriched category theory

Glossary of category theory
Group theory
Higher category theory
Higher-dimensional algebra
Important publications in category theory
Lambda calculus
Outline of category theory
Timeline of category theory and related mathematics
2.10 Notes
[1] Awodey, Steve (2010) [2006]. Category Theory. Oxford Logic Guides 49 (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
ISBN 978-0-19-923718-0.
12
[2] Geroch, Robert (1985). Mathematical physics ([Repr.]

ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 7. ISBN
0-226-28862-5. Note that theorem 3 is actually easier for
categories in general than it is for the special case of sets.
This phenomenon is by no means rare.
Goldblatt, Robert (2006) [1979]. Topoi: The Categorial Analysis of Logic. Studies in logic and the
foundations of mathematics 94 (Reprint, revised
ed.). Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-450261.
[3] B. Coecke, editor New Structures for Physics Number 831

in Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer-Verlag, 2011
Hatcher, William S. (1982). Ch. 8. The logical

foundations of mathematics. Foundations & philosophy of science & technology (2nd ed.). Pergamon
Press.
[4] Macedo, H.D.; Oliveira, J.N. (2013). Typing linear algebra: A biproduct-oriented approach. Science of Computer Programming 78 (11): 21602191.
doi:10.1016/j.scico.2012.07.012.
[5] Mac Lane 1998, p. 18: As Eilenberg-Mac Lane rst observed, 'category' has been dened in order to be able to
dene 'functor' and 'functor' has been dened in order to
be able to dene 'natural transformation'.
[6] Some authors compose in the opposite order, writing fg or
f g for g f. Computer scientists using category theory
very commonly write f ; g for g f
[7] Note that a morphism that is both epic and monic is not
necessarily an isomorphism! An elementary counterexample: in the category consisting of two objects A and B,
the identity morphisms, and a single morphism f from A
to B, f is both epic and monic but is not an isomorphism.
[8] Baez, J.C.; Stay, M. (2009). Physics, topology, logic and
computation: A Rosetta stone (PDF). arXiv:0903.0340.
2.11 References
Admek, Ji; Herrlich, Horst; Strecker, George E.
(1990). Abstract and concrete categories. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-60922-6.
Barr, Michael; Wells, Charles (2012), Category Theory for Computing Science, Reprints in Theory and
Applications of Categories 22 (3rd ed.).
Barr, Michael; Wells, Charles (2005), Toposes,
Triples and Theories, Reprints in Theory and Applications of Categories 12 (revised ed.), MR
2178101.
Borceux, Francis (1994). Handbook of categorical
algebra. Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications 50-52. Cambridge University Press.
Bucur, Ion; Deleanu, Aristide (1968). Introduction
to the theory of categories and functors. Wiley.
Herrlich, Horst; Strecker, George E. (2007), Category Theory (3rd ed.), Heldermann Verlag Berlin,
ISBN 978-3-88538-001-6.
Kashiwara, Masaki; Schapira, Pierre (2006).
Categories and Sheaves. Grundlehren der Mathematischen Wissenschaften 332. Springer. ISBN 9783-540-27949-5.
Lawvere, F. William; Rosebrugh, Robert (2003).
Sets for Mathematics. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 978-0-521-01060-3.
Lawvere, F. W.; Schanuel, Stephen Hoel (2009)
[1997]. Conceptual Mathematics: A First Introduction to Categories (2nd ed.). Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89485-2.
Leinster, Tom (2004). Higher operads, higher categories. London Math. Society Lecture Note Series 298. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780-521-53215-0.
Leinster, Tom (2014). Basic Category Theory.
Cambridge University Press.
Lurie, Jacob (2009). Higher topos theory. Annals of
Mathematics Studies 170. Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press. arXiv:math.CT/0608040. ISBN
978-0-691-14049-0. MR 2522659.
Mac Lane, Saunders (1998). Categories for the
Working Mathematician. Graduate Texts in Mathematics 5 (2nd ed.). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-38798403-8. MR 1712872.
Mac Lane, Saunders; Birkho, Garrett (1999)
[1967]. Algebra (2nd ed.). Chelsea. ISBN 0-82181646-2.
Martini, A.; Ehrig, H.; Nunes, D. (1996).
Elements of basic category theory. Technical Report (Technical University Berlin) 96 (5).
Freyd, Peter J. (1964). Abelian Categories. New

York: Harper and Row.
May, Peter (1999). A Concise Course in Algebraic

Topology. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226-51183-9.
Freyd, Peter J.; Scedrov, Andre (1990). Categories,

allegories. North Holland Mathematical Library 39.
North Holland. ISBN 978-0-08-088701-2.
Guerino, Mazzola (2002). The Topos of Music, Geometric Logic of Concepts, Theory, and Performance.
Birkhuser. ISBN 3-7643-5731-2.
2.13. EXTERNAL LINKS

Pedicchio, Maria Cristina; Tholen, Walter, eds.
(2004). Categorical foundations. Special topics in
order, topology, algebra, and sheaf theory. Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Its Applications 97.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521-83414-7. Zbl 1034.18001.
Pierce, Benjamin C. (1991). Basic Category Theory
for Computer Scientists. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262-66071-6.
Schalk, A.; Simmons, H. (2005). An introduction
to Category Theory in four easy movements (PDF).
Notes for a course oered as part of the MSc. in
Mathematical Logic, Manchester University.
Simpson, Carlos. Homotopy theory of higher categories. arXiv:1001.4071., draft of a book.
Taylor, Paul (1999). Practical Foundations of Mathematics. Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics 59. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780-521-63107-5.
Turi, Daniele (19962001). Category Theory Lecture Notes (PDF). Retrieved 11 December 2009.
Based on Mac Lane 1998.
2.12 Further reading

Jean-Pierre Marquis (2008). From a Geometrical
Point of View: A Study of the History and Philosophy
of Category Theory. Springer Science & Business
Media. ISBN 978-1-4020-9384-5.
2.13 External links

Theory and Application of Categories, an electronic
journal of category theory, full text, free, since
1995.
nLab, a wiki project on mathematics, physics and
philosophy with emphasis on the n-categorical point
of view.
Andr Joyal, CatLab, a wiki project dedicated to the
exposition of categorical mathematics.
Category Theory, a web page of links to lecture
notes and freely available books on category theory.
Hillman, Chris, A Categorical Primer, CiteSeerX:
10.1.1.24.3264, a formal introduction to category
theory.
Adamek, J.; Herrlich, H.; Stecker, G. Abstract and
Concrete Categories-The Joy of Cats (PDF).
13
Marquis, Jean-Pierre. Category Theory. Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy. with an extensive bibliography.
List of academic conferences on category theory
Baez, John (1996). The Tale of n-categories.
An informal introduction to higher order categories.
WildCats is a category theory package for
Mathematica. Manipulation and visualization of
objects, morphisms, categories, functors, natural
transformations, universal properties.
The catsterss channel on YouTube, a channel about
category theory.
Category Theory at PlanetMath.org.
Video archive of recorded talks relevant to categories, logic and the foundations of physics.
Interactive Web page which generates examples of
categorical constructions in the category of nite
sets.
Category Theory for the Sciences, an instruction on
category theory as a tool throughout the sciences.
Chapter 3
Field
This article is about elds in algebra. For elds in
geometry, see Vector eld. For other uses, see Field
(disambiguation).
In mathematics, a eld is one of the fundamental
algebraic structures used in abstract algebra. It is a
nonzero commutative division ring, or equivalently a
ring whose nonzero elements form an abelian group under multiplication. As such it is an algebraic structure
with notions of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division satisfying the appropriate abelian group equations and distributive law. The most commonly used
elds are the eld of real numbers, the eld of complex
numbers, and the eld of rational numbers, but there are
also nite elds, algebraic function elds, algebraic number elds, p-adic elds, and so forth.
integrally closed domains GCD domains

unique factorization domains principal
ideal domains Euclidean domains elds
nite elds
3.1 Denition and illustration

Intuitively, a eld is a set F that is a commutative group
with respect to two compatible operations, addition and
multiplication (the latter excluding zero), with compatible being formalized by distributivity, and the caveat that
the additive and the multiplicative identities are distinct
(0 1).
The most common way to formalize this is by dening a

eld as a set together with two operations, usually called
Any eld may be used as the scalars for a vector space, addition and multiplication, and denoted by + and , rewhich is the standard general context for linear algebra. spectively, such that the following axioms hold (note that
The theory of eld extensions (including Galois theory) subtraction and division are dened in terms of the inverse
involves the roots of polynomials with coecients in a operations of addition and multiplication):[note 1]
eld; among other results, this theory leads to impossibility proofs for the classical problems of angle trisec- Closure of F under addition and multiplication For
tion and squaring the circle with a compass and straightall a, b in F, both a + b and a b are in F (or more
edge, as well as a proof of the AbelRuni theorem on
formally, + and are binary operations on F).
the algebraic insolubility of quintic equations. In modern
mathematics, the theory of elds (or eld theory) plays Associativity of addition and multiplication For all a,
b, and c in F, the following equalities hold: a + (b +
an essential role in number theory and algebraic geomec) = (a + b) + c and a (b c) = (a b) c.
try.
As an algebraic structure, every eld is a ring, but not Commutativity of addition and multiplication For all
every ring is a eld. The most important dierence is
a and b in F, the following equalities hold: a + b
that elds allow for division (though not division by zero),
= b + a and a b = b a.
while a ring need not possess multiplicative inverses; for
example the integers form a ring, but 2x = 1 has no so- Existence of additive and multiplicative identity elements
There exists an element of F, called the additive
lution in integers. Also, the multiplication operation in a
identity element and denoted by 0, such that for all
eld is required to be commutative. A ring in which dia
in F, a + 0 = a. Likewise, there is an element,
vision is possible but commutativity is not assumed (such
called
the multiplicative identity element and deas the quaternions) is called a division ring or skew eld.
noted
by
1, such that for all a in F, a 1 = a. To
(Historically, division rings were sometimes referred to
trivial ring, the additive identity and the
exclude
the
as elds, while elds were called commutative elds.)
multiplicative identity are required to be distinct.
As a ring, a eld may be classied as a specic type of
integral domain, and can be characterized by the follow- Existence of additive inverses and multiplicative inverses
For every a in F, there exists an element a in F,
ing (not exhaustive) chain of class inclusions:
such that a + (a) = 0. Similarly, for any a in F
commutative rings integral domains
other than 0, there exists an element a1 in F, such
14
3.2. RELATED ALGEBRAIC STRUCTURES
15
that a a1 = 1. (The elements a + (b) and a

b1 are also denoted a b and a/b, respectively.)
In other words, subtraction and division operations
exist.
The following example is a eld consisting of four elements called O, I, A and B. The notation is chosen such
that O plays the role of the additive identity element (denoted 0 in the axioms), and I is the multiplicative identity
(denoted 1 above). One can check that all eld axioms
Distributivity of multiplication over addition For all are satised. For example:
a, b and c in F, the following equality holds: a (b
+ c) = (a b) + (a c).
A (B + A) = A I = A, which equals A B + A
A = I + B = A, as required by the distributivity.
A eld is therefore an algebraic structure F, +, , , 1 ,
0, 1 ; of type 2, 2, 1, 1, 0, 0 , consisting of two abelian
The above eld is called a nite eld with four elements,
groups:
and can be denoted F4 . Field theory is concerned with
understanding the reasons for the existence of this eld,
F under +, , and 0;
dened in a fairly ad-hoc manner, and describing its inner
structure. For example, from a glance at the multiplica F {0} under , 1 , and 1, with 0 1,
tion table, it can be seen that any non-zero element (i.e.,
I, A, and B) is a power of A: A = A1 , B = A2 = A A, and
with distributing over +.[1]
nally I = A3 = A A A. This is not a coincidence, but
rather one of the starting points of a deeper understanding
of (nite) elds.
3.1.1
First example: rational numbers
A simple example of a eld is the eld of rational numbers, consisting of numbers which can be written as
fractions a/b, where a and b are integers, and b 0. The
additive inverse of such a fraction is simply a/b, and the
multiplicative inverse (provided that a 0) is b/a. To see
the latter, note that
3.1.3 Alternative axiomatizations
As with other algebraic structures, there exist alternative axiomatizations. Because of the relations between
the operations, one can alternatively axiomatize a eld
by explicitly assuming that there are four binary operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) with axioms relating these, or (by functional decomposition) in terms of
b a
ba
two binary operations (add and multiply) and two unary
=
= 1.
a b
ab
operations (additive inverse and multiplicative inverse),
The abstractly required eld axioms reduce to stan- or other variants.
dard properties of rational numbers, such as the law of The usual axiomatization in terms of the two operations
distributivity
of addition and multiplication is brief and allows the other
operations to be dened in terms of these basic ones,
but in other contexts, such as topology and category the(
)
a
c
e
ory, it is important to include all operations as explicitly
+
given, rather than implicitly dened (compare topological
b
d f
group). This is because without further assumptions,
(
)
a
c f
e d
the implicitly dened inverses may not be continuous (in
=
+
topology),
or may not be able to be dened (in category
b
d f
f d
(
)
theory). Dening an inverse requires that one is working
a
cf
ed
a cf + ed
with a set, not a more general object.
=
+
=
b
df
fd
b
df
For a very economical axiomatization of the eld of real
acf
aed
ac ae
a(cf + ed)
numbers, whose primitives are merely a set R with 1 R,
=
+
=
+
=
bdf
bdf
bdf
bd bf
addition, and a binary relation, "<". See Tarskis axiomatization of the reals.
a e
a c
= + ,
b d
b f
or the law of commutativity and law of associativity.
3.1.2
3.2 Related algebraic structures
Second example: a eld with four el- The axioms imposed above resemble the ones familiar
from other algebraic structures. For example, the exisements
tence of the binary operation "", together with its comIn addition to familiar number systems such as the ratio- mutativity, associativity, (multiplicative) identity element
nals, there are other, less immediate examples of elds. and inverses are precisely the axioms for an abelian group.
16
CHAPTER 3. FIELD
In other words, for any eld, the subset of nonzero elements F \ {0}, also often denoted F , is an abelian group
(F , ) usually called multiplicative group of the eld.
Likewise (F, +) is an abelian group. The structure of a
eld is hence the same as specifying such two group structures (on the same set), obeying the distributivity.
Ernst Steinitz published the very inuential paper Algebraische Theorie der Krper (English: Algebraic Theory of Fields).[8] In this paper he axiomatically studies
the properties of elds and denes many important eld
theoretic concepts like prime eld, perfect eld and the
transcendence degree of a eld extension.
Important other algebraic structures such as rings arise Emil Artin developed the relationship between groups
when requiring only part of the above axioms. For exam- and elds in great detail from 1928 through 1942.
ple, if the requirement of commutativity of the multiplication operation is dropped, one gets structures usually
called division rings or skew elds.
3.4 Examples
3.2.1
Remarks
3.4.1 Rationals and algebraic numbers
By elementary group theory, applied to the abelian groups The eld of rational numbers Q has been introduced
(F , ), and (F, +), the additive inverse a and the multi- above. A related class of elds very important in number
theory are algebraic number elds. We will rst give an
plicative inverse a1 are uniquely determined by a.
example, namely the eld Q() consisting of numbers of
Similar direct consequences from the eld axioms include
the form
(a b) = (a) b = a (b), in particular a =
(1) a
as well as
a 0 = 0.
Both can be shown by replacing b or c with 0 in the distributive property.
a + b
with a, b Q, where is a primitive third root of unity,
i.e., a complex number satisfying 3 = 1, 1. This eld
extension can be used to prove a special case of Fermats
last theorem, which asserts the non-existence of rational
nonzero solutions to the equation
x3 + y3 = z3 .
In the language of eld extensions detailed below, Q()

is a eld extension of degree 2. Algebraic number elds
are by denition nite eld extensions of Q, that is, elds
The concept of eld was used implicitly by Niels Henrik containing Q having nite dimension as a Q-vector space.
Abel and variste Galois in their work on the solvability of polynomial equations with rational coecients of
3.4.2 Reals, complex numbers, and p-adic
degree ve or higher.
3.3 History
numbers
In 1857, Karl von Staudt published his Algebra of Throws

which provided a geometric model satisfying the axioms
Take the real numbers R, under the usual operations of
of a eld.[2] This construction has been frequently readdition and multiplication. When the real numbers are
called as a contribution to the foundations of mathematgiven the usual ordering, they form a complete ordered
ics.
eld; it is this structure which provides the foundation for
In 1871, Richard Dedekind introduced, for a set of real most formal treatments of calculus.
or complex numbers which is closed under the four arithThe complex numbers C consist of expressions
metic operations, the German word Krper, which means
body or corpus (to suggest an organically closed
a + bi
entity),[3] hence the common use of the letter K to denote
a eld. He also dened rings (then called order or ordermodul), but the term a ring (Zahlring) was invented by where i is the imaginary unit, i.e., a (non-real) number
Hilbert.[4] In 1893, Eliakim Hastings Moore called the satisfying i2 = 1. Addition and multiplication of real
concept eld in English.[5][6]
numbers are dened in such a way that all eld axioms
In 1881, Leopold Kronecker dened what he called a do- hold for C. For example, the distributive law enforces
main of rationality, which is indeed a eld of polynomials in modern terms. In 1893, Heinrich M. Weber gave
the rst clear denition of an abstract eld.[7] In 1910,
(a + bi)(c + di) = ac + bci + adi + bdi2 , which

equals acbd + (bc + ad)i.
3.4. EXAMPLES
17
The real numbers can be constructed by completing the

rational numbers, i.e., lling the gaps": for example 2 is
such a gap. By a formally very similar procedure, another
important class of elds, the eld of p-adic numbers Qp
is built. It is used in number theory and p-adic analysis.
ple F4 is a eld with four elements. F2 consists of two

elements, 0 and 1. This is the smallest eld, because by
denition a eld has at least two distinct elements 1 0.
Interpreting the addition and multiplication in this latter
eld as XOR and AND operations, this eld nds appliHyperreal numbers and superreal numbers extend the real cations in computer science, especially in cryptography
numbers with the addition of innitesimal and innite and coding theory.
numbers.
In a nite eld there is necessarily an integer n such that 1
+ 1 + + 1 (n repeated terms) equals 0. It can be shown
that the smallest such n must be a prime number, called
3.4.3 Constructible numbers
the characteristic of the eld. If a (necessarily innite)
eld has the property that 1 + 1 + + 1 is never zero, for
any number of summands, such as in Q, for example, the
characteristic is said to be zero.
A basic class of nite elds are the elds Fp with p elements (p a prime number):
Fp = Z/pZ = {0, 1, ..., p 1},
Given 0, 1, r1 and r2 , the construction yields r1 r2
where the operations are dened by performing the operation in the set of integers Z, dividing by p and taking the
remainder; see modular arithmetic. A eld K of characteristic p necessarily contains Fp,[9] and therefore may be
viewed as a vector space over Fp, of nite dimension if
K is nite. Thus a nite eld K has prime power order,
i.e., K has q = pn elements (where n > 0 is the number of
elements in a basis of K over Fp). By developing more
eld theory, in particular the notion of the splitting eld
of a polynomial f over a eld K, which is the smallest eld
containing K and all roots of f, one can show that two nite elds with the same number of elements are isomorphic, i.e., there is a one-to-one mapping of one eld onto
the other that preserves multiplication and addition. Thus
we may speak of the nite eld with q elements, usually
denoted by Fq or GF(q).
In antiquity, several geometric problems concerned

the (in)feasibility of constructing certain numbers with
compass and straightedge. For example, it was unknown
to the Greeks that it is in general impossible to trisect a
given angle. Using the eld notion and eld theory allows these problems to be settled. To do so, the eld of
constructible numbers is considered. It contains, on the
plane, the points 0 and 1, and all complex numbers that
can be constructed from these two by a nite number of
construction steps using only compass and straightedge.
This set, endowed with the usual addition and multiplication of complex numbers does form a eld. For example,
multiplying two (real) numbers r1 and r2 that have already been constructed can be done using construction at
the right, based on the intercept theorem. This way, the 3.4.5 Archimedean elds
obtained eld F contains all rational numbers, but is bigger than Q, because for any f F, the square root of f is Main article: Archimedean eld
also a constructible number.
A closely related concept is that of a Euclidean eld,
namely an ordered eld whose positive elements are
closed under square root. The real constructible numbers
form the least Euclidean eld, and the Euclidean elds are
precisely the ordered extensions thereof.
An Archimedean eld is an ordered eld such that for

each element there exists a nite expression 1 + 1 + +
1 whose value is greater than that element, that is, there
are no innite elements. Equivalently, the eld contains
no innitesimals; or, the eld is isomorphic to a subeld
of the reals. A necessary condition for an ordered eld to
be complete is that it be Archimedean, since in any non3.4.4 Finite elds
Archimedean eld there is neither a greatest innitesimal
nor a least positive rational, whence the sequence 1/2, 1/3,
Main article: Finite eld
1/4, , every element of which is greater than every innitesimal, has no limit. (And since every proper subeld
Finite elds (also called Galois elds) are elds with of the reals also contains such gaps, up to isomorphism
nitely many elements. The above introductory exam- the reals form the unique complete ordered eld.)
18
CHAPTER 3. FIELD
3.4.6
Field of functions
Given a geometric object X, one can consider functions

on such objects. Adding and multiplying them pointwise,
i.e., (f g)(x) = f(x) g(x) this leads to a eld. However, for having multiplicative inverses, one has to consider partial functions, which, almost everywhere, are dened and have a non-zero value.
If X is an algebraic variety over a eld F, then the rational
functions X F form a eld, the function eld of X. This
eld consists of the functions that are dened and are the
quotient of two polynomial functions outside some subvariety. Likewise, if S is a Riemann surface, then the
meromorphic functions S C form a eld. Under certain circumstances, namely when S is compact, S can be
reconstructed from this eld.
3.4.7
Local and global elds
Another important distinction in the realm of elds, especially with regard to number theory, are local elds and
global elds. Local elds are completions of global elds
at a given place. For example, Q is a global eld, and
the attached local elds are Qp and R (Ostrowskis theorem). Algebraic number elds and function elds over
Fq are further global elds. Studying arithmetic questions
in global elds may sometimes be done by looking at the
corresponding questions locallythis technique is called
local-global principle.
and is algebraically closed, i.e., any such polynomial does

have at least one solution in F. The algebraic closure is
unique up to isomorphism inducing the identity on F.
However, in many circumstances in mathematics, it is not
appropriate to treat F as being uniquely determined by F,
since the isomorphism above is not itself unique. In these
cases, one refers to such a F as an algebraic closure of F.
A similar concept is the separable closure, containing all
roots of separable polynomials, instead of all polynomials.
For example, if F = Q, the algebraic closure Q is also
called eld of algebraic numbers. The eld of algebraic
numbers is an example of an algebraically closed eld of
characteristic zero; as such it satises the same rst-order
sentences as the eld of complex numbers C.
In general, all algebraic closures of a eld are isomorphic.
However, there is in general no preferable isomorphism
between two closures. Likewise for separable closures.
3.6.2 Subelds and eld extensions

A subeld is, informally, a small eld contained in a bigger one. Formally, a subeld E of a eld F is a subset
containing 0 and 1, closed under the operations +, , and
multiplicative inverses and with its own operations dened by restriction. For example, the real numbers contain several interesting subelds: the real algebraic numbers, the computable numbers and the rational numbers
are examples.
The notion of eld extension lies at the heart of eld theory, and is crucial to many other algebraic domains. A
3.5 Some rst theorems
eld extension F / E is simply a eld F and a subeld E
F. Constructing such a eld extension F / E can be done
Every nite subgroup of the multiplicative group F
by adding new elements or adjoining elements to the
is cyclic. This applies in particular to Fq , it is
eld E. For example, given a eld E, the set F = E(X) of
cyclic of order q 1. In the introductory example,
rational functions, i.e., equivalence classes of expressions
a generator of F4 is the element A.

of the kind
An integral domain is a eld if and only if it has no
ideals except {0} and itself. Equivalently, an integral
domain is a eld if and only if its Krull dimension is p(X) ,
q(X)
0.
Isomorphism extension theorem
3.6 Constructing elds

3.6.1
Closure operations
where p(X) and q(X) are polynomials with coecients in

E, and q is not the zero polynomial, forms a eld. This is
the simplest example of a transcendental extension of E.
It also is an example of a domain (the ring of polynomials
E in this case) being embedded into its eld of fractions
E(X) .
The ring of formal power series E[[X]] is also a domain,

Assuming the axiom of choice, for every eld F, there and again the (equivalence classes of) fractions of the
exists a eld F, called the algebraic closure of F, which form p(X)/ q(X) where p and q are elements of E[[X]]
contains F, is algebraic over F, which means that any el- form the eld of fractions for E[[X]] . This eld is actually the ring of Laurent series over the eld E, denoted
ement x of F satises a polynomial equation
E((X)) .
fnxn + fnxn1 + + f 1 x + f 0 = 0, with coecients fn, ..., f 0 F,
In the above two cases, the added symbol X and its powers
did not interact with elements of E. It is possible however
3.7. GALOIS THEORY

that the adjoined symbol may interact with E. This idea
will be illustrated by adjoining an element to the eld of
real numbers R. As explained above, C is an extension of
R. C can be obtained from R by adjoining the imaginary
symbol i which satises i2 = 1. The result is that R[i]=C.
This is dierent from adjoining the symbol X to R, because in that case, the powers of X are all distinct objects,
but here, i2 =1 is actually an element of R.
19
3.6.4 Ultraproducts
If I is an index set, U is an ultralter on I, and Fi is a eld
for every i in I, the ultraproduct of the Fi with respect to
U is a eld.
For example, a non-principal ultraproduct of nite elds
is a pseudo nite eld; i.e., a PAC eld having exactly one
extension of any degree.
Another way to view this last example is to note that i

is a zero of the polynomial p(X) = X2 + 1. The quotient ring R[X]/(X 2 + 1) can be mapped onto C using the
map a + bX a + ib . Since the ideal (X2 +1) is generated
by a polynomial irreducible over R, the ideal is maximal, 3.7 Galois theory
hence the quotient ring is a eld. This nonzero ring map
from the quotient to C is necessarily an isomorphism of
Main article: Galois theory
rings.
The above construction generalises to any irreducible
polynomial in the polynomial ring E[X], i.e., a polynomial p(X) that cannot be written as a product of nonconstant polynomials. The quotient ring F = E[X] /
(p(X)), is again a eld.
Galois theory aims to study the algebraic extensions of

a eld by studying the symmetry in the arithmetic operations of addition and multiplication. The fundamental
theorem of Galois theory shows that there is a strong relation between the structure of the symmetry group and
Alternatively, constructing such eld extensions can also
the set of algebraic extensions.
be done, if a bigger container is already given. Suppose
given a eld E, and a eld G containing E as a subeld, for In the case where F / E is a nite (Galois) extension, Gaexample G could be the algebraic closure of E. Let x be an lois theory studies the algebraic extensions of E that are
element of G not in E. Then there is a smallest subeld of subelds of F. Such elds are called intermediate extenG containing E and x, denoted F = E(x) and called eld sions. Specically, the Galois group of F over E, denoted
extension F / E generated by x in G.[10] Such extensions are Gal(F/E), is the group of eld automorphisms of F that
also called simple extensions. Many extensions are of this are trivial on E (i.e., the bijections : F F that preserve
type; see the primitive element theorem. For instance, addition and multiplication and that send elements of E
Q(i) is the subeld of C consisting of all numbers of the to themselves), and the fundamental theorem of Galois
theory states that there is a one-to-one correspondence
form a + bi where both a and b are rational numbers.
between subgroups of Gal(F/E) and the set of intermediOne distinguishes between extensions having various
ate extensions of the extension F/E. The theorem, in fact,
qualities. For example, an extension K of a eld k is called
gives an explicit correspondence and further properties.
algebraic, if every element of K is a root of some polynomial with coecients in k. Otherwise, the extension To study all (separable) algebraic extensions of E at once,
is called transcendental. The aim of Galois theory is the one must consider the absolute Galois group of E, dened
as the Galois group of the separable closure, E sep , of E
study of algebraic extensions of a eld.
over E i.e., Gal(E sep /E). It is possible that the degree of
this extension is innite (as in the case of E = Q). It is
thus necessary to have a notion of Galois group for an innite algebraic extension. The Galois group in this case
is obtained as a limit (specically an inverse limit) of
3.6.3 Rings vs elds
the Galois groups of the nite Galois extensions of E. In
this way, it acquires a topology.[note 2] The fundamental
theorem of Galois theory can be generalized to the case
Adding multiplicative inverses to an integral domain R of innite Galois extensions by taking into consideration
yields the eld of fractions of R. For example, the eld of the topology of the Galois group, and in the case of E sep /E
fractions of the integers Z is just Q. Also, the eld F(X) it states that there this a one-to-one correspondence beis the quotient eld of the ring of polynomials F[X].
tween closed subgroups of Gal(E sep /E) and the set of all
Another method to obtain a eld from a commutative ring separable algebraic extensions of E (technically, one only
R is taking the quotient R / m, where m is any maximal obtains those separable algebraic extensions of E that ocideal of R. The above construction of F = E[X] / (p(X)), is cur as subelds of the chosen separable closure E sep , but
an example, because the irreducibility of the polynomial since all separable closures of E are isomorphic, choosp(X) is equivalent to the maximality of the ideal generated ing a dierent separable closure would give the same Gaby this polynomial. Another example are the nite elds lois group and thus an equivalent set of algebraic extensions).
Fp = Z / pZ.
20
CHAPTER 3. FIELD
3.8 Generalizations
Finite elds are used in number theory, Galois theory, cryptography, coding theory and combinatorics; and
There are also proper classes with eld structure, which again the notion of algebraic extension is an important
tool.
are sometimes called Fields, with a capital F:
The surreal numbers form a Field containing the reals, and would be a eld except for the fact that they
are a proper class, not a set.
The nimbers form a Field. The set of nimbers with
n
birthday smaller than 22 , the nimbers with birthday
smaller than any innite cardinal are all examples of
elds.
In a dierent direction, dierential elds are elds
equipped with a derivation. For example, the eld
R(X), together with the standard derivative of polynomials forms a dierential eld. These elds are central to
dierential Galois theory. Exponential elds, meanwhile,
are elds equipped with an exponential function that provides a homomorphism between the additive and multiplicative groups within the eld. The usual exponential
function makes the real and complex numbers exponential elds, denoted R and C respectively.
Generalizing in a more categorical direction yields the
eld with one element and related objects.
3.8.1
Exponentiation
One does not in general study generalizations of

elds with three binary operations.
The familiar
addition/subtraction,
multiplication/division,
exponentiation/root-extraction/logarithm
operations
from the natural numbers to the reals, each built up in
terms of iteration of the last, mean that generalizing
exponentiation as a binary operation is tempting, but has
generally not proven fruitful; instead, an exponential eld
assumes a unary exponential function from the additive
group to the multiplicative group, not a partially dened
binary function. Note that the exponential operation
of ab is neither associative nor commutative, nor has a
unique inverse ( 2 are both square roots of 4, for instance), unlike addition and multiplication, and further is
not dened for many pairsfor example, (1)1/2 = 1

does not dene a single number. These all show that
even for rational numbers exponentiation is not nearly
as well-behaved as addition and multiplication, which is
why one does not in general axiomatize exponentiation.
3.9 Applications
The concept of a eld is of use, for example, in dening vectors and matrices, two structures in linear algebra
whose components can be elements of an arbitrary eld.
3.10 See also

Category of elds
Glossary of eld theory for more denitions in eld
theory.
Heyting eld
Lefschetz principle
Puiseux series
Ring
Vector space
Vector spaces without elds
3.11 Notes
[1] That is, the axiom for addition only assumes a binary operation + : F F F, a, b 7 a + b. The axiom of inverse
allows one to dene a unary operation : F F a 7 a
that sends an element to its negative (its additive inverse);
this is not taken as given, but is implicitly dened in terms
of addition as " a is the unique b such that a + b = 0
", implicitly because it is dened in terms of solving
an equationand one then denes the binary operation
of subtraction, also denoted by "", as : F F F,
a, b 7 a b := a + (b) in terms of addition and additive
inverse. In the same way, one denes the binary operation
of division in terms of the assumed binary operation of
multiplication and the implicitly dened operation of reciprocal (multiplicative inverse).
[2] As an inverse limit of nite discrete groups, it is equipped
with the pronite topology, making it a pronite topological group
3.12 References
[1] Wallace, D A R (1998) Groups, Rings, and Fields, SUMS.
Springer-Verlag: 151, Th. 2.
[2] Karl Georg Christian v. Staudt, Beitrge zur Geometrie
der Lage (Contributions to the Geometry of Position), volume 2 (Nrnberg, (Germany): Bauer and Raspe, 1857).
See: Summen von Wrfen (sums of throws), pp. 166171 ; Produckte aus Wrfen (products of throws), pp.
171-176 ; Potenzen von Wrfen (powers of throws), pp.
176-182.
[3] Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet with R. Dedekind, Vorlesungen ber Zahlentheorie von P. G. Lejeune Dirichlet
(Lectures on Number Theory by P.G. Lejeune Dirichlet),
2nd ed., volume 1 (Braunschweig, Germany: Friedrich
Vieweg und Sohn, 1871), p. 424. From page 424: Unter
einem Krper wollen wir jedes System von unendlich vielen reellen oder complexen Zahlen verstehen, welches in
sich so abgeschlossen und vollstndig ist, dass die Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication und Division von je zwei
dieser Zahlen immer wieder eine Zahl desselben Systems
hervorbringt. (By a eld we will understand any system of innitely many real or complex numbers, which
is so closed and complete that the addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division of any two of these numbers
always again produces a number of the same system.)
[4] J J O'Connor and E F Robertson, The development of Ring
Theory, September 2004.
[5] Moore, E. Hastings (1893), A doubly-innite system
of simple groups, Bulletin of the New York Mathematical Society 3 (3): 7378, doi:10.1090/S0002-9904-189300178-X, JFM 25.0198.01. From page 75: Such a system of s marks [i.e., a nite eld with s elements] we call
a eld of order s.
[6] Earliest Known Uses of Some of the Words of Mathematics
(F)
[7] Fricke, Robert; Weber, Heinrich Martin (1924), Lehrbuch
der Algebra, Vieweg, JFM 50.0042.03
[8] Steinitz, Ernst (1910), Algebraische Theorie der Krper, Journal fr die reine und angewandte Mathematik
137: 167309, doi:10.1515/crll.1910.137.167, ISSN
0075-4102, JFM 41.0445.03
[9] Jacobson (2009), p. 213
[10] Jacobson (2009), p. 213
3.13 Sources
Artin, Michael (1991), Algebra, Prentice Hall, ISBN
978-0-13-004763-2, especially Chapter 13
Allenby, R.B.J.T. (1991), Rings, Fields and Groups,
Butterworth-Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-340-544402
Blyth, T.S.; Robertson, E. F. (1985), Groups, rings
and elds: Algebra through practice, Cambridge
University Press. See especially Book 3 (ISBN 0521-27288-2) and Book 6 (ISBN 0-521-27291-2).
Jacobson, Nathan (2009), Basic algebra 1 (2nd ed.),
Dover, ISBN 978-0-486-47189-1
James Ax (1968), The elementary theory of nite
elds, Ann. of Math. (2), 88, 239271
21
3.14 External links

Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed.
(2001), Field,
Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN
978-1-55608-010-4
Field Theory Q&A
Fields at ProvenMath denition and basic properties.
Field at PlanetMath.org.
Chapter 4
Galois group
Aut(R/Q) is trivial. Indeed, it can be shown that
any automorphism of R must preserve the ordering
of the real numbers and hence must be the identity.
In mathematics, more specically in the area of modern

algebra known as Galois theory, the Galois group of a
certain type of eld extension is a specic group associated with the eld extension. The study of eld extensions
and their relationship to the polynomials that give rise to
them via Galois groups is called Galois theory, so named
in honor of variste Galois who rst discovered them.
Aut(C/Q) is an innite group.

Gal(Q(2)/Q) has two elements, the identity automorphism and the automorphism which exchanges
2 and 2.
For a more elementary discussion of Galois groups in

terms of permutation groups, see the article on Galois
theory.
Consider the eld K = Q(2). The group Aut(K/Q)

contains only the identity automorphism. This is because K is not a normal extension, since the other
two cube roots of 2 (both complex) are missing from
the extension in other words K is not a splitting
eld.
4.1 Denition
Suppose that E is an extension of the eld F (written as
E/F and read E over F). An automorphism of E/F is
dened to be an automorphism of E that xes F pointwise. In other words, an automorphism of E/F is an
isomorphism from E to E such that (x) = x for each x
in F. The set of all automorphisms of E/F forms a group
with the operation of function composition. This group
is sometimes denoted by Aut(E/F).
Consider now L = Q(2, ), where is a primitive

third root of unity. The group Gal(L/Q) is isomorphic to S 3 , the dihedral group of order 6, and L is in
fact the splitting eld of x3 2 over Q.
If q is a prime power, and if F = GF(q) and E =
GF(qn ) denote the Galois elds of order q and qn
respectively, then Gal(E/F) is cyclic of order n and
generated by the Frobenius homomorphism.
If E/F is a Galois extension, then Aut(E/F) is called the

Galois group of (the extension) E over F, and is usually
denoted by Gal(E/F).[1]
If E/F is not a Galois extension, then the Galois group
of (the extension) E over F is sometimes dened as
Aut(G/F), where G is the Galois closure of E.
4.2 Examples
If f is an irreducible polynomial of prime degree

p with rational coecients and exactly two nonreal roots, then the Galois group of f is the full
symmetric group Sp.
For a nite eld Fqn , we always have Gal(Fqn /Fq ) cyclic
of order n, generated by the qth power Frobenius automorphism.
In the following examples F is a eld, and C, R, Q are 4.3 Properties

the elds of complex, real, and rational numbers, respectively. The notation F(a) indicates the eld extension obThe signicance of an extension being Galois is that it
tained by adjoining an element a to the eld F.
obeys the fundamental theorem of Galois theory: the
closed (with respect to the Krull topology) subgroups of
Gal(F/F) is the trivial group that has a single ele- the Galois group correspond to the intermediate elds of
ment, namely the identity automorphism.
the eld extension.
Gal(C/R) has two elements, the identity au- If E/F is a Galois extension, then Gal(E/F) can be given
tomorphism and the complex conjugation a topology, called the Krull topology, that makes it into a
automorphism.[2]
pronite group.
22
4.7. EXTERNAL LINKS
4.4 See also

Absolute Galois group
4.5 Notes
[1] Some authors refer to Aut(E/F) as the Galois group for
arbitrary extensions E/F and use the corresponding notation, e.g. Jacobson 2009.
[2] Cooke, Roger L. (2008), Classical Algebra: Its Nature,
Origins, and Uses, John Wiley & Sons, p. 138, ISBN
9780470277973.
4.6 References
Jacobson, Nathan (2009) [1985], Basic algebra I
(Second ed.), Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-48647189-1
Lang, Serge (2002), Algebra, Graduate Texts in
Mathematics 211 (Revised third ed.), New York:
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-95385-4, MR
1878556
4.7 External links

Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), Galois group,
Galois Groups at MathPages.com.
23
Chapter 5
Group
This article is about basic notions of groups in mathemat- changed and the operation of combining two such transics. For a more advanced treatment, see Group theory.
formations by performing one after the other. Lie groups
In mathematics, a group is an algebraic structure con- are the symmetry groups used in the Standard Model
of particle physics; Poincar groups, which are also Lie
groups, can express the physical symmetry underlying
special relativity; and Point groups are used to help understand symmetry phenomena in molecular chemistry.
The concept of a group arose from the study of
polynomial equations, starting with variste Galois in
the 1830s. After contributions from other elds such
as number theory and geometry, the group notion was
generalized and rmly established around 1870. Modern group theoryan active mathematical discipline
studies groups in their own right.a[] To explore groups,
mathematicians have devised various notions to break
groups into smaller, better-understandable pieces, such
as subgroups, quotient groups and simple groups. In addition to their abstract properties, group theorists also
study the dierent ways in which a group can be expressed concretely (its group representations), both from
a theoretical and a computational point of view. A theory
has been developed for nite groups, which culminated
with the classication of nite simple groups, completed
The manipulations of this Rubiks Cube form the Rubiks Cube in 2004.aa[] Since the mid-1980s, geometric group thegroup.
ory, which studies nitely generated groups as geometric
objects, has become a particularly active area in group
sisting of a set of elements equipped with an operation
theory.
that combines any two elements to form a third element. The operation satises four conditions called the
group axioms, namely closure, associativity, identity and
invertibility. One of the most familiar examples of a 5.1 Denition and illustration
group is the set of integers together with the addition operation, but the abstract formalization of the group ax- 5.1.1 First example: the integers
ioms, detached as it is from the concrete nature of any
particular group and its operation, applies much more One of the most familiar groups is the set of integers Z
widely. It allows entities with highly diverse mathemati- which consists of the numbers
cal origins in abstract algebra and beyond to be handled
in a exible way while retaining their essential structural
..., 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...,[3] together
aspects. The ubiquity of groups in numerous areas within
with addition.
and outside mathematics makes them a central organizing
principle of contemporary mathematics.[1][2]
The following properties of integer addition serve as a
Groups share a fundamental kinship with the notion of model for the abstract group axioms given in the denition
symmetry. For example, a symmetry group encodes sym- below.
metry features of a geometrical object: the group consists of the set of transformations that leave the object un For any two integers a and b, the sum a + b is also
24
5.1. DEFINITION AND ILLUSTRATION
25
an integer. That is, addition of integers always yields

ab=ba
an integer. This property is known as closure under
addition.
may not always be true. This equation always holds in the
For all integers a, b and c, (a + b) + c = a + (b + group of integers under addition, because a + b = b + a
c). Expressed in words, adding a to b rst, and then for any two integers (commutativity of addition). Groups
adding the result to c gives the same nal result as for which the commutativity equation a b = b a always
adding a to the sum of b and c, a property known as holds are called abelian groups (in honor of Niels Henrik
Abel). The symmetry group described in the following
associativity.
section is an example of a group that is not abelian.
If a is any integer, then 0 + a = a + 0 = a. Zero
identity element of a group G is often written as 1 or
is called the identity element of addition because The[6]
1G,
a notation inherited from the multiplicative idenadding it to any integer returns the same integer.
tity. If a group is abelian, then one may choose to denote
For every integer a, there is an integer b such that a the group operation by + and the identity element by 0;
+ b = b + a = 0. The integer b is called the inverse in that case, the group is called an additive group. The
element of the integer a and is denoted a.
identity element can also be written as id.
The integers, together with the operation +, form a mathematical object belonging to a broad class sharing similar structural aspects. To appropriately understand these
structures as a collective, the following abstract denition
is developed.
5.1.2
Denition
The set G is called the underlying set of the group (G, ).

Often the groups underlying set G is used as a short name
for the group (G, ). Along the same lines, shorthand expressions such as a subset of the group G" or an element
of group G" are used when what is actually meant is a
subset of the underlying set G of the group (G, )" or an
element of the underlying set G of the group (G, )". Usually, it is clear from the context whether a symbol like G
refers to a group or to an underlying set.
[T]he axioms for a group are short and natural... Yet

somehow hidden behind these axioms is the monster simple group, a huge and extraordinary mathematical object, 5.1.3 Second example: a symmetry group
which appears to rely on numerous bizarre coincidences
to exist. The axioms for groups give no obvious hint that Two gures in the plane are congruent if one can be
changed into the other using a combination of rotations,
anything like this exists.
reections, and translations. Any gure is congruent to itRichard Borcherds in Mathematicians: An Outer View of
self. However, some gures are congruent to themselves
the Inner World [4]
in more than one way, and these extra congruences are
A group is a set, G, together with an operation (called called symmetries. A square has eight symmetries. These
the group law of G) that combines any two elements a and are:
b to form another element, denoted a b or ab. To qualify
as a group, the set and operation, (G, ), must satisfy four
the identity operation leaving everything unchanged,
requirements known as the group axioms:[5]
denoted id;
Closure For all a, b in G, the result of the operation, a
b, is also in G.b[]
Associativity For all a, b and c in G, (a b) c = a (b
c).
Identity element There exists an element e in G, such
that for every element a in G, the equation e a = a
e = a holds. Such an element is unique (see below),
and thus one speaks of the identity element.
rotations of the square around its center by 90

clockwise, 180 clockwise, and 270 clockwise, denoted by r1 , r2 and r3 , respectively;
reections about the vertical and horizontal middle
line (f and f), or through the two diagonals (f and
f ).
These symmetries are represented by functions. Each of

these functions sends a point in the square to the corresponding point under the symmetry. For example, r1
sends a point to its rotation 90 clockwise around the
squares center, and f sends a point to its reection across
the squares vertical middle line. Composing two of these
The result of an operation may depend on the order of symmetry functions gives another symmetry function.
the operands. In other words, the result of combining These symmetries determine a group called the dihedral
element a with element b need not yield the same result group of degree 4 and denoted D4 . The underlying set
of the group is the above set of symmetry functions, and
as combining element b with element a; the equation
Inverse element For each a in G, there exists an element

b in G, commonly denoted a1 (or a, if the operation is denoted "+"), such that a b = b a = e,
where e is the identity element.
26
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
the group operation is function composition.[7] Two symmetries are combined by composing them as functions,
that is, applying the rst one to the square, and the second one to the result of the rst application. The result of
performing rst a and then b is written symbolically from
right to left as
b a (apply the symmetry b after performing
the symmetry a").
The right-to-left notation is the same notation that is used
for composition of functions.
The group table on the right lists the results of all such
compositions possible. For example, rotating by 270
clockwise (r3 ) and then reecting horizontally (f ) is the
same as performing a reection along the diagonal (f ).
Using the above symbols, highlighted in blue in the group
table:
f r3 = f .
3. The identity element is the symmetry id leaving everything unchanged: for any symmetry a, performing id after a (or a after id) equals a, in symbolic
form,
id a = a,
a id = a.
4. An inverse element undoes the transformation of
some other element. Every symmetry can be
undone: each of the following transformations
identity id, the reections f , f, f , f and the 180
rotation r2 is its own inverse, because performing
it twice brings the square back to its original orientation. The rotations r3 and r1 are each others inverses, because rotating 90 and then rotation 270
(or vice versa) yields a rotation over 360 which
leaves the square unchanged. In symbols,
f f = id,
r3 r1 = r1 r3 = id.
In contrast to the group of integers above, where the order

Given this set of symmetries and the described operation,
of the operation is irrelevant, it does matter in D4 : f r1
the group axioms can be understood as follows:
= f but r1 f = f . In other words, D4 is not abelian,
which makes the group structure more dicult than the
1. The closure axiom demands that the composition b integers introduced rst.
a of any two symmetries a and b is also a symmetry.
Another example for the group operation is
r3 f = f ,
5.2 History
i.e. rotating 270 clockwise after reecting horiMain article: History of group theory
zontally equals reecting along the counter-diagonal
(f ). Indeed every other combination of two symmetries still gives a symmetry, as can be checked using The modern concept of an abstract group developed out
of several elds of mathematics.[8][9][10] The original mothe group table.
tivation for group theory was the quest for solutions of
2. The associativity constraint deals with composing polynomial equations of degree higher than 4. The 19thmore than two symmetries: Starting with three el- century French mathematician variste Galois, extendements a, b and c of D4 , there are two possible ways ing prior work of Paolo Runi and Joseph-Louis Laof using these three symmetries in this order to de- grange, gave a criterion for the solvability of a particutermine a symmetry of the square. One of these lar polynomial equation in terms of the symmetry group
ways is to rst compose a and b into a single sym- of its roots (solutions). The elements of such a Galois
metry, then to compose that symmetry with c. The group correspond to certain permutations of the roots. At
other way is to rst compose b and c, then to com- rst, Galois ideas were rejected by his contemporaries,
pose the resulting symmetry with a. The associativ- and published only posthumously.[11][12] More general
ity condition
permutation groups were investigated in particular by
Augustin Louis Cauchy. Arthur Cayley's On the the(a b) c = a (b c)
ory of groups, as depending on the symbolic equation n
means that these two ways are the same, i.e., a prod- = 1 (1854) gives the rst abstract denition of a nite
uct of many group elements can be simplied in any group.[13]
grouping. For example, (f f) r2 = f (f r2 ) Geometry was a second eld in which groups were used
can be checked using the group table at the right
systematically, especially symmetry groups as part of
While associativity is true for the symmetries of the
square and addition of numbers, it is not true for all
operations. For instance, subtraction of numbers is
not associative: (7 3) 2 = 2 is not the same as 7
(3 2) = 6.
Felix Klein's 1872 Erlangen program.[14] After novel geometries such as hyperbolic and projective geometry had
emerged, Klein used group theory to organize them in
a more coherent way. Further advancing these ideas,
Sophus Lie founded the study of Lie groups in 1884.[15]
5.4. BASIC CONCEPTS

The third eld contributing to group theory was number
theory. Certain abelian group structures had been used
implicitly in Carl Friedrich Gauss' number-theoretical
work Disquisitiones Arithmeticae (1798), and more explicitly by Leopold Kronecker.[16] In 1847, Ernst Kummer made early attempts to prove Fermats Last Theorem
by developing groups describing factorization into prime
numbers.[17]
The convergence of these various sources into a uniform
theory of groups started with Camille Jordan's Trait
des substitutions et des quations algbriques (1870).[18]
Walther von Dyck (1882) introduced the idea of specifying a group by means of generators and relations, and
was also the rst to give an axiomatic denition of an abstract group, in the terminology of the time.[19] As of the
20th century, groups gained wide recognition by the pioneering work of Ferdinand Georg Frobenius and William
Burnside, who worked on representation theory of nite
groups, Richard Brauer's modular representation theory
and Issai Schur's papers.[20] The theory of Lie groups,
and more generally locally compact groups was studied by
Hermann Weyl, lie Cartan and many others.[21] Its algebraic counterpart, the theory of algebraic groups, was rst
shaped by Claude Chevalley (from the late 1930s) and
later by the work of Armand Borel and Jacques Tits.[22]
27
actually two-sided, so the resulting denition is equivalent
to the one given above.[26]
5.3.1 Uniqueness of identity element and

inverses
Two important consequences of the group axioms are the
uniqueness of the identity element and the uniqueness of
inverse elements. There can be only one identity element
in a group, and each element in a group has exactly one
inverse element. Thus, it is customary to speak of the
identity, and the inverse of an element.[27]
To prove the uniqueness of an inverse element of a, suppose that a has two inverses, denoted b and c, in a group
(G, ). Then
The two extremal terms b and c are equal, since they are
connected by a chain of equalities. In other words, there
is only one inverse element of a. Similarly, to prove that
the identity element of a group is unique, assume G is a
group with two identity elements e and f. Then e = e f
The University of Chicago's 196061 Group Theory Year = f, hence e and f are equal.
brought together group theorists such as Daniel Gorenstein, John G. Thompson and Walter Feit, laying the foundation of a collaboration that, with input from numerous 5.3.2 Division
other mathematicians, led to the classication of nite
simple groups, with the nal step taken by Aschbacher In groups, the invertibility of the group action means that
and Smith in 2004. This project exceeded previous math- division is possible: given elements a and b of the group
is exactly one solution x in G to the equation x
ematical endeavours by its sheer size, in both length of G, there
[27]
a
=
b.
In fact, right multiplication of the equation by
proof and number of researchers. Research is ongoing 1
a
gives
the
solution x = x a a1 = b a1 . Similarly
[23]
to simplify the proof of this classication. These days,
solution y in G to the equation a y =
group theory is still a highly active mathematical branch, there is exactly one
1
b,
namely
y
=
a
b. If the operation is commutative,

a[]
impacting many other elds.
we get that x = y. If not, x may be dierent from y.
A consequence of this is that multiplying by a group element g is a bijection. Specically, if g is an element of
5.3 Elementary consequences of the
group G, there is a bijection from G to itself called left
the group axioms
translation by g sending h G to g h. Similarly, right
translation by g is a bijection from G to itself sending h to
h
g. If G is abelian, left and right translation by a group
Basic facts about all groups that can be obtained directly
element
are the same.
from the group axioms are commonly subsumed under
[24]
For example, repeated apelementary group theory.
plications of the associativity axiom show that the unambiguity of
5.4 Basic concepts
a b c = (a b) c = a (b c)
generalizes to more than three factors. Because this im- Further information: Glossary of group theory
plies that parentheses can be inserted anywhere within
such a series of terms, parentheses are usually omitted.[25] To understand groups beyond the level of mere symThe axioms may be weakened to assert only the existence bolic manipulations as above, more structural concepts
of a left identity and left inverses. Both can be shown to be have to be employed.c[] There is a conceptual principle
28
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
underlying all of the following notions: to take advantage of the structure oered by groups (which sets, being structureless, do not have), constructions related to
groups have to be compatible with the group operation.
This compatibility manifests itself in the following notions in various ways. For example, groups can be related to each other via functions called group homomorphisms. By the mentioned principle, they are required to
respect the group structures in a precise sense. The structure of groups can also be understood by breaking them
into pieces called subgroups and quotient groups. The
principle of preserving structuresa recurring topic in
mathematics throughoutis an instance of working in a
category, in this case the category of groups.[28]
In the example above, the identity and the rotations constitute a subgroup R = {id, r1 , r2 , r3 }, highlighted in red
in the group table above: any two rotations composed are
still a rotation, and a rotation can be undone by (i.e. is inverse to) the complementary rotations 270 for 90, 180
for 180, and 90 for 270 (note that rotation in the opposite direction is not dened). The subgroup test is a
necessary and sucient condition for a nonempty subset H of a group G to be a subgroup: it is sucient to
check that g1 h H for all elements g, h H. Knowing
the subgroups is important in understanding the group as
a whole.d[]
Given any subset S of a group G, the subgroup generated

by S consists of products of elements of S and their inverses. It is the smallest subgroup of G containing S.[31] In
the introductory example above, the subgroup generated
5.4.1 Group homomorphisms
by r2 and f consists of these two elements, the identity
element id and f = f r2 . Again, this is a subgroup, beMain article: Group homomorphism
cause combining any two of these four elements or their
inverses (which are, in this particular case, these same
g[]
Group homomorphisms
are functions that preserve elements) yields an element of this subgroup.
group structure. A function a: G H between two
groups (G, ) and (H, ) is called a homomorphism if the
5.4.3 Cosets
equation
Main article: Coset
a(g k) = a(g) a(k)
holds for all elements g, k in G. In other words, the result
is the same when performing the group operation after
or before applying the map a. This requirement ensures
that a(1G) = 1H, and also a(g)1 = a(g1 ) for all g in G.
Thus a group homomorphism respects all the structure of
G provided by the group axioms.[29]
In many situations it is desirable to consider two group

elements the same if they dier by an element of a given
subgroup. For example, in D4 above, once a reection is
performed, the square never gets back to the r2 conguration by just applying the rotation operations (and no further reections), i.e. the rotation operations are irrelevant
to the question whether a reection has been performed.
Cosets are used to formalize this insight: a subgroup H
denes left and right cosets, which can be thought of as
translations of H by arbitrary group elements g. In symbolic terms, the left and right cosets of H containing g
are
Two groups G and H are called isomorphic if there exist

group homomorphisms a: G H and b: H G, such
that applying the two functions one after another in each
of the two possible orders gives the identity functions of
G and H. That is, a(b(h)) = h and b(a(g)) = g for any g in
G and h in H. From an abstract point of view, isomorphic
gH = {g h : h H} and Hg = {h g : h H},
groups carry the same information. For example, proving
respectively.[32]
that g g = 1G for some element g of G is equivalent
to proving that a(g) a(g) = 1H, because applying a to
the rst equality yields the second, and applying b to the The left cosets of any subgroup H form a partition of G;
second gives back the rst.
that is, the union of all left cosets is equal to G and two left
cosets are either equal or have an empty intersection.[33]
The rst case g1 H = g2 H happens precisely when g1 1
5.4.2 Subgroups
g2 H, i.e. if the two elements dier by an element of
H. Similar considerations apply to the right cosets of H.
The left and right cosets of H may or may not be equal.
Main article: Subgroup
If they are, i.e. for all g in G, gH = Hg, then H is said to
Informally, a subgroup is a group H contained within a be a normal subgroup.
bigger one, G.[30] Concretely, the identity element of G is
contained in H, and whenever h1 and h2 are in H, then so
are h1 h2 and h1 1 , so the elements of H, equipped with
the group operation on G restricted to H, indeed form a
group.
In D4 , the introductory symmetry group, the left cosets

gR of the subgroup R consisting of the rotations are either
equal to R, if g is an element of R itself, or otherwise equal
to U = f R = {f , f, f , f } (highlighted in green). The
subgroup R is also normal, because f R = U = Rf and
5.5. EXAMPLES AND APPLICATIONS
29
similarly for any element other than f . (In fact, in the surjective maps (every element of the target is mapped
case of D4 , observe that all such cosets are equal, such onto), such as the canonical map G G / N.y[] Interthat f R = fR = f R = f R.)
preting subgroup and quotients in light of these homomorphisms emphasizes the structural concept inherent to
these denitions alluded to in the introduction. In gen5.4.4 Quotient groups
eral, homomorphisms are neither injective nor surjective.
Kernel and image of group homomorphisms and the rst
Main article: Quotient group
isomorphism theorem address this phenomenon.
In some situations the set of cosets of a subgroup can be
endowed with a group law, giving a quotient group or fac- 5.5 Examples and applications
tor group. For this to be possible, the subgroup has to
be normal. Given any normal subgroup N, the quotient
Main articles: Examples of groups and Applications of
group is dened by
group theory
G / N = {gN, g G}, "G modulo N".[34]
This set inherits a group operation (sometimes called
coset multiplication, or coset addition) from the original
group G: (gN) (hN) = (gh)N for all g and h in G. This
denition is motivated by the idea (itself an instance of
general structural considerations outlined above) that the
map G G / N that associates to any element g its coset
gN be a group homomorphism, or by general abstract
considerations called universal properties. The coset eN
= N serves as the identity in this group, and the inverse
of gN in the quotient group is (gN)1 = (g1 )N.e[]
The elements of the quotient group D4 / R are R itself,
which represents the identity, and U = fR. The group operation on the quotient is shown at the right. For example,
U U = fR fR = (f f)R = R. Both the subgroup R
= {id, r1 , r2 , r3 }, as well as the corresponding quotient
are abelian, whereas D4 is not abelian. Building bigger
groups by smaller ones, such as D4 from its subgroup R
and the quotient D4 / R is abstracted by a notion called
semidirect product.
Quotient groups and subgroups together form a way of
describing every group by its presentation: any group is
the quotient of the free group over the generators of the
group, quotiented by the subgroup of relations. The dihedral group D4 , for example, can be generated by two elements r and f (for example, r = r1 , the right rotation and
f = f the vertical (or any other) reection), which means
that every symmetry of the square is a nite composition
of these two symmetries or their inverses. Together with
the relations
r4=f
= (r f)2 = 1,[35]
A periodic wallpaper
pattern gives rise to a wallpaper group.
The
fundamental
group of a plane minus a point (bold) consists of loops
around the missing point. This group is isomorphic to
the integers.
Examples and applications of groups abound. A starting point is the group Z of integers with addition as
group operation, introduced above. If instead of addition
multiplication is considered, one obtains multiplicative
groups. These groups are predecessors of important constructions in abstract algebra.
Groups are also applied in many other mathematical

the group is completely described. A presentation of a areas. Mathematical objects are often examined by
group can also be used to construct the Cayley graph, a associating groups to them and studying the properties of
device used to graphically capture discrete groups.
the corresponding groups. For example, Henri Poincar
Sub- and quotient groups are related in the following way: founded what is now called algebraic topology by ina subset H of G can be seen as an injective map H G, troducing the fundamental group.[36] By means of this
i.e. any element of the target has at most one element connection, topological properties such as proximity and
that maps to it. The counterpart to injective maps are continuity translate into properties of groups.i[] For ex-
30
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
ample, elements of the fundamental group are represented by loops. The second image at the right shows
some loops in a plane minus a point. The blue loop is
considered null-homotopic (and thus irrelevant), because
it can be continuously shrunk to a point. The presence of
the hole prevents the orange loop from being shrunk to a
point. The fundamental group of the plane with a point
deleted turns out to be innite cyclic, generated by the
orange loop (or any other loop winding once around the
hole). This way, the fundamental group detects the hole.
a
.
b
Fractions of integers (with b nonzero) are known as

rational numbers.l[] The set of all such fractions is commonly denoted Q. There is still a minor obstacle for (Q, ),
the rationals with multiplication, being a group: because
the rational number 0 does not have a multiplicative inverse (i.e., there is no x such that x 0 = 1), (Q, ) is still
not
a group.
In more recent applications, the inuence has also been
reversed to motivate geometric constructions by a group- However, the set of all nonzero rational numbers Q
theoretical background.j[] In a similar vein, geometric {0} = {q Q | q 0} does form an abelian group ungroup theory employs geometric concepts, for example der multiplication, denoted (Q {0}, ).m[] Associativity
in the study of hyperbolic groups.[37] Further branches and identity element axioms follow from the properties
crucially applying groups include algebraic geometry and of integers. The closure requirement still holds true afnumber theory.[38]
ter removing zero, because the product of two nonzero
In addition to the above theoretical applications, many rationals is never zero. Finally, the inverse of a/b is b/a,
practical applications of groups exist. Cryptography re- therefore the axiom of the inverse element is satised.
lies on the combination of the abstract group theory approach together with algorithmical knowledge obtained
in computational group theory, in particular when implemented for nite groups.[39] Applications of group theory are not restricted to mathematics; sciences such as
physics, chemistry and computer science benet from the
concept.
The rational numbers (including 0) also form a group under addition. Intertwining addition and multiplication operations yields more complicated structures called rings
andif division is possible, such as in Qelds, which
occupy a central position in abstract algebra. Group theoretic arguments therefore underlie parts of the theory of
those entities.n[]
5.5.1
5.5.2 Modular arithmetic
Numbers
Many number systems, such as the integers and the

rationals enjoy a naturally given group structure. In
some cases, such as with the rationals, both addition and
multiplication operations give rise to group structures.
Such number systems are predecessors to more general
algebraic structures known as rings and elds. Further abstract algebraic concepts such as modules, vector
spaces and algebras also form groups.
Integers
The group of integers Z under addition, denoted (Z, +),
has been described above. The integers, with the operation of multiplication instead of addition, (Z, ) do not
form a group. The closure, associativity and identity axioms are satised, but inverses do not exist: for example,
a = 2 is an integer, but the only solution to the equation a
b = 1 in this case is b = 1/2, which is a rational number,
but not an integer. Hence not every element of Z has a
(multiplicative) inverse.k[]
Rationals
+4h
9
The hours on a clock form a group that uses addition modulo 12.
Here 9 + 4 = 1.
In modular arithmetic, two integers are added and then

the sum is divided by a positive integer called the modulus. The result of modular addition is the remainder of
that division. For any modulus, n, the set of integers from
0 to n 1 forms a group under modular addition: the inverse of any element a is n a, and 0 is the identity element. This is familiar from the addition of hours on the
face of a clock: if the hour hand is on 9 and is advanced
4 hours, it ends up on 1, as shown at the right. This is
expressed by saying that 9 + 4 equals 1 modulo 12 or,
in symbols,
9 + 4 1 modulo 12.
The desire for the existence of multiplicative inverses

suggests considering fractions
The group of integers modulo n is written Zn or Z/nZ.
5.5. EXAMPLES AND APPLICATIONS

For any prime number p, there is also the multiplicative
group of integers modulo p.[40] Its elements are the integers 1 to p 1. The group operation is multiplication
modulo p. That is, the usual product is divided by p and
the remainder of this division is the result of modular
multiplication. For example, if p = 5, there are four group
elements 1, 2, 3, 4. In this group, 4 4 = 1, because the
usual product 16 is equivalent to 1, which divided by 5
yields a remainder of 1. for 5 divides 16 1 = 15, denoted
31
z =1
16 1 (mod 5).
The primality of p ensures that the product of two integers neither of which is divisible by p is not divisible by p
4
5
either, hence the indicated set of classes is closed under
o[]
multiplication. The identity element is 1, as usual for
a multiplicative group, and the associativity follows from
The 6th complex roots of unity form a cyclic group. z is a primithe corresponding property of integers. Finally, the intive element, but z2 is not, because the odd powers of z are not a
verse element axiom requires that given an integer a not power of z2 .
divisible by p, there exists an integer b such that
a b 1 (mod p), i.e. p divides the dierence

a b 1.
group. A second example for cyclic groups is the group

of n-th complex roots of unity, given by complex numbers z satisfying zn = 1. These numbers can be visualized
as the vertices on a regular n-gon, as shown in blue at the
right for n = 6. The group operation is multiplication of
complex numbers. In the picture, multiplying with z corresponds to a counter-clockwise rotation by 60.[44] Using some eld theory, the group Fp can be shown to be
cyclic: for example, if p = 5, 3 is a generator since 31 =
3, 32 = 9 4, 33 2, and 34 1.
The inverse b can be found by using Bzouts identity and

the fact that the greatest common divisor gcd(a, p) equals
1.[41] In the case p = 5 above, the inverse of 4 is 4, and
the inverse of 3 is 2, as 3 2 = 6 1 (mod 5). Hence
all group axioms are fullled. Actually, this example is
similar to (Q {0}, ) above: it consists of exactly those
elements in Z/pZ that have a multiplicative inverse.[42]
These groups are denoted Fp . They are crucial to public- Some cyclic groups have an innite number of elements.
key cryptography.p[]
In these groups, for every non-zero element a, all the powers of a are distinct; despite the name cyclic group, the
powers of the elements do not cycle. An innite cyclic
5.5.3 Cyclic groups
group is isomorphic to (Z, +), the group of integers under
addition introduced above.[45] As these two prototypes
Main article: Cyclic group
are both abelian, so is any cyclic group.
A cyclic group is a group all of whose elements are powers
of a particular element a.[43] In multiplicative notation, The study of nitely generated abelian groups is quite
mature, including the fundamental theorem of nitely
the elements of the group are:
generated abelian groups; and reecting this state of affairs, many group-related notions, such as center and
..., a3 , a2 , a1 , a0 = e, a, a2 , a3 , ...,
commutator, describe the extent to which a given group
is not abelian.[46]
where a2 means a a, and a3 stands for a1 a1 a1 =
(a a a)1 etc.h[] Such an element a is called a generator
or a primitive element of the group. In additive notation, 5.5.4 Symmetry groups
the requirement for an element to be primitive is that each
element of the group can be written as
Main article: Symmetry group
See also: Molecular symmetry, Space group, and
Symmetry in physics
..., aa, a, 0, a, a+a, ...
In the groups Z/nZ introduced above, the element 1 is
primitive, so these groups are cyclic. Indeed, each element is expressible as a sum all of whose terms are 1.
Any cyclic group with n elements is isomorphic to this
Symmetry groups are groups consisting of symmetries of

given mathematical objectsbe they of geometric nature, such as the introductory symmetry group of the
square, or of algebraic nature, such as polynomial equa-
32
tions and their solutions.[47] Conceptually, group theory can be thought of as the study of symmetry.t[]
Symmetries in mathematics greatly simplify the study of
geometrical or analytical objects. A group is said to act
on another mathematical object X if every group element
performs some operation on X compatibly to the group
law. In the rightmost example below, an element of order
7 of the (2,3,7) triangle group acts on the tiling by permuting the highlighted warped triangles (and the other ones,
too). By a group action, the group pattern is connected to
the structure of the object being acted on.
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
called soft phonon mode, a vibrational lattice mode that
goes to zero frequency at the transition.[51]
Such spontaneous symmetry breaking has found further application in elementary particle physics, where
its occurrence is related to the appearance of Goldstone
bosons.
Finite symmetry groups such as the Mathieu groups are
used in coding theory, which is in turn applied in error
correction of transmitted data, and in CD players.[52] Another application is dierential Galois theory, which characterizes functions having antiderivatives of a prescribed
form, giving group-theoretic criteria for when solutions
of certain dierential equations are well-behaved.u[] Geometric properties that remain stable under group actions
are investigated in (geometric) invariant theory.[53]
5.5.5 General linear group and representation theory

Main articles: General linear group and Representation
theory
Matrix groups consist of matrices together with matrix
Rotations and reections form the symmetry group of a great

icosahedron.
In chemical elds, such as crystallography, space groups

and point groups describe molecular symmetries and
crystal symmetries. These symmetries underlie the
chemical and physical behavior of these systems, and
group theory enables simplication of quantum mechanical analysis of these properties.[48] For example, group
theory is used to show that optical transitions between
certain quantum levels cannot occur simply because of
the symmetry of the states involved.
Not only are groups useful to assess the implications of
symmetries in molecules, but surprisingly they also predict that molecules sometimes can change symmetry. The
Jahn-Teller eect is a distortion of a molecule of high
symmetry when it adopts a particular ground state of
lower symmetry from a set of possible ground states that
are related to each other by the symmetry operations of
the molecule.[49][50]
Two vectors (the left illustration) multiplied by matrices (the middle and right illustrations). The middle illustration represents a
clockwise rotation by 90, while the right-most one stretches the
x-coordinate by factor 2.
multiplication. The general linear group GL(n, R) consists of all invertible n-by-n matrices with real entries.[54]
Its subgroups are referred to as matrix groups or linear
groups. The dihedral group example mentioned above
can be viewed as a (very small) matrix group. Another
important matrix group is the special orthogonal group
SO(n). It describes all possible rotations in n dimensions.
Via Euler angles, rotation matrices are used in computer
graphics.[55]
Representation theory is both an application of the group
concept and important for a deeper understanding of
groups.[56][57] It studies the group by its group actions on
other spaces. A broad class of group representations are
linear representations, i.e. the group is acting on a vector
space, such as the three-dimensional Euclidean space R3 .
A representation of G on an n-dimensional real vector
space is simply a group homomorphism
Likewise, group theory helps predict the changes in physical properties that occur when a material undergoes a
phase transition, for example, from a cubic to a tetrahedral crystalline form. An example is ferroelectric materials, where the change from a paraelectric to a ferroelectric
: G GL(n, R)
state occurs at the Curie temperature and is related to a
change from the high-symmetry paraelectric state to the
lower symmetry ferroelectric state, accompanied by a so- from the group to the general linear group. This way, the
5.6. FINITE GROUPS
33
group operation, which may be abstractly given, translates rem). Parallel to the group of symmetries of the square
to the multiplication of matrices making it accessible to above, S3 can also be interpreted as the group of symmeexplicit computations.w[]
tries of an equilateral triangle.
Given a group action, this gives further means to study the
object being acted on.x[] On the other hand, it also yields
information about the group. Group representations are
an organizing principle in the theory of nite groups, Lie
groups, algebraic groups and topological groups, especially (locally) compact groups.[56][58]
The order of an element a in a group G is the least positive

integer n such that a n = e, where a n represents
a
a},
| {z
nfactors
i.e. application of the operation to n copies of a. (If

represents multiplication, then an corresponds to the nth
power of a.) In innite groups, such an n may not exist,
Main article: Galois group
in which case the order of a is said to be innity. The order of an element equals the order of the cyclic subgroup
Galois groups were developed to help solve polynomial generated by this element.
equations by capturing their symmetry features.[59][60] More sophisticated counting techniques, for example
For example, the solutions of the quadratic equation ax2 counting cosets, yield more precise statements about + bx + c = 0 are given by
nite groups: Lagranges Theorem states that for a nite
group G the order of any nite subgroup H divides the
order of G. The Sylow theorems give a partial converse.
b b2 4ac
x=
.
The dihedral group (discussed above) is a nite group of
2a
order 8. The order of r1 is 4, as is the order of the subExchanging "+" and "" in the expression, i.e. permut- group R it generates (see above). The order of the reing the two solutions of the equation can be viewed as ection elements f etc. is 2. Both orders divide 8, as
a (very simple) group operation. Similar formulae are predicted by Lagranges theorem. The groups Fp above
known for cubic and quartic equations, but do not exist have order p 1.
in general for degree 5 and higher.[61] Abstract properties
of Galois groups associated with polynomials (in particular their solvability) give a criterion for polynomials that 5.6.1 Classication of nite simple groups
have all their solutions expressible by radicals, i.e. solutions expressible using solely addition, multiplication, Main article: Classication of nite simple groups
and roots similar to the formula above.[62]
5.5.6
Galois groups
The problem can be dealt with by shifting to eld theory and considering the splitting eld of a polynomial.
Modern Galois theory generalizes the above type of Galois groups to eld extensions and establishesvia the
fundamental theorem of Galois theorya precise relationship between elds and groups, underlining once
again the ubiquity of groups in mathematics.
5.6 Finite groups

Main article: Finite group
A group is called nite if it has a nite number of elements. The number of elements is called the order of the
group.[63] An important class is the symmetric groups SN,
the groups of permutations of N letters. For example, the
symmetric group on 3 letters S3 is the group consisting of
all possible orderings of the three letters ABC, i.e. contains the elements ABC, ACB, ..., up to CBA, in total 6 (or
3 factorial) elements. This class is fundamental insofar as
any nite group can be expressed as a subgroup of a symmetric group SN for a suitable integer N (Cayleys theo-
Mathematicians often strive for a complete classication

(or list) of a mathematical notion. In the context of
nite groups, this aim leads to dicult mathematics.
According to Lagranges theorem, nite groups of order p, a prime number, are necessarily cyclic (abelian)
groups Zp. Groups of order p2 can also be shown to be
abelian, a statement which does not generalize to order
p3 , as the non-abelian group D4 of order 8 = 23 above
shows.[64] Computer algebra systems can be used to list
small groups, but there is no classication of all nite
groups.q[] An intermediate step is the classication of nite simple groups.r[] A nontrivial group is called simple
if its only normal subgroups are the trivial group and the
group itself.s[] The JordanHlder theorem exhibits nite simple groups as the building blocks for all nite
groups.[65] Listing all nite simple groups was a major
achievement in contemporary group theory. 1998 Fields
Medal winner Richard Borcherds succeeded in proving
the monstrous moonshine conjectures, a surprising and
deep relation between the largest nite simple sporadic
groupthe "monster group"and certain modular functions, a piece of classical complex analysis, and string theory, a theory supposed to unify the description of many
physical phenomena.[66]
34
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
5.7 Groups with additional structure

Many groups are simultaneously groups and examples
of other mathematical structures. In the language of
category theory, they are group objects in a category,
meaning that they are objects (that is, examples of another mathematical structure) which come with transformations (called morphisms) that mimic the group axioms.
For example, every group (as dened above) is also a set,
so a group is a group object in the category of sets.
5.7.1
Topological groups
zw
of real numbers for example:
f (x) dx =
f (x + c) dx
for any constant c. Matrix groups over these elds fall

under this regime, as do adele rings and adelic algebraic groups, which are basic to number theory.[68] Galois groups of innite eld extensions such as the absolute
Galois group can also be equipped with a topology, the
so-called Krull topology, which in turn is central to generalize the above sketched connection of elds and groups
to innite eld extensions.[69] An advanced generalization
of this idea, adapted to the needs of algebraic geometry,
is the tale fundamental group.[70]
5.7.2 Lie groups

Main article: Lie group
z
0
Lie groups (in honor of Sophus Lie) are groups which also
have a manifold structure, i.e. they are spaces looking
locally like some Euclidean space of the appropriate
dimension.[71] Again, the additional structure, here the
manifold structure, has to be compatible, i.e. the maps
corresponding to multiplication and the inverse have to
be smooth.
A standard example is the general linear group introduced
above: it is an open subset of the space of all n-by-n matrices, because it is given by the inequality
det (A) 0,
where A denotes an n-by-n matrix.[72]
The unit circle in the complex plane under complex multiplication

is a Lie group and, therefore, a topological group. It is topological
since complex multiplication and division are continuous. It is a
manifold and thus a Lie group, because every small piece, such as
the red arc in the gure, looks like a part of the real line (shown
at the bottom).
Main article: Topological group

Some topological spaces may be endowed with a group
law. In order for the group law and the topology to interweave well, the group operations must be continuous
functions, that is, g h, and g1 must not vary wildly if g
and h vary only little. Such groups are called topological
groups, and they are the group objects in the category of
topological spaces.[67] The most basic examples are the
reals R under addition, (R {0}, ), and similarly with
any other topological eld such as the complex numbers
or p-adic numbers. All of these groups are locally compact, so they have Haar measures and can be studied via
harmonic analysis. The former oer an abstract formalism of invariant integrals. Invariance means, in the case
Lie groups are of fundamental importance in modern

physics: Noethers theorem links continuous symmetries to conserved quantities.[73] Rotation, as well as
translations in space and time are basic symmetries of the
laws of mechanics. They can, for instance, be used to
construct simple modelsimposing, say, axial symmetry
on a situation will typically lead to signicant simplication in the equations one needs to solve to provide a
physical description.v[] Another example are the Lorentz
transformations, which relate measurements of time and
velocity of two observers in motion relative to each other.
They can be deduced in a purely group-theoretical way,
by expressing the transformations as a rotational symmetry of Minkowski space. The latter servesin the
absence of signicant gravitationas a model of space
time in special relativity.[74] The full symmetry group of
Minkowski space, i.e. including translations, is known
as the Poincar group. By the above, it plays a pivotal
role in special relativity and, by implication, for quantum
eld theories.[75] Symmetries that vary with location are
central to the modern description of physical interactions
with the help of gauge theory.[76]
5.10. NOTES
35
5.8 Generalizations
5.10 Notes
In abstract algebra, more general structures are dened by

relaxing some of the axioms dening a group.[28][77][78]
For example, if the requirement that every element has
an inverse is eliminated, the resulting algebraic structure
is called a monoid. The natural numbers N (including 0)
under addition form a monoid, as do the nonzero integers
under multiplication (Z {0}, ), see above. There is a
general method to formally add inverses to elements to
any (abelian) monoid, much the same way as (Q {0}, )
is derived from (Z {0}, ), known as the Grothendieck
group. Groupoids are similar to groups except that the
composition a b need not be dened for all a and b.
They arise in the study of more complicated forms of
symmetry, often in topological and analytical structures,
such as the fundamental groupoid or stacks. Finally, it is
possible to generalize any of these concepts by replacing
the binary operation with an arbitrary n-ary one (i.e. an
operation taking n arguments). With the proper generalization of the group axioms this gives rise to an n-ary
group.[79] The table gives a list of several structures generalizing groups.
^ a: Mathematical Reviews lists 3,224 research papers

on group theory and its generalizations written in 2005.
^ aa: The classication was announced in 1983, but
gaps were found in the proof. See classication of nite
simple groups for further information.
^ b: The closure axiom is already implied by the
condition that be a binary operation. Some authors
therefore omit this axiom. However, group constructions
often start with an operation dened on a superset, so
a closure step is common in proofs that a system is a
group. Lang 2002
^ c: See, for example, the books of Lang (2002, 2005)
and Herstein (1996, 1975).
^ d: However, a group is not determined by its lattice of
subgroups. See Suzuki 1951.
^ e: The fact that the group operation extends this
canonically is an instance of a universal property.
^ f: For example, if G is nite, then the size of any
subgroup and any quotient group divides the size of G,
according to Lagranges theorem.
^ g: The word homomorphism derives from Greek
the same and structure.
^ h: The additive notation for elements of a cyclic group
would be t a, t in Z.
^ i: See the Seifertvan Kampen theorem for an example.
^ j: An example is group cohomology of a group which
equals the singular cohomology of its classifying space.
^ k: Elements which do have multiplicative inverses are
called units, see Lang 2002, II.1, p. 84.
^ l: The transition from the integers to the rationals by
adding fractions is generalized by the quotient eld.
^ m: The same is true for any eld F instead of Q. See
Lang 2005, III.1, p. 86.
^ n: For example, a nite subgroup of the multiplicative
group of a eld is necessarily cyclic. See Lang 2002,
Theorem IV.1.9. The notions of torsion of a module and
simple algebras are other instances of this principle.
^ o: The stated property is a possible denition of prime
numbers. See prime element.
^ p: For example, the Die-Hellman protocol uses the
discrete logarithm.
^ q: The groups of order at most 2000 are known. Up
to isomorphism, there are about 49 billion. See Besche,
Eick & O'Brien 2001.
^ r: The gap between the classication of simple
groups and the one of all groups lies in the extension
problem, a problem too hard to be solved in general. See
Aschbacher 2004, p. 737.
^ s: Equivalently, a nontrivial group is simple if its only
quotient groups are the trivial group and the group itself.
See Michler 2006, Carter 1989.
^ t: More rigorously, every group is the symmetry group
of some graph; see Fruchts theorem, Frucht 1939.
^ u: More precisely, the monodromy action on the
vector space of solutions of the dierential equations is
5.9 See also

Abelian group
Cyclic group
Euclidean group
Finitely presented group
Free group
Fundamental group
Grothendieck group
Group algebra
Group ring
Heap (mathematics)
List of small groups
Nilpotent group
Non-abelian group
Quantum group
Reductive group
Solvable group
Symmetry in physics
Computational group theory
36
considered. See Kuga 1993, pp. 105113.
^ v: See Schwarzschild metric for an example where
symmetry greatly reduces the complexity of physical
systems.
^ w: This was crucial to the classication of nite simple
groups, for example. See Aschbacher 2004.
^ x: See, for example, Schurs Lemma for the impact
of a group action on simple modules. A more involved
example is the action of an absolute Galois group on
tale cohomology.
^ y: Injective and surjective maps correspond to monoand epimorphisms, respectively. They are interchanged
when passing to the dual category.
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
[24] Ledermann 1953, 1.2, pp. 45

[25] Ledermann 1973, I.1, p. 3
[26] Lang 2002, I.2, p. 7
[27] Lang 2005, II.1, p. 17
[28] Mac Lane 1998
[29] Lang 2005, II.3, p. 34
[30] Lang 2005, II.1, p. 19
[31] Ledermann 1973, II.12, p. 39
[32] Lang 2005, II.4, p. 41
[33] Lang 2002, I.2, p. 12
5.11 Citations
[34] Lang 2005, II.4, p. 45

[35] Lang 2002, I.2, p. 9
[1] Herstein 1975, 2, p. 26
[36] Hatcher 2002, Chapter I, p. 30
[2] Hall 1967, 1.1, p. 1: The idea of a group is one which

pervades the whole of mathematics both pure and applied.
[37] Coornaert, Delzant & Papadopoulos 1990
[3] Lang 2005, App. 2, p. 360
[38] for example, class groups and Picard groups; see Neukirch
1999, in particular I.12 and I.13
[39] Seress 1997
[4] Cook, Mariana R. (2009), Mathematicians: An Outer

View of the Inner World, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, p. 24, ISBN 9780691139517
[5] Herstein 1975, 2.1, p. 27
[6] Weisstein, Eric W., Identity Element, MathWorld.
[40] Lang 2005, Chapter VII

[41] Rosen 2000, p. 54 (Theorem 2.1)
[42] Lang 2005, VIII.1, p. 292
[43] Lang 2005, II.1, p. 22
[7] Herstein 1975, 2.6, p. 54
[44] Lang 2005, II.2, p. 26
[8] Wussing 2007
[45] Lang 2005, II.1, p. 22 (example 11)
[9] Kleiner 1986
[46] Lang 2002, I.5, p. 26, 29
[10] Smith 1906
[47] Weyl 1952
[11] Galois 1908
[48] Conway, Delgado Friedrichs & Huson et al. 2001. See

also Bishop 1993
[12] Kleiner 1986, p. 202

[13] Cayley 1889
[49] Bersuker, Isaac (2006), The Jahn-Teller Eect, Cambridge University Press, p. 2, ISBN 0-521-82212-2
[14] Wussing 2007, III.2
[50] Jahn & Teller 1937
[15] Lie 1973
[51] Dove, Martin T (2003), Structure and Dynamics: an

atomic view of materials, Oxford University Press, p. 265,
ISBN 0-19-850678-3
[16] Kleiner 1986, p. 204

[17] Wussing 2007, I.3.4
[52] Welsh 1989
[18] Jordan 1870
[53] Mumford, Fogarty & Kirwan 1994
[19] von Dyck 1882
[54] Lay 2003
[20] Curtis 2003
[55] Kuipers 1999
[21] Mackey 1976
[56] Fulton & Harris 1991
[22] Borel 2001
[57] Serre 1977
[23] Aschbacher 2004
[58] Rudin 1990
5.12. REFERENCES
[59] Robinson 1996, p. viii

[60] Artin 1998
[61] Lang 2002, Chapter VI (see in particular p. 273 for concrete examples)
[62] Lang 2002, p. 292 (Theorem VI.7.2)
[63] Kurzweil & Stellmacher 2004
[64] Artin 1991, Theorem 6.1.14. See also Lang 2002, p. 77
for similar results.
[65] Lang 2002, I. 3, p. 22
[66] Ronan 2007
[67] Husain 1966
[68] Neukirch 1999
[69] Shatz 1972
[70] Milne 1980
[71] Warner 1983
[72] Borel 1991
[73] Goldstein 1980
[74] Weinberg 1972
37
Herstein, Israel Nathan (1996), Abstract algebra
(3rd ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Inc., ISBN 978-0-13-374562-7, MR 1375019.
Herstein, Israel Nathan (1975), Topics in algebra
(2nd ed.), Lexington, Mass.: Xerox College Publishing, MR 0356988.
1878556
Lang, Serge (2005), Undergraduate Algebra (3rd
ed.), Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN
978-0-387-22025-3.
Ledermann, Walter (1953), Introduction to the theory of nite groups, Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and
London, MR 0054593.
Ledermann, Walter (1973), Introduction to group
theory, New York: Barnes and Noble, OCLC
795613.
Robinson, Derek John Scott (1996), A course in
the theory of groups, Berlin, New York: SpringerVerlag, ISBN 978-0-387-94461-6.
[75] Naber 2003

[76] Becchi 1997
[77] Denecke & Wismath 2002
[78] Romanowska & Smith 2002
[79] Dudek 2001
5.12 References
5.12.1
General references
Artin, Michael (1991), Algebra, Prentice Hall,

ISBN 978-0-89871-510-1, Chapter 2 contains an
undergraduate-level exposition of the notions covered in this article.
Devlin, Keith (2000), The Language of Mathematics: Making the Invisible Visible, Owl Books, ISBN
978-0-8050-7254-9, Chapter 5 provides a laymanaccessible explanation of groups.
Fulton, William; Harris, Joe (1991), Representation
theory. A rst course, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, Readings in Mathematics 129, New York:
1153249, ISBN 978-0-387-97527-6.
Hall, G. G. (1967), Applied group theory, American Elsevier Publishing Co., Inc., New York, MR
0219593, an elementary introduction.
5.12.2 Special references

Artin, Emil (1998), Galois Theory, New York:
Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-62342-9.
Aschbacher, Michael (2004), The Status of the
Classication of the Finite Simple Groups (PDF),
Notices of the American Mathematical Society 51 (7):
736740.
Becchi, C. (1997), Introduction to Gauge
Theories, p.
5211, arXiv:hep-ph/9705211,
Bibcode:1997hep.ph....5211B.
Besche, Hans Ulrich; Eick, Bettina; O'Brien, E.
A. (2001), The groups of order at most 2000,
Electronic Research Announcements of the American
Mathematical Society 7: 14, doi:10.1090/S10796762-01-00087-7, MR 1826989.
Bishop, David H. L. (1993), Group theory and
chemistry, New York: Dover Publications, ISBN
978-0-486-67355-4.
Borel, Armand (1991), Linear algebraic groups,
Graduate Texts in Mathematics 126 (2nd ed.),
Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0387-97370-8, MR 1102012.
Carter, Roger W. (1989), Simple groups of Lie type,
New York: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-47150683-6.
38
Conway, John Horton; Delgado Friedrichs, Olaf;
Huson, Daniel H.; Thurston, William P. (2001),
On three-dimensional space groups, Beitrge
zur Algebra und Geometrie 42 (2): 475507,
arXiv:math.MG/9911185, MR 1865535.
Coornaert, M.; Delzant, T.; Papadopoulos, A.
(1990), Gomtrie et thorie des groupes [Geometry
and Group Theory], Lecture Notes in Mathematics (in French) 1441, Berlin, New York: SpringerVerlag, ISBN 978-3-540-52977-4, MR 1075994.
Denecke, Klaus; Wismath, Shelly L. (2002), Universal algebra and applications in theoretical computer science, London: CRC Press, ISBN 978-158488-254-1.
Dudek, W.A. (2001), On some old problems in
n-ary groups, Quasigroups and Related Systems 8:
1536.
Frucht, R. (1939), Herstellung von Graphen mit
vorgegebener abstrakter Gruppe [Construction of
Graphs with Prescribed Group]", Compositio Mathematica (in German) 6: 23950.
Goldstein, Herbert (1980), Classical Mechanics
(2nd ed.), Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing, pp. 588596, ISBN 0-201-02918-9.
Hatcher, Allen (2002), Algebraic topology,
Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-52179540-1.
Husain, Taqdir (1966), Introduction to Topological Groups, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company,
ISBN 978-0-89874-193-3
Jahn, H.; Teller, E. (1937), Stability of
Polyatomic Molecules in Degenerate Electronic States.
I. Orbital Degeneracy,
Proceedings of the Royal Society A 161 (905):
220235,
Bibcode:1937RSPSA.161..220J,
doi:10.1098/rspa.1937.0142.
Kuipers, Jack B. (1999), Quaternions and rotation sequencesA primer with applications to orbits,
aerospace, and virtual reality, Princeton University
Press, ISBN 978-0-691-05872-6, MR 1670862.
Kuga, Michio (1993), Galois dream: group theory
and dierential equations, Boston, MA: Birkhuser
Boston, ISBN 978-0-8176-3688-3, MR 1199112.
Kurzweil, Hans; Stellmacher, Bernd (2004), The
theory of nite groups, Universitext, Berlin, New
York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-40510-0,
MR 2014408.
Lay, David (2003), Linear Algebra and Its Applications, Addison-Wesley, ISBN 978-0-201-70970-4.
CHAPTER 5. GROUP
Mac Lane, Saunders (1998), Categories for the
Working Mathematician (2nd ed.), Berlin, New
York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-98403-2.
Michler, Gerhard (2006), Theory of nite simple
groups, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521-86625-5.
Milne, James S. (1980), tale cohomology, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-08238-7
Mumford, David; Fogarty, J.; Kirwan, F. (1994),
Geometric invariant theory 34 (3rd ed.), Berlin, New
MR 1304906.
Naber, Gregory L. (2003), The geometry of
Minkowski spacetime, New York: Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-43235-9, MR 2044239.
Neukirch, Jrgen (1999), Algebraic Number Theory,
Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften
322, Berlin: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-54065399-8, Zbl 0956.11021, MR 1697859.
Romanowska, A.B.; Smith, J.D.H. (2002), Modes,
World Scientic, ISBN 978-981-02-4942-7.
Ronan, Mark (2007), Symmetry and the Monster:
The Story of One of the Greatest Quests of Mathematics, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19280723-6.
Rosen, Kenneth H. (2000), Elementary number theory and its applications (4th ed.), Addison-Wesley,
ISBN 978-0-201-87073-2, MR 1739433.
Rudin, Walter (1990), Fourier Analysis on Groups,
Wiley Classics, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 0-47152364-X.
Seress, kos (1997), An introduction to computational group theory, Notices of the American Mathematical Society 44 (6): 671679, MR 1452069.
Serre, Jean-Pierre (1977), Linear representations of
nite groups, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag,
ISBN 978-0-387-90190-9, MR 0450380.
Shatz, Stephen S. (1972), Pronite groups, arithmetic, and geometry, Princeton University Press,
ISBN 978-0-691-08017-8, MR 0347778
Suzuki, Michio (1951), On the lattice of subgroups of nite groups, Transactions of the
American Mathematical Society 70 (2): 345371,
doi:10.2307/1990375, JSTOR 1990375.
Warner, Frank (1983), Foundations of Dierentiable Manifolds and Lie Groups, Berlin, New York:
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-90894-6.
5.12. REFERENCES
Weinberg, Steven (1972), Gravitation and Cosmology, New York: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-47192567-5.
Welsh, Dominic (1989), Codes and cryptography,
Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0-19-8532873.
Weyl, Hermann (1952), Symmetry, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-02374-8.
5.12.3
Historical references
See also: Historically important publications in group

theory
Borel, Armand (2001), Essays in the History of
Lie Groups and Algebraic Groups, Providence,
R.I.: American Mathematical Society, ISBN 9780-8218-0288-5
Cayley, Arthur (1889), The collected mathematical papers of Arthur Cayley, II (18511860),
O'Connor, J.J; Robertson, E.F. (1996), The development of group theory.
Curtis, Charles W. (2003), Pioneers of Representation Theory: Frobenius, Burnside, Schur, and
Brauer, History of Mathematics, Providence, R.I.:
American Mathematical Society, ISBN 978-08218-2677-5.
von Dyck, Walther (1882), Gruppentheoretische
Studien
(Group-theoretical
Studies)",
Mathematische Annalen (in German) 20 (1):
144, doi:10.1007/BF01443322.
Galois, variste (1908), Tannery, Jules, ed.,
Manuscrits de variste Galois [variste Galois
Manuscripts] (in French), Paris: Gauthier-Villars
(Galois work was rst published by Joseph Liouville
in 1843).
Jordan, Camille (1870), Trait des substitutions et
des quations algbriques [Study of Substitutions and
Algebraic Equations] (in French), Paris: GauthierVillars.
Kleiner, Israel (1986), The evolution of group theory: a brief survey, Mathematics Magazine 59 (4):
195215, doi:10.2307/2690312, MR 863090.
Lie, Sophus (1973), Gesammelte Abhandlungen.
Band 1 [Collected papers. Volume 1] (in German),
New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., MR 0392459.
Mackey, George Whitelaw (1976), The theory of
unitary group representations, University of Chicago
Press, MR 0396826
39
Smith, David Eugene (1906), History of Modern
Mathematics, Mathematical Monographs, No. 1.
Wussing, Hans (2007), The Genesis of the Abstract
Group Concept: A Contribution to the History of the
Origin of Abstract Group Theory, New York: Dover
Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-45868-7.
Chapter 6
Group theory
This article covers advanced notions. For basic topics,
see Group (mathematics).
For group theory in social sciences, see social group.
In mathematics and abstract algebra, group theory
One of the most important mathematical achievements

of the 20th century[1] was the collaborative eort, taking
up more than 10,000 journal pages and mostly published
between 1960 and 1980, that culminated in a complete
classication of nite simple groups.
6.1 Main classes of groups

Main articles: Group (mathematics) and Glossary of
group theory
The range of groups being considered has gradually expanded from nite permutation groups and special examples of matrix groups to abstract groups that may be specied through a presentation by generators and relations.
6.1.1 Permutation groups

The rst class of groups to undergo a systematic study was
permutation groups. Given any set X and a collection G
of bijections of X into itself (known as permutations) that
is closed under compositions and inverses, G is a group
The popular puzzle Rubiks cube invented in 1974 by Ern Rubik acting on X. If X consists of n elements and G consists of
all permutations, G is the symmetric group Sn; in general,
has been used as an illustration of permutation groups.
any permutation group G is a subgroup of the symmetric
group of X. An early construction due to Cayley exhibited
studies the algebraic structures known as groups. The any group as a permutation group, acting on itself (X =
concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other G) by means of the left regular representation.
well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, elds, and
In many cases, the structure of a permutation group can
vector spaces, can all be seen as groups endowed with adbe studied using the properties of its action on the corditional operations and axioms. Groups recur throughout
responding set. For example, in this way one proves that
mathematics, and the methods of group theory have infor n 5, the alternating group An is simple, i.e. does
uenced many parts of algebra. Linear algebraic groups
not admit any proper normal subgroups. This fact plays a
and Lie groups are two branches of group theory that have
key role in the impossibility of solving a general algebraic
experienced advances and have become subject areas in
equation of degree n' 5 in radicals.
their own right.
Various physical systems, such as crystals and the
hydrogen atom, may be modelled by symmetry groups.
Thus group theory and the closely related representation
theory have many important applications in physics,
chemistry, and materials science. Group theory is also
central to public key cryptography.
6.1.2 Matrix groups

The next important class of groups is given by matrix
groups, or linear groups. Here G is a set consisting of
invertible matrices of given order n over a eld K that is
40
6.2. BRANCHES OF GROUP THEORY

closed under the products and inverses. Such a group acts
on the n-dimensional vector space K n by linear transformations. This action makes matrix groups conceptually
similar to permutation groups, and the geometry of the
action may be usefully exploited to establish properties
of the group G.
6.1.3
41
importance for the development of mathematics: it foreshadowed the creation of abstract algebra in the works of
Hilbert, Emil Artin, Emmy Noether, and mathematicians
of their school.
6.1.5 Topological and algebraic groups
Transformation groups
An important elaboration of the concept of a group occurs if G is endowed with additional structure, notably, of
Permutation groups and matrix groups are special cases a topological space, dierentiable manifold, or algebraic
of transformation groups: groups that act on a certain variety. If the group operations m (multiplication) and i
space X preserving its inherent structure. In the case of (inversion),
permutation groups, X is a set; for matrix groups, X is
a vector space. The concept of a transformation group
is closely related with the concept of a symmetry group: m : G G G, (g, h) 7 gh, i : G G, g 7 g 1 ,
transformation groups frequently consist of all transformations that preserve a certain structure.
are compatible with this structure, i.e. are continuous,
The theory of transformation groups forms a bridge con- smooth or regular (in the sense of algebraic geometry)
necting group theory with dierential geometry. A long maps, then G becomes a topological group, a Lie group,
[2]
line of research, originating with Lie and Klein, consid- or an algebraic group.
ers group actions on manifolds by homeomorphisms or The presence of extra structure relates these types of
dieomorphisms. The groups themselves may be discrete groups with other mathematical disciplines and means
or continuous.
that more tools are available in their study. Topological
groups form a natural domain for abstract harmonic analysis, whereas Lie groups (frequently realized as transfor6.1.4 Abstract groups
mation groups) are the mainstays of dierential geometry and unitary representation theory. Certain classicaMost groups considered in the rst stage of the develop- tion questions that cannot be solved in general can be apment of group theory were concrete, having been real- proached and resolved for special subclasses of groups.
ized through numbers, permutations, or matrices. It was Thus, compact connected Lie groups have been comnot until the late nineteenth century that the idea of an pletely classied. There is a fruitful relation between inabstract group as a set with operations satisfying a certain nite abstract groups and topological groups: whenever
system of axioms began to take hold. A typical way of a group can be realized as a lattice in a topological
specifying an abstract group is through a presentation by group G, the geometry and analysis pertaining to G yield
generators and relations,
important results about . A comparatively recent trend
in the theory of nite groups exploits their connections
with compact topological groups (pronite groups): for
G = S|R.
example, a single p-adic analytic group G has a family of
quotients which are nite p-groups of various orders, and
A signicant source of abstract groups is given by the properties of G translate into the properties of its nite
construction of a factor group, or quotient group, G/H, quotients.
of a group G by a normal subgroup H. Class groups of
algebraic number elds were among the earliest examples of factor groups, of much interest in number theory.
6.2 Branches of group theory
If a group G is a permutation group on a set X, the factor group G/H is no longer acting on X; but the idea of
an abstract group permits one not to worry about this dis- 6.2.1 Finite group theory
crepancy.
The change of perspective from concrete to abstract Main article: Finite group
groups makes it natural to consider properties of groups
that are independent of a particular realization, or in modern language, invariant under isomorphism, as well as the
classes of group with a given such property: nite groups,
periodic groups, simple groups, solvable groups, and so
on. Rather than exploring properties of an individual
group, one seeks to establish results that apply to a whole
class of groups. The new paradigm was of paramount
During the twentieth century, mathematicians investigated some aspects of the theory of nite groups in great
depth, especially the local theory of nite groups and
the theory of solvable and nilpotent groups. As a consequence, the complete classication of nite simple groups
was achieved, meaning that all those simple groups from
which all nite groups can be built are now known.
42
CHAPTER 6. GROUP THEORY
During the second half of the twentieth century, mathematicians such as Chevalley and Steinberg also increased
our understanding of nite analogs of classical groups,
and other related groups. One such family of groups is
the family of general linear groups over nite elds. Finite groups often occur when considering symmetry of
mathematical or physical objects, when those objects admit just a nite number of structure-preserving transformations. The theory of Lie groups, which may be viewed
as dealing with "continuous symmetry", is strongly inuenced by the associated Weyl groups. These are nite groups generated by reections which act on a nitedimensional Euclidean space. The properties of nite
groups can thus play a role in subjects such as theoretical
physics and chemistry.
6.2.3 Lie theory

Main article: Lie group
A Lie group is a group that is also a dierentiable manifold, with the property that the group operations are compatible with the smooth structure. Lie groups are named
after Sophus Lie, who laid the foundations of the theory
of continuous transformation groups. The term groupes
de Lie rst appeared in French in 1893 in the thesis of
Lies student Arthur Tresse, page 3.[5]
Lie groups represent the best-developed theory of

continuous symmetry of mathematical objects and
structures, which makes them indispensable tools for
many parts of contemporary mathematics, as well as
for modern theoretical physics. They provide a natural
framework for analysing the continuous symmetries of
6.2.2 Representation of groups
dierential equations (dierential Galois theory), in much
the same way as permutation groups are used in Galois
Main article: Representation theory
theory for analysing the discrete symmetries of algebraic
equations. An extension of Galois theory to the case of
Saying that a group G acts on a set X means that every continuous symmetry groups was one of Lies principal
element of G denes a bijective map on the set X in a motivations.
way compatible with the group structure. When X has
more structure, it is useful to restrict this notion further:
a representation of G on a vector space V is a group ho- 6.2.4 Combinatorial and geometric group
momorphism:
theory
: G GL(V),
where GL(V) consists of the invertible linear transformations of V. In other words, to every group element g
is assigned an automorphism (g) such that (g) (h) =
(gh) for any h in G.
Main article: Geometric group theory

Groups can be described in dierent ways. Finite groups
can be described by writing down the group table consisting of all possible multiplications g h. A more compact
way of dening a group is by generators and relations,
also called the presentation of a group. Given any set F
of generators {gi}i I, the free group generated by F subjects onto the group G. The kernel of this map is called
subgroup of relations, generated by some subset D. The
presentation is usually denoted by F | D . For example,
the group Z = a | can be generated by one element a
(equal to +1 or 1) and no relations, because n 1 never
equals 0 unless n is zero. A string consisting of generator
symbols and their inverses is called a word.
This denition can be understood in two directions,

both of which give rise to whole new domains of
mathematics.[3] On the one hand, it may yield new information about the group G: often, the group operation
in G is abstractly given, but via , it corresponds to the
multiplication of matrices, which is very explicit.[4] On
the other hand, given a well-understood group acting on a
complicated object, this simplies the study of the object
in question. For example, if G is nite, it is known that
V above decomposes into irreducible parts. These parts Combinatorial group theory studies groups from the perin turn are much more easily manageable than the whole spective of generators and relations.[6] It is particularly
V (via Schurs lemma).
useful where niteness assumptions are satised, for exGiven a group G, representation theory then asks what ample nitely generated groups, or nitely presented
representations of G exist. There are several settings, and groups (i.e. in addition the relations are nite). The
the employed methods and obtained results are rather dif- area makes use of the connection of graphs via their
ferent in every case: representation theory of nite groups fundamental groups. For example, one can show that evand representations of Lie groups are two main subdo- ery subgroup of a free group is free.
mains of the theory. The totality of representations is
governed by the groups characters. For example, Fourier
polynomials can be interpreted as the characters of U(1),
the group of complex numbers of absolute value 1, acting
on the L2 -space of periodic functions.
There are several natural questions arising from giving a

group by its presentation. The word problem asks whether
two words are eectively the same group element. By relating the problem to Turing machines, one can show that
there is in general no algorithm solving this task. Another,
6.4. APPLICATIONS OF GROUP THEORY

generally harder, algorithmically insoluble problem is the
group isomorphism problem, which asks whether two
groups given by dierent presentations are actually isomorphic. For example, the additive group Z of integers
can also be presented by
x, y | xyxyx = e ;
it may not be obvious that these groups are isomorphic.[7]
43
2. If the object X is a set of points in the plane with
its metric structure or any other metric space, a
symmetry is a bijection of the set to itself which
preserves the distance between each pair of points
(an isometry). The corresponding group is called
isometry group of X.
3. If instead angles are preserved, one speaks of
conformal maps. Conformal maps give rise to
Kleinian groups, for example.
4. Symmetries are not restricted to geometrical objects, but include algebraic objects as well. For instance, the equation
b
e
x2 3 = 0
has the two solutions + 3 , and 3 . In this

case, the group that exchanges the two roots
is the Galois group belonging to the equation.
Every polynomial equation in one variable has
a Galois group, that is a certain permutation
group on its roots.
The axioms of a group formalize the essential aspects of

symmetry. Symmetries form a group: they are closed because if you take a symmetry of an object, and then apply
another symmetry, the result will still be a symmetry. The
identity keeping the object xed is always a symmetry of
The Cayley graph of x, y , the free group of rank 2.
an object. Existence of inverses is guaranteed by undoing the symmetry and the associativity comes from the
Geometric group theory attacks these problems from a fact that symmetries are functions on a space, and comgeometric viewpoint, either by viewing groups as geo- position of functions are associative.
metric objects, or by nding suitable geometric objects a
group acts on.[8] The rst idea is made precise by means Fruchts theorem says that every group is the symmetry
of the Cayley graph, whose vertices correspond to group group of some graph. So every abstract group is actually
elements and edges correspond to right multiplication in the symmetries of some explicit object.
the group. Given two elements, one constructs the word The saying of preserving the structure of an object can
metric given by the length of the minimal path between be made precise by working in a category. Maps preservthe elements. A theorem of Milnor and Svarc then says ing the structure are then the morphisms, and the symthat given a group G acting in a reasonable manner on a metry group is the automorphism group of the object in
metric space X, for example a compact manifold, then G question.
is quasi-isometric (i.e. looks similar from a distance) to
the space X.
6.4 Applications of group theory

6.3 Connection of groups and symmetry
Applications of group theory abound. Almost all structures in abstract algebra are special cases of groups.
Rings, for example, can be viewed as abelian groups (corresponding to addition) together with a second operation
Main article: Symmetry group
(corresponding to multiplication). Therefore, group theoretic arguments underlie large parts of the theory of
Given a structured object X of any sort, a symmetry is those entities.
a mapping of the object onto itself which preserves the
structure. This occurs in many cases, for example
6.4.1 Galois theory

1. If X is a set with no additional structure, a symmetry
is a bijective map from the set to itself, giving rise Main article: Galois theory
to permutation groups.
44
Galois theory uses groups to describe the symmetries of

the roots of a polynomial (or more precisely the automorphisms of the algebras generated by these roots). The
fundamental theorem of Galois theory provides a link
between algebraic eld extensions and group theory. It
gives an eective criterion for the solvability of polynomial equations in terms of the solvability of the corresponding Galois group. For example, S 5 , the symmetric
group in 5 elements, is not solvable which implies that The cyclic group Z26 underlies Caesars cipher.
the general quintic equation cannot be solved by radicals
in the way equations of lower degree can. The theory,
being one of the historical roots of group theory, is still 6.4.3 Algebraic geometry and cryptografruitfully applied to yield new results in areas such as class
phy
eld theory.
Main articles: Algebraic geometry and Cryptography
6.4.2
Algebraic topology
Main article: Algebraic topology

Algebraic topology is another domain which prominently
associates groups to the objects the theory is interested
in. There, groups are used to describe certain invariants of topological spaces. They are called invariants
because they are dened in such a way that they do not
change if the space is subjected to some deformation.
For example, the fundamental group counts how many
paths in the space are essentially dierent. The Poincar
conjecture, proved in 2002/2003 by Grigori Perelman,
is a prominent application of this idea. The inuence
is not unidirectional, though. For example, algebraic
topology makes use of EilenbergMacLane spaces which
are spaces with prescribed homotopy groups. Similarly
algebraic K-theory relies in a way on classifying spaces
of groups. Finally, the name of the torsion subgroup of
an innite group shows the legacy of topology in group
theory.
Algebraic geometry and cryptography likewise uses

group theory in many ways. Abelian varieties have been
introduced above. The presence of the group operation yields additional information which makes these varieties particularly accessible. They also often serve as
a test for new conjectures.[9] The one-dimensional case,
namely elliptic curves is studied in particular detail. They
are both theoretically and practically intriguing.[10] Very
large groups of prime order constructed in Elliptic-Curve
Cryptography serve for public key cryptography. Cryptographical methods of this kind benet from the exibility of the geometric objects, hence their group structures,
together with the complicated structure of these groups,
which make the discrete logarithm very hard to calculate. One of the earliest encryption protocols, Caesars
cipher, may also be interpreted as a (very easy) group operation. In another direction, toric varieties are algebraic
varieties acted on by a torus. Toroidal embeddings have
recently led to advances in algebraic geometry, in particular resolution of singularities.[11]
6.4.4 Algebraic number theory

Main article: Algebraic number theory
Algebraic number theory is a special case of group theory,
thereby following the rules of the latter. For example,
Eulers product formula
1
1
=
ns
1 ps
n1
A torus. Its abelian group structure is induced from the map C

C/Z + Z, where is a parameter living in the upper half plane.
pprime
captures the fact that any integer decomposes in a unique

way into primes. The failure of this statement for more
general rings gives rise to class groups and regular primes,
which feature in Kummers treatment of Fermats Last
Theorem.
6.4. APPLICATIONS OF GROUP THEORY
6.4.5
Harmonic analysis
45
the Standard Model, gauge theory, the Lorentz group, and
the Poincar group.
Main article: Harmonic analysis
6.4.9 Chemistry and materials science
Analysis on Lie groups and certain other groups is

called harmonic analysis. Haar measures, that is, inteIn chemistry and materials science, groups are used to
grals invariant under the translation in a Lie group, are
classify crystal structures, regular polyhedra, and the
used for pattern recognition and other image processing
symmetries of molecules. The assigned point groups
[12]
techniques.
can then be used to determine physical properties (such
as polarity and chirality), spectroscopic properties (particularly useful for Raman spectroscopy, infrared spec6.4.6 Combinatorics
troscopy, circular dichroism spectroscopy, magnetic cirIn combinatorics, the notion of permutation group and cular dichroism spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and
the concept of group action are often used to simplify the uorescence spectroscopy), and to construct molecular
counting of a set of objects; see in particular Burnsides orbitals.
lemma.
Molecular symmetry is responsible for many physical and

spectroscopic properties of compounds and provides relevant information about how chemical reactions occur. In
order to assign a point group for any given molecule, it is
necessary to nd the set of symmetry operations present
on it. The symmetry operation is an action, such as a
rotation around an axis or a reection through a mirror
plane. In other words, it is an operation that moves the
molecule such that it is indistinguishable from the original conguration. In group theory, the rotation axes and
mirror planes are called symmetry elements. These elements can be a point, line or plane with respect to which
the symmetry operation is carried out. The symmetry operations of a molecule determine the specic point group
for this molecule.
The circle of fths may be endowed with a cyclic group structure
6.4.7
Music
The presence of the 12-periodicity in the circle of fths

yields applications of elementary group theory in musical
set theory.
6.4.8
Physics
In physics, groups are important because they describe

the symmetries which the laws of physics seem to obey.
According to Noethers theorem, every continuous symmetry of a physical system corresponds to a conservation
law of the system. Physicists are very interested in group
representations, especially of Lie groups, since these representations often point the way to the possible physical
theories. Examples of the use of groups in physics include
Water molecule with symmetry axis
In chemistry, there are ve important symmetry operations. The identity operation (E) consists of leaving the
molecule as it is. This is equivalent to any number of
full rotations around any axis. This is a symmetry of
all molecules, whereas the symmetry group of a chiral
molecule consists of only the identity operation. Rota-
46
tion around an axis (Cn) consists of rotating the molecule classication of nite simple groups is a vast body of work
around a specic axis by a specic angle. For exam- from the mid 20th century, classifying all the nite simple
ple, if a water molecule rotates 180 around the axis that groups.
passes through the oxygen atom and between the hydrogen atoms, it is in the same conguration as it started. In
this case, n = 2, since applying it twice produces the iden6.6 See also
tity operation. Other symmetry operations are: reection, inversion and improper rotation (rotation followed
Glossary of group theory
by reection).[13]
6.4.10
Statistical Mechanics
Group theory can be used to resolve the incompleteness

of the statistical interpretations of mechanics developed
by Willard Gibbs, relating to the summing of an innite
number of probabilities to yield a meaningful solution[14]
6.5 History
Main article: History of group theory
Group theory has three main historical sources: number
theory, the theory of algebraic equations, and geometry.
The number-theoretic strand was begun by Leonhard Euler, and developed by Gausss work on modular arithmetic and additive and multiplicative groups related to
quadratic elds. Early results about permutation groups
were obtained by Lagrange, Runi, and Abel in their
quest for general solutions of polynomial equations of
high degree. variste Galois coined the term group and
established a connection, now known as Galois theory,
between the nascent theory of groups and eld theory. In
geometry, groups rst became important in projective geometry and, later, non-Euclidean geometry. Felix Klein's
Erlangen program proclaimed group theory to be the organizing principle of geometry.
List of group theory topics
6.7 Notes
[1]
Elwes, Richard, "An enormous theorem: the classication of nite simple groups," Plus Magazine,
Issue 41, December 2006.
[2] This process of imposing extra structure has been formalized through the notion of a group object in a suitable category. Thus Lie groups are group objects in the
category of dierentiable manifolds and ane algebraic
groups are group objects in the category of ane algebraic varieties.
[3] Such as group cohomology or equivariant K-theory.
[4] In particular, if the representation is faithful.
[5] Arthur Tresse (1893). Sur les invariants direntiels des
groupes continus de transformations. Acta Mathematica
18: 188. doi:10.1007/bf02418270.
[6] Schupp & Lyndon 2001
[7] Writing z = xy, one has G = z, y | z3 = y = z .
[8] La Harpe 2000
Galois, in the 1830s, was the rst to employ groups to de- [9] For example the Hodge conjecture (in certain cases).
termine the solvability of polynomial equations. Arthur
Cayley and Augustin Louis Cauchy pushed these inves- [10] See the Birch-Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture, one of the
millennium problems
tigations further by creating the theory of permutation
groups. The second historical source for groups stems
[11] Abramovich, Dan; Karu, Kalle; Matsuki, Kenji; Wlodarfrom geometrical situations. In an attempt to come
czyk, Jaroslaw (2002), Torication and factorization of
to grips with possible geometries (such as euclidean,
birational maps, Journal of the American Mathematical
hyperbolic or projective geometry) using group theory,
Society 15 (3): 531572, doi:10.1090/S0894-0347-02Felix Klein initiated the Erlangen programme. Sophus
00396-X, MR 1896232
Lie, in 1884, started using groups (now called Lie groups)
attached to analytic problems. Thirdly, groups were, at [12] Lenz, Reiner (1990), Group theoretical methods in imrst implicitly and later explicitly, used in algebraic numage processing, Lecture Notes in Computer Science 413,
Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, doi:10.1007/3-540ber theory.
52290-5, ISBN 978-0-387-52290-6
The dierent scope of these early sources resulted in different notions of groups. The theory of groups was uni- [13] Shriver, D.F.; Atkins, P.W. Qumica Inorgnica, 3 ed.,
ed starting around 1880. Since then, the impact of group
Porto Alegre, Bookman, 2003.
theory has been ever growing, giving rise to the birth of
abstract algebra in the early 20th century, representation [14] Norber Weiner, Cybernetics: Or Control and Communitheory, and many more inuential spin-o domains. The
cation in the Animal and the Machine, Ch 2
6.9. EXTERNAL LINKS
47
6.8 References
Schupp, Paul E.; Lyndon, Roger C. (2001), Combinatorial group theory, Berlin, New York: SpringerVerlag, ISBN 978-3-540-41158-1
Borel, Armand (1991), Linear algebraic groups,

Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0387-97370-8, MR 1102012
Carter, Nathan C. (2009), Visual group theory, Classroom Resource Materials Series,
Mathematical Association of America, ISBN
978-0-88385-757-1, MR 2504193
Cannon, John J. (1969), Computers in group
theory: A survey, Communications of the Association for Computing Machinery 12: 312,
doi:10.1145/362835.362837, MR 0290613
Frucht, R. (1939), Herstellung von Graphen mit
vorgegebener abstrakter Gruppe, Compositio Mathematica 6: 23950, ISSN 0010-437X
Golubitsky, Martin; Stewart, Ian (2006), Nonlinear dynamics of networks: the groupoid formalism, Bull. Amer. Math. Soc. (N.S.)
43 (03): 305364, doi:10.1090/S0273-0979-0601108-6, MR 2223010 Shows the advantage of generalising from group to groupoid.
Judson, Thomas W. (1997), Abstract Algebra: Theory and Applications An introductory undergraduate text in the spirit of texts by Gallian or Herstein,
covering groups, rings, integral domains, elds and
Galois theory. Free downloadable PDF with opensource GFDL license.
Kleiner, Israel (1986), The evolution of group theory: a brief survey, Mathematics Magazine 59 (4):
195215, doi:10.2307/2690312, ISSN 0025-570X,
JSTOR 2690312, MR 863090
La Harpe, Pierre de (2000), Topics in geometric
group theory, University of Chicago Press, ISBN
978-0-226-31721-2
Livio, M. (2005), The Equation That Couldn't Be
Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the
Language of Symmetry, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 07432-5820-7 Conveys the practical value of group
theory by explaining how it points to symmetries in
physics and other sciences.
Mumford, David (1970), Abelian varieties, Oxford
University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-560528-0, OCLC
138290
Ronan M., 2006. Symmetry and the Monster. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280722-6. For
lay readers. Describes the quest to nd the basic
building blocks for nite groups.
Rotman, Joseph (1994), An introduction to the theory of groups, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 0387-94285-8 A standard contemporary reference.
Scott, W. R. (1987) [1964], Group Theory, New

York: Dover, ISBN 0-486-65377-3 Inexpensive and
fairly readable, but somewhat dated in emphasis,
style, and notation.
Shatz, Stephen S. (1972), Pronite groups, arithmetic, and geometry, Princeton University Press,
ISBN 978-0-691-08017-8, MR 0347778
Weibel, Charles A. (1994), An introduction to homological algebra, Cambridge Studies in Advanced
Mathematics 38, Cambridge University Press,
ISBN 978-0-521-55987-4, OCLC 36131259, MR
1269324
6.9 External links

History of the abstract group concept
Higher dimensional group theory This presents a
view of group theory as level one of a theory which
extends in all dimensions, and has applications in homotopy theory and to higher dimensional nonabelian
methods for local-to-global problems.
Plus teacher and student package: Group Theory
This package brings together all the articles on group
theory from Plus, the online mathematics magazine
produced by the Millennium Mathematics Project at
the University of Cambridge, exploring applications
and recent breakthroughs, and giving explicit denitions and examples of groups.
US Naval Academy group theory guide A general
introduction to group theory with exercises written
by Tony Gaglione.
Chapter 7
Homomorphism
Not to be confused
homeomorphism.
with
holomorphism
A module homomorphism is a map that preserves

module structures.
or
An algebra homomorphism is a homomorphism that

In abstract algebra, a homomorphism is a structurepreserves the algebra structure.
preserving map between two algebraic structures (such
A functor is a homomorphism between two
as groups, rings, or vector spaces). The word homocategories.
morphism comes from the ancient Greek language:
(homos) meaning same and (morphe) meaning
form or shape. Isomorphisms, automorphisms, and Not all structure that an object possesses need be preendomorphisms are special types of homomorphisms.
served by a homomorphism. For example, one may have
a semigroup homomorphism between two monoids, and
this will not be a monoid homomorphism if it does not
map the identity of the domain to that of the codomain.
7.1.1
Denition
A homomorphism is a map that preserves selected structure between two algebraic structures, with the structure
to be preserved being given by the naming of the homomorphism.
Particular denitions of homomorphism include the following:
A semigroup homomorphism is a map that preserves
an associative binary operation.
The algebraic structure to be preserved may include more

than one operation, and a homomorphism is required to
preserve each operation. For example, a ring has both
addition and multiplication, and a homomorphism from
the ring (R, +, , 0, 1) to the ring (R, +, , 0, 1) is
a function such that f(r + s) = f(r) + f(s), f(r s) =
f(r) f(s) and f(1) = 1 for any elements r and s of the
domain ring. If rings are not required to be unital, the last
condition is omitted. In addition, if dening structures of
(e.g. 0 and additive inverses in the case of a ring) were
not necessarily preserved by the above, preserving these
would be added requirements.
A monoid homomorphism is a semigroup homo- The notion of a homomorphism can be given a formal
morphism that maps the identity element to the iden- denition in the context of universal algebra, a eld which
studies ideas common to all algebraic structures. In this
tity of the codomain.
setting, a homomorphism f : A B is a function between
A group homomorphism is a homomorphism that two algebraic structures of the same type such that
preserves the group structure. It may equivalently
be dened as a semigroup homomorphism between
f(A(a1 , ..., an)) = B(f(a1 ), ..., f(an))
groups.
A ring homomorphism is a homomorphism that pre- for each n-ary operation and for all elements a1 , ..., an
serves the ring structure. Whether the multiplicative A.
identity is to be preserved depends upon the deniThe function between two algebraic structures of the
tion of ring in use.
same type is a reduction of the structure group. H to G
A linear map is a homomorphism that preserves is also called the G-structure. For example, a group is an
the vector space structure, namely the abelian group algebraic object consisting of a set together with a single
structure and scalar multiplication. The scalar type binary operation, satisfying certain axioms. If (G, ) and
must further be specied to specify the homomor- (H, ) are groups, a homomorphism from (G, ) to (H,
phism, e.g. every R-linear map is a Z-linear map, ) is a function f : (G, ) (H, ) such that f(g1 g2 ) =
but not vice versa.
f(g1 ) f(g2 ) for all elements g1 , g2 G. Since inverses
48
7.2. INFORMAL DISCUSSION
49
exist in G and H, one can show that the identity of G maps That is, (z) is the absolute value (or modulus) of the
to the identity of H and that inverses are preserved.
complex number z. Then f is a homomorphism of
groups, since it preserves multiplication:
7.1.2
Basic examples
f(z1 z2 ) = |z1 z2 | = |z1 | |z2 | = f(z1 ) f(z2 ).

Note that cannot be extended to a homomorphism of
rings (from the complex numbers to the real numbers),
since it does not preserve addition:
|z1 + z2 | |z1 | + |z2 |.
As another example, the picture shows a monoid homomorphism f from the monoid (N, +, 0) to the monoid (N,
, 1). Due to the dierent names of corresponding operations, the structure preservation properties satised by f
amount to f(x + y) = f(x) f(y) and f(0) = 1.
7.2 Informal discussion

Monoid homomorphism f from the monoid (N, +, 0) to the
monoid (N, , 1), dened by f(x) = 2x . It is injective, but not
surjective.
Because abstract algebra studies sets endowed with

operations that generate interesting structure or properThe real numbers are a ring, having both addition and ties on the set, functions which preserve the operations
multiplication. The set of all 2 2 matrices is also a ring, are especially important. These functions are known as
under matrix addition and matrix multiplication. If we homomorphisms.
dene a function between these rings as follows:
For example, consider the natural numbers with addition
as the operation. A function which preserves addition
should have this property: f(a + b) = f(a) + f(b). For
(
)
r 0
example, f(x) = 3x is one such homomorphism, since f(a
f (r) =
0 r
+ b) = 3(a + b) = 3a + 3b = f(a) + f(b). Note that this homomorphism maps the natural numbers back into themwhere r is a real number, then f is a homomorphism of selves.
rings, since f preserves both addition:
Homomorphisms do not have to map between sets which
have the same operations. For example, operation(
) (
) (
)
preserving functions exist between the set of real numr+s
0
r 0
s 0
f (r+s) =
=
+
= f (r)+f
(s)
bers
with addition and the positive real numbers +
0
r+s
0 r
0 s
with multiplication. A function which preserves operation should have this property: f(a + b) = f(a) f(b),
and multiplication:
since addition is the operation in the rst set and multiplication is the operation in the second. Given the laws
(
) (
)(
)
of exponents, f(x) = ex satises this condition: 2 + 3 = 5
rs 0
r 0 s 0
f (rs) =
=
= f (r) f (s). translates into e2 e3 = e5 .
0 rs
0 r
0 s
For another example, the nonzero complex numbers form
a group under the operation of multiplication, as do the
nonzero real numbers. (Zero must be excluded from both
groups since it does not have a multiplicative inverse,
which is required for elements of a group.) Dene a function f from the nonzero complex numbers to the nonzero
real numbers by
f(z) = |z|.
If we are considering multiple operations on a set, then

all operations must be preserved for a function to be considered as a homomorphism. Even though the set may be
the same, the same function might be a group homomorphism, (a single binary operation, an inverse operation,
being a unary operation, and identity, being a nullary operation) but not a ring isomorphism (two binary operations, the additive inverse and the identity elements), because it may fail to preserve the additional monoid structure required by the denition of a ring.
50
CHAPTER 7. HOMOMORPHISM
Hom
Mon
Iso
Aut
Epi
End
Relationships between dierent kinds of homomorphisms.

Hom = set of Homomorphisms,
Mon = set of Monomorphisms,
Epi = set of Epimorphisms,
Iso = set of Isomorphisms,
End = set of Endomorphism,
Aut = set of Automorphisms.
Notice that: Mon Epi = Iso, Iso End = Aut.
The sets (Mon End) \ Aut and (Epi End) \ Aut contain only
homomorphisms from some innite structures to themselves.
7.3 Types
In abstract algebra, several specic kinds of homomorphisms are dened as follows:
and only if it is both injective and surjective, in abstract

algebra a homomorphism is an isomorphism if and only
if it is both a monomorphism and an epimorphism. An
isomorphism always has an inverse f 1 , which is a homomorphism, too (cf. Proof 1). If there is an isomorphism
between two algebraic structures, they are completely indistinguishable as far as the structure in question is concerned; in this case, they are said to be isomorphic.
7.3.1 Category theory

Since homomorphisms are morphisms in an appropriate
category, we may consider the analogous specic kinds of
morphisms dened in any category. However, the denitions in category theory are somewhat dierent. For endomorphisms and automorphisms, the descriptions above
coincide with the category theoretic denitions; the rst
three descriptions do not. In category theory, a morphism
f : A B is called:
monomorphism if f g1 = f g2 implies g1 = g2
for all morphisms g1 , g2 : X A, where "" denotes function composition corresponding to e.g. (f
g1 )(x) = f(g1 (x)) in abstract algebra. (A sucient
condition for this is f having a left inverse, cf. Proof
2.)
epimorphism if g1 f = g2 f implies g1 = g2 for
all morphisms g1 , g2 : B X. (A sucient condition
for this is f having a right inverse, cf. Proof 3.)
isomorphism if there exists a morphism g: B A
such that f g = 1B and g f = 1A, where 1X"
denotes the identity morphism on the object X.[note 2]
An isomorphism is a bijective homomorphism.

For instance, the inclusion ring homomorphism of Z as
An epimorphism (sometimes called a cover) is a
a (unitary) subring of Q is not surjective (i.e. not epi in
surjective homomorphism. Equivalently, [note 1] f: A
the set-theoretic sense), but an epimorphic in the sense
B is an epimorphism if it has a right inverse g: B
of category theory.[3][4] This inclusion thus also is an ex A, i.e. if f(g(b)) = b for all b B.
ample of a ring homomorphism which is (in the sense of
A monomorphism (sometimes called an category theory) both mono and epi, but not iso.
embedding or extension) is an injective homomorphism. Equivalently, [note 1] f: A B is a
monomorphism if it has a left inverse g: B A, i.e. 7.4 Kernel
if g(f(a)) = a for all a A.
An endomorphism is a homomorphism from an al- Main article: Kernel (algebra)
gebraic structure to itself.
An automorphism is an endomorphism which is Any homomorphism f : X Y denes an equivalence
also an isomorphism, i.e., an isomorphism from an relation ~ on X by a ~ b if and only if f(a) = f(b). The
relation ~ is called the kernel of f. It is a congruence
algebraic structure to itself.[1]
relation on X. The quotient set X / ~ can then be given an
The trivial homomorphism between unital mag- object-structure in a natural way, i.e. [x] [y] = [x y]. In
mas is the constant map onto the identity element of that case the image of X in Y under the homomorphism
the codomain.[2]
f is necessarily isomorphic to X / ~; this fact is one of the
isomorphism theorems. Note in some cases (e.g. groups
These descriptions may be used in order to derive several or rings), a single equivalence class K suces to specify
properties. For instance, since a function is bijective if the structure of the quotient, in which case we can write
7.8. NOTES
it X/K. (X/K is usually read as "X mod K".) Also in these
cases, it is K, rather than ~, that is called the kernel of f
(cf. normal subgroup).
7.5 Relational structures

In model theory, the notion of an algebraic structure is
generalized to structures involving both operations and
relations. Let L be a signature consisting of function and
relation symbols, and A, B be two L-structures. Then a
homomorphism from A to B is a mapping h from the
domain of A to the domain of B such that
h(F A (a1 ,,an)) = F B (h(a1 ),,h(an)) for each nary function symbol F in L,
RA (a1 ,,an) implies RB (h(a1 ),,h(an)) for each
n-ary relation symbol R in L.
51
7.8 Notes
[1] tacitly assuming the
nonconstructive setting
axiom
of
choice
and
[2] The notion of object and morphism in category theory

generalizes the notion of algebraic structure and homomorphism, respectively.
[3] In homomorphisms on formal languages, the operation is the Kleene star operation. The and are both
concatenation, commonly denoted by juxtaposition.
7.9 References
[1] Birkho, Garrett (1967) [1940], Lattice theory, American
Mathematical Society Colloquium Publications 25 (3rd
ed.), Providence, R.I.: American Mathematical Society,
ISBN 978-0-8218-1025-5, MR 598630 Here: Sect.VI.3,
p.134
[2] Bourbaki, Algebra, ch. I 2.1, p. 13
In the special case with just one binary relation, we obtain

the notion of a graph homomorphism. For a detailed discussion of relational homomorphisms and isomorphisms
see.[5]
[3] Mac Lane, Saunders (1971). Categories for the Working Mathematician. Graduate Texts in Mathematics 5.
Springer-Verlag. Exercise 4 in section I.5. ISBN 0-38790036-5. Zbl 0232.18001.
7.6 Formal language theory
[4] Dsclescu, Sorin; Nstsescu, Constantin; Raianu, erban (2001). Hopf Algebra: An Introduction. Pure and Applied Mathematics 235. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker.
p. 363. ISBN 0824704819. Zbl 0962.16026.
Homomorphisms are also used in the study of formal

languages[6] (although within this context, often they are
briey referred to as morphisms[7] ). Given alphabets 1
and 2 , a function h : 1 2 such that h(uv) = h(u)
h(v) for all u and v in 1 is called a homomorphism (or
simply morphism) on 1 .[note 3] Let e denote the empty
word. If h is a homomorphism on 1 and h(x) e for all
x e in 1 , then h is called an e-free homomorphism.
[5] Section 17.4, in Gunther Schmidt, 2010. Relational Mathematics. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-52176268-7
[6] Seymour Ginsburg, Algebraic and automata theoretic
properties of formal languages, North-Holland, 1975,
ISBN 0-7204-2506-9.
[7] T. Harju, J. Karhumki, Morphisms in Handbook of Formal Languages, Volume I, edited by G. Rozenberg, A. Salomaa, Springer, 1997, ISBN 3-540-61486-9.
This type of homomorphism can be thought of as (and is

equivalent to) a monoid homomorphism where the set
of all words over a nite alphabet is a monoid (in fact
it is the free monoid on ) with operation concatenation A monograph available free online:
and the empty word as the identity.
Burris, Stanley N., and H.P. Sankappanavar, H. P.,
1981. A Course in Universal Algebra. SpringerVerlag. ISBN 3-540-90578-2.
7.7 See also
Continuous function
Dieomorphism
Homomorphic encryption
Homomorphic secret sharing a simplistic decentralized voting protocol
Morphism
Chapter 8
Ideal
In ring theory, a branch of abstract algebra, an ideal is
a special subset of a ring. Ideals generalize certain subsets of the integers, such as the even numbers or the multiples of 3. Addition and subtraction of even numbers
preserves evenness, and multiplying an even number by
any other integer results in another even number; these
closure and absorption properties are the dening properties of an ideal. An ideal can be used to construct a
quotient ring similarly to the way that, in group theory,
a normal subgroup can be used to construct a quotient
group.
ply an ideal) of R if it is an additive subgroup of R that

absorbs multiplication by elements of R". Formally we
mean that I is an ideal if it satises the following conditions:
1. (I, +) is a subgroup of (R, +)
2. x I, r R :
x r, r x I
Equivalently, an ideal of R is a sub-R-bimodule of R.
A subset I of R is called a right ideal of R [3] if it is an

Among the integers, the ideals correspond one-for-one additive subgroup of R and absorbs multiplication on the
with the non-negative integers: in this ring, every ideal right, that is:
is a principal ideal consisting of the multiples of a single
non-negative number. However, in other rings, the ide1. (I, +) is a subgroup of (R, +)
als may be distinct from the ring elements, and certain
2. x I, r R : x r I.
properties of integers, when generalized to rings, attach
more naturally to the ideals than to the elements of the
ring. For instance, the prime ideals of a ring are analo- Equivalently, a right ideal of R is a right R -submodule
gous to prime numbers, and the Chinese remainder the- of R .
orem can be generalized to ideals. There is a version of
Similarly a subset I of R is called a left ideal of R if it
unique prime factorization for the ideals of a Dedekind
is an additive subgroup of R absorbing multiplication on
domain (a type of ring important in number theory).
the left:
The concept of an order ideal in order theory is derived
from the notion of ideal in ring theory. A fractional ideal
1. (I, +) is a subgroup of (R, +)
is a generalization of an ideal, and the usual ideals are
2. x I, r R : r x I.
sometimes called integral ideals for clarity.
Equivalently, a left ideal of R is a left R -submodule of
R.
8.1 History
Ideals were rst proposed by Richard Dedekind in 1876
in the third edition of his book Vorlesungen ber Zahlentheorie (English: Lectures on Number Theory). They were
a generalization of the concept of ideal numbers developed by Ernst Kummer.[1][2] Later the concept was expanded by David Hilbert and especially Emmy Noether.
In all cases, the rst condition can be replaced by the following well-known criterion that ensures a nonempty subset of a group is a subgroup:
1'. I is non-empty and x, y I : x y I
.[4]
The left ideals in R are exactly the right ideals in the

opposite ring Ro and vice versa. A two-sided ideal is a
left ideal that is also a right ideal, and is often called an
8.2 Denitions
ideal except to emphasize that there might exist singlesided ideals. When R is a commutative ring, the deniFor an arbitrary ring (R, +, ) , let (R, +) be its additive tions of left, right, and two-sided ideal coincide, and the
group. A subset I is called a two-sided ideal (or sim- term ideal is used alone.
52
8.6. IDEAL GENERATED BY A SET
8.3 Properties
{0} and R are ideals in every ring R. If R is a division
ring or a eld, then these are its only ideals. The ideal R
is called the unit ideal. I is a proper ideal if it is a proper
subset of R, that is, I does not equal R.[5]
Just as normal subgroups of groups are kernels of group
homomorphisms, ideals have interpretations as kernels.
For a nonempty subset A of R:
A is an ideal of R if and only if it is a kernel of a ring
homomorphism from R.
A is a right ideal of R if and only if it is a kernel
of a homomorphism from the right R module RR to
another right R module.
A is a left ideal of R if and only if it is a kernel of
a homomorphism from the left R module RR to another left R module.
If p is in R, then pR is a right ideal and Rp is a left ideal of
R. These are called, respectively, the principal right and
left ideals generated by p. To remember which is which,
note that right ideals are stable under right-multiplication
(IR I) and left ideals are stable under left-multiplication
(RI I).
The connection between cosets and ideals can be seen by
switching the operation from multiplication to addition.
8.4 Motivation
53
forms an ideal. These two ideals are usually referred
to as the trivial ideals of R.
The even integers form an ideal in the ring Z of all
integers; it is usually denoted by 2Z . This is because the sum of any even integers is even, and the
product of any integer with an even integer is also
even. Similarly, the set of all integers divisible by a
xed integer n is an ideal denoted nZ .
The set of all polynomials with real coecients
which are divisible by the polynomial x2 + 1 is an
ideal in the ring of all polynomials.
The set of all n-by-n matrices whose last row is zero
forms a right ideal in the ring of all n-by-n matrices.
It is not a left ideal. The set of all n-by-n matrices
whose last column is zero forms a left ideal but not
a right ideal.
The ring C(R) of all continuous functions f from
R to R under pointwise multiplication contains the
ideal of all continuous functions f such that f(1) =
0. Another ideal in C(R) is given by those functions which vanish for large enough arguments, i.e.
those continuous functions f for which there exists
a number L > 0 such that f(x) = 0 whenever |x| > L.
Compact operators form an ideal in the ring of
bounded operators.
8.6 Ideal generated by a set
Let R be a (possibly not unital) ring. Any intersection

of any nonempty family of left ideals of R is again a left
ideal of R. If X is any subset of R, then the intersection
of all left ideals of R containing X is a left ideal I of R
containing X, and is clearly the smallest left ideal to do
so. This ideal I is said to be the left ideal generated by
But if z1 = 0 and z2 = 0 in our new ring, then surely X. Similar denitions can be created by using right ideals
z1 + z2 should be zero too, and rz1 as well as z1 r should or two-sided ideals in place of left ideals.
be zero for any element r (zero or not).
If R has unity, then the left, right, or two-sided ideal of R
The denition of an ideal is such that the ideal I gener- generated by a subset X of R can be expressed internally
ated (see below) by Z is exactly the set of elements that as we will now describe. The following set is a left ideal:
are forced to become zero if Z becomes zero, and the
quotient ring R/I is the desired ring where Z is zero, and
only elements that are forced by Z to be zero are zero. The {r1 x1 + + rn xn | n N, ri R, xi X}.
requirement that R and R/I should have the same structure
(except that I becomes zero) is formalized by the condi- Each element described would have to be in every left
tion that the projection from R to R/I is a (surjective) ring ideal containing X, so this left ideal is in fact the left ideal
generated by X. The right ideal and ideal generated by X
homomorphism.
can also be expressed in the same way:
Intuitively, the denition can be motivated as follows:
Suppose we have a subset of elements Z of a ring R and
that we would like to obtain a ring with the same structure
as R, except that the elements of Z should be zero (they
are in some sense negligible).
8.5 Examples
{x1 r1 + + xn rn | n N, ri R, xi X}
In a ring R, the set R itself forms an ideal of R. Also,
the subset containing only the additive identity 0R {r1 x1 s1 + +rn xn sn | n N, ri R, si R, xi X}.
54
CHAPTER 8. IDEAL
The former is the right ideal generated by X, and the latter

is the ideal generated by X.
By convention, 0 is viewed as the sum of zero such terms,
agreeing with the fact that the ideal of R generated by
is {0} by the previous denition.
If a left ideal I of R has a nite subset F such that I is the
left ideal generated by F, then the left ideal I is said to be
nitely generated. Similar terms are also applied to right
ideals and two-sided ideals generated by nite subsets.
In the special case where the set X is just a singleton {a}
for some a in R, then the above denitions turn into the
following:
Ra = {ra | r R}
aR = {ar | r R}
RaR = {r1 as1 + +rn asn | n N, ri R, si R}.
These ideals are known as the left/right/two-sided
principal ideals generated by a. It is also very common
to denote the two-sided ideal generated by a as (a).
If R does not have a unit, then the internal descriptions
above must be modied slightly. In addition to the nite
sums of products of things in X with things in R, we must
allow the addition of n-fold sums of the form x+x+...+x,
and n-fold sums of the form (x)+(x)+...+(x) for every
x in X and every n in the natural numbers. When R has a
unit, this extra requirement becomes superuous.
8.6.1
Example
In the ring Z of integers, every ideal can be generated by a single number (so Z is a principal ideal
domain), and the only two generators of pR are p
and p. The concepts of ideal and number are
therefore almost identical in Z . If aR = bR in an
arbitrary domain, then au = b for some unit u. Conversely, for any unit u, aR = auu1 R = auR. So, in a
commutative principal ideal domain, the generators
of the ideal aR are just the elements au where u is
an arbitrary unit. This explains the case of Z since
1 and 1 are the only units of Z .
8.7 Types of ideals

To simplify the description all rings are assumed
to be commutative. The non-commutative case
is discussed in detail in the respective articles.
Ideals are important because they appear as kernels of
ring homomorphisms and allow one to dene factor rings.
Dierent types of ideals are studied because they can be
used to construct dierent types of factor rings.
Maximal ideal: A proper ideal I is called a maximal ideal if there exists no other proper ideal J with
I a proper subset of J. The factor ring of a maximal
ideal is a simple ring in general and is a eld for commutative rings.[6]
Minimal ideal: A nonzero ideal is called minimal
if it contains no other nonzero ideal.
Prime ideal: A proper ideal I is called a prime
ideal if for any a and b in R, if ab is in I, then at least
one of a and b is in I. The factor ring of a prime ideal
is a prime ring in general and is an integral domain
for commutative rings.
Radical ideal or semiprime ideal: A proper ideal I
is called radical or semiprime if for any a in R, if
an is in I for some n, then a is in I. The factor ring of
a radical ideal is a semiprime ring for general rings,
and is a reduced ring for commutative rings.
Primary ideal: An ideal I is called a primary ideal
if for all a and b in R, if ab is in I, then at least one
of a and bn is in I for some natural number n. Every prime ideal is primary, but not conversely. A
semiprime primary ideal is prime.
Principal ideal: An ideal generated by one element.
Finitely generated ideal: This type of ideal is
nitely generated as a module.
Primitive ideal: A left primitive ideal is the
annihilator of a simple left module. A right primitive ideal is dened similarly. Actually (despite the
name) the left and right primitive ideals are always
two-sided ideals. Primitive ideals are prime. A factor rings constructed with a right (left) primitive ideals is a right (left) primitive ring. For commutative
rings the primitive ideals are maximal, and so commutative primitive rings are all elds.
Irreducible ideal: An ideal is said to be irreducible
if it cannot be written as an intersection of ideals
which properly contain it.
Comaximal ideals: Two ideals i, j are said to be
comaximal if x + y = 1 for some x i and y j .
Regular ideal: This term has multiple uses. See the
article for a list.
Nil ideal: An ideal is a nil ideal if each of its elements is nilpotent.
Two other important terms using ideal are not always
ideals of their ring. See their respective articles for details:
Fractional ideal: This is usually dened when R is a
commutative domain with quotient eld K. Despite
their names, fractional ideals are R submodules of
8.10. IDEALS AND CONGRUENCE RELATIONS
55
K with a special property. If the fractional ideal is

contained entirely in R, then it is truly an ideal of R.
a + b := {a + b | a a and b b}
Invertible ideal: Usually an invertible ideal A is
dened as a fractional ideal for which there is an- and
other fractional ideal B such that AB=BA=R. Some
authors may also apply invertible ideal to ordinary
ring ideals A and B with AB=BA=R in rings other ab := {a1 b1 + +an bn | ai a and bi b, i = 1, 2, . . . , n; for n = 1, 2
than domains.
i.e. the product of two ideals a and b is dened to be the
ideal ab generated by all products of the form ab with
a in a and b in b . The product ab is contained in the
8.8 Further properties
intersection of a and b .
In rings with identity, an ideal is proper if and only The sum and the intersection of ideals is again an ideal;
if it does not contain 1 or equivalently it does not with these two operations as join and meet, the set of
all ideals of a given ring forms a complete modular latcontain a unit.
tice. Also, the union of two ideals is a subset of the sum
The set of ideals of any ring are partially ordered of those two ideals, because for any element a inside an
via subset inclusion, in fact they are additionally a ideal, we can write it as a+0, or 0+a, therefore, it is concomplete modular lattice in this order with join op- tained in the sum as well. However, the union of two
eration given by addition of ideals and meet opera- ideals is not necessarily an ideal.
tion given by set intersection. The trivial ideals supply the least and greatest elements: the largest ideal
is the entire ring, and the smallest ideal is the zero 8.10 Ideals and congruence relaideal. The lattice is not, in general, a distributive
tions
lattice.
Unfortunately Zorns lemma does not necessarily
apply to the collection of proper ideals of R. However, when R has identity 1, this collection can be
reexpressed as the collection of ideals which do not
contain 1. It can be checked that Zorns lemma now
applies to this collection, and consequently there are
maximal proper ideals of R. With a little more work,
it can be shown that every proper ideal is contained
in a maximal ideal. See Krulls theorem at maximal
ideal.
The ring R can be considered as a left module over
itself, and the left ideals of R are then seen as the
submodules of this module. Similarly, the right ideals are submodules of R as a right module over itself,
and the two-sided ideals are submodules of R as a
bimodule over itself. If R is commutative, then all
three sorts of module are the same, just as all three
sorts of ideal are the same.
There is a bijective correspondence between ideals and

congruence relations (equivalence relations that respect
the ring structure) on the ring:
Given an ideal I of a ring R, let x ~ y if x y I. Then ~
is a congruence relation on R.
Conversely, given a congruence relation ~ on R, let I = {x
: x ~ 0}. Then I is an ideal of R.
8.11 See also

Modular arithmetic
Noether isomorphism theorem
Boolean prime ideal theorem
Ideal theory
Every ideal is a pseudo-ring.
Ideal (order theory)
The ideals of a ring form a semiring (with identity

element R) under addition and multiplication of ideals.
Ideal quotient
Ideal norm
Artinian ideal
8.9 Ideal operations

The sum and product of ideals are dened as follows. For
a and b , ideals of a ring R,
Noncommutative ring
Regular ideal
Idealizer
56
8.12 References
[1] Harold M. Edwards (1977). Fermats last theorem. A genetic introduction to algebraic number theory. p. 76.
[2] Everest G., Ward T. (2005). An introduction to number
theory. p. 83.
[3] See Hazewinkel et al. (2004), p. 4.
[4] In fact, since R is assumed to be unital, it suces that x +
y is in I, since the second condition implies that y is in I.
[5] Lang 2005, Section III.2
[6] Because simple commutative rings are elds. See Lam
(2001). A First Course in Noncommutative Rings. p. 39.
Lang, Serge (2005). Undergraduate Algebra (Third

ed.). Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0-387-22025-3
Michiel Hazewinkel, Nadiya Gubareni, Nadezhda
Mikhalovna Gubareni, Vladimir V. Kirichenko.
Algebras, rings and modules. Volume 1. 2004.
Springer, 2004. ISBN 1-4020-2690-0
CHAPTER 8. IDEAL
Chapter 9
Integral domain
An integral domain is a commutative ring in which
the zero ideal {0} is a prime ideal.
In mathematics, and specically in abstract algebra, an

integral domain is a nonzero commutative ring in which
the product of any two nonzero elements is nonzero.[1][2]
Integral domains are generalizations of the ring of integers and provide a natural setting for studying divisibility.
In an integral domain the cancellation property holds for
multiplication by a nonzero element a, that is, if a 0, an
equality ab = ac implies b = c.
An integral domain is a nonzero commutative ring

for which every non-zero element is cancellable under multiplication.
An integral domain is a ring for which the set of
nonzero elements is a commutative monoid under
multiplication (because the monoid is closed under
multiplication).
Integral domain is dened almost universally as above,

but there is some variation. This article follows the
convention that rings have a multiplicative identity, generally denoted 1, but some authors do not follow this,
by not requiring integral domains to have a multiplicative identity.[3][4] Noncommutative integral domains are
sometimes admitted.[5] This article, however, follows
the much more usual convention of reserving the term
integral domain for the commutative case and using
"domain" for the general case including noncommutative
rings.
An integral domain is a ring that is (isomorphic to)

a subring of a eld. (This implies it is a nonzero
commutative ring.)
in which for every nonzero element r, the function
that maps each element x of the ring to the product xr is injective. Elements r with this property are
called regular, so it is equivalent to require that every
nonzero element of the ring be regular.
Some sources, notably Lang, use the term entire ring for
integral domain.[6]
Some specic kinds of integral domains are given with
the following chain of class inclusions:
9.2 Examples
The archetypical example is the ring Z of all
integers.
commutative rings integral domains

integrally closed domains GCD domains
unique factorization domains principal
ideal domains Euclidean domains elds
nite elds
Every eld is an integral domain. Conversely, every

Artinian integral domain is a eld. In particular, all
nite integral domains are nite elds (more generally, by Wedderburns little theorem, nite domains
are nite elds). The ring of integers Z provides an
example of a non-Artinian innite integral domain
that is not a eld, possessing innite descending sequences of ideals such as:
9.1 Denitions
There are a number of equivalent denitions of integral
domain:
in which the product of any two nonzero elements is
nonzero.
with no nonzero zero divisors.
57
Z 2Z 2n Z 2n+1 Z
Rings of polynomials are integral domains if the coecients come from an integral domain. For instance, the ring Z[X] of all polynomials in one variable with integer coecients is an integral domain;
58
CHAPTER 9. INTEGRAL DOMAIN
so is the ring R[X,Y] of all polynomials in two vari- If a divides b and b divides a, then we say a and b are asables with real coecients.
sociated elements or associates.[9] Equivalently, a and
b are associates if a=ub for some unit u.
For each integer n > 1, the set of all real numbers of
the form a + bn with a and b integers is a subring If q is a nonzero non-unit, we say that q is an irreducible
element if q cannot be written as a product of two nonof R and hence an integral domain.
units.
For each integer n > 0 the set of all complex numbers
If p is a nonzero non-unit, we say that p is a prime eleof the form a + bin with a and b integers is a subring
ment if, whenever p divides a product ab, then p divides a
of C and hence an integral domain. In the case n = 1
or p divides b. Equivalently, an element p is prime if and
this integral domain is called the Gaussian integers.
only if the principal ideal (p) is a nonzero prime ideal.
The notion of prime element generalizes the ordinary
The ring of p-adic integers is an integral domain.
denition of prime number in the ring Z, except that it
If U is a connected open subset of the complex plane allows for negative prime elements.
C, then the ring H(U) consisting of all holomorphic
Every prime element is irreducible. The converse is not
functions f : U C is an integral domain. The same
true
for example, in the quadratic integer ring
[in general:
]
is true for rings of analytic functions on connected
Z 5 the element 3 is irreducible (if it factored nonopen subsets of analytic manifolds.
trivially, the factors would each have to have norm 3,
2
2
A regular local ring is an integral domain. In fact, a but there are no norm 3 elements since a + 5b = 3
[7][8]
regular local ring is a UFD.
(has nointeger
) ( solutions),
) but not prime (since 3 divides
2 + 5 2 5 without dividing either factor).
In a unique factorization domain (or more generally, a
GCD domain), an irreducible element is a prime element.
9.3 Non-examples
[ ]
While unique factorization does not hold in Z 5
, there is unique factorization of ideals. See Lasker
The following rings are not integral domains.
Noether theorem.
The ring of n n matrices over any nonzero ring
when n 2.
The ring of continuous functions on the unit interval.
The quotient ring Z/mZ when m is a composite number.
The product ring Z Z.
The zero ring in which 0=1.
The tensor product CR C (since, for example, (i
1 1 i) (i 1 + 1 i) = 0 ).
The quotient ring k[x, y]/(xy) for any eld k , since
(xy) is not a prime ideal.
9.4 Divisibility, prime elements,

and irreducible elements
9.5 Properties
A commutative ring R is an integral domain if and
only if the ideal (0) of R is a prime ideal.
If R is a commutative ring and P is an ideal in R,
then the quotient ring R/P is an integral domain if
and only if P is a prime ideal.
Let R be an integral domain. Then there is an integral domain S such that R S and S has an element
which is transcendental over R.
The cancellation property holds in any integral domain: for any a, b, and c in an integral domain, if
a 0 and ab = ac then b = c. Another way to state
this is that the function x ax is injective for any
nonzero a in the domain.
See also: Divisibility (ring theory)

In this section, R is an integral domain.
Given elements a and b of R, we say that a divides b, or
that a is a divisor of b, or that b is a multiple of a, if
there exists an element x in R such that ax = b.
The elements that divide 1 are called the units of R; these
are precisely the invertible elements in R. Units divide all
other elements.
The cancellation property holds for ideals in any integral domain: if xI = xJ, then either x is zero or I =
J.
An integral domain is equal to the intersection of its
localizations at maximal ideals.
An inductive limit of integral domains is an integral
domain.
9.10. NOTES
9.6 Field of fractions

Main article: Field of fractions
59
9.10 Notes
[1] Bourbaki, p. 116.
[2] Dummit and Foote, p. 228.
The eld of fractions K of an integral domain R is the set

of fractions a/b with a and b in R and b 0 modulo an
appropriate equivalence relation, equipped with the usual
addition and multiplication operations. It is the smallest
eld containing R" in the sense that there is an injective
ring homomorphism R K such that any injective ring
homomorphism from R to a eld factors through K. The
eld of fractions of the ring of integers Z is the eld of
rational numbers Q. The eld of fractions of a eld is
isomorphic to the eld itself.
9.7 Algebraic geometry

Integral domains are characterized by the condition that
they are reduced (that is x2 = 0 implies x = 0) and
irreducible (that is there is only one minimal prime ideal).
The former condition ensures that the nilradical of the
ring is zero, so that the intersection of all the rings minimal primes is zero. The latter condition is that the ring
have only one minimal prime. It follows that the unique
minimal prime ideal of a reduced and irreducible ring is
the zero ideal, so such rings are integral domains. The
converse is clear: an integral domain has no nonzero
nilpotent elements, and the zero ideal is the unique minimal prime ideal.
This translates, in algebraic geometry, into the fact that
the coordinate ring of an ane algebraic set is an integral domain if and only if the algebraic set is an algebraic
variety.
More generally, a commutative ring is an integral domain
if and only if its spectrum is an integral ane scheme.
9.8 Characteristic and homomorphisms

The characteristic of an integral domain is either 0 or a
prime number.
If R is an integral domain of prime characteristic p, then
the Frobenius endomorphism f(x) = x p is injective.
9.9 See also

DedekindHasse norm the extra structure needed
for an integral domain to be principal
Zero-product property
[3] B.L. van der Waerden, Algebra Erster Teil, p.

Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 1966.
36,
[4] I.N. Herstein, Topics in Algebra, p. 88-90, Blaisdell Publishing Company, London 1964.
[5] J.C. McConnel and J.C. Robson Noncommutative
Noetherian Rings (Graduate Studies in Mathematics Vol.
30, AMS)
[6] Pages 9192 of Lang, Serge (1993), Algebra (Third ed.),
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Pub. Co., ISBN 978-0201-55540-0, Zbl 0848.13001
[7] Auslander, Maurice; Buchsbaum, D. A. (1959). Unique
factorization in regular local rings. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
USA 45 (5): 733734. doi:10.1073/pnas.45.5.733. PMC
222624. PMID 16590434.
[8] Masayoshi Nagata (1958). A general theory of algebraic
geometry over Dedekind domains. II. Amer. J. Math.
(The Johns Hopkins University Press) 80 (2): 382420.
doi:10.2307/2372791. JSTOR 2372791.
[9] Durbin, John R. (1993). Modern Algebra: An Introduction
(3rd ed.). John Wiley and Sons. p. 224. ISBN 0-47151001-7. Elements a and b of [an integral domain] are
called associates if a | b and b | a.
9.11 References
Adamson, Iain T. (1972). Elementary rings and
modules. University Mathematical Texts. Oliver
and Boyd. ISBN 0-05-002192-3.
Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998). Algebra, Chapters 13.
Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3540-64243-5.
Mac Lane, Saunders; Birkho, Garrett (1967). Algebra. New York: The Macmillan Co. ISBN 156881-068-7. MR 0214415.
Dummit, David S.; Foote, Richard M. (2004). Abstract Algebra (3rd ed.). New York: Wiley. ISBN
978-0-471-43334-7.
Hungerford, Thomas W. (1974). Algebra. New
York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc. ISBN 003-030558-6.
Lang, Serge (2002). Algebra. Graduate Texts in
Mathematics 211. Berlin, New York: SpringerVerlag. ISBN 978-0-387-95385-4. MR 1878556.
Sharpe, David (1987). Rings and factorization.
Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-33718-6.
60
Rowen, Louis Halle (1994). Algebra: groups, rings,
and elds. A K Peters. ISBN 1-56881-028-8.
Lanski, Charles (2005). Concepts in abstract algebra. AMS Bookstore. ISBN 0-534-42323-X.
Milies, Csar Polcino; Sehgal, Sudarshan K. (2002).
An introduction to group rings. Springer. ISBN 14020-0238-6.
B.L. van der Waerden, Algebra, Springer-Verlag,
Berlin Heidelberg, 1966.
CHAPTER 9. INTEGRAL DOMAIN
Chapter 10
Isometry
This article is about distance-preserving functions. For a composition of a rigid motion and a reection.
other mathematical uses, see isometry (disambiguation).
Isometries are often used in constructions where one
For non-mathematical uses, see Isometric.
space is embedded in another space. For instance, the
completion of a metric space M involves an isometry
In mathematics, an isometry (or congruence, or from M into M', a quotient set of the space of Cauchy secongruent transformation) is a distance-preserving quences on M. The original space M is thus isometrically
injective map between metric spaces.[1]
isomorphic to a subspace of a complete metric space, and
it is usually identied with this subspace. Other embedding constructions show that every metric space is isoA R1 ( A ) A 1 R 2 ( A 1 ) A 2
metrically isomorphic to a closed subset of some normed
vector space and that every complete metric space is isoD
metrically isomorphic to a closed subset of some Banach
space.
An isometric surjective linear operator on a Hilbert space

is called a unitary operator.
A2
B2
C2
B1
A1
1
R2 R 1
10.2 Formal denitions
C1
D1
S S
dY (f (a), f (b)) = dX (a, b). [4]
A composition of two opposite isometries is a direct isometry. A

reection in a line is an opposite isometry, like R1 or R2 on the
image. Translation T is a direct isometry: a rigid motion.[2]
10.1 Introduction
Let X and Y be metric spaces with metrics dX and dY.

A map : X Y is called an isometry or distance preserving if for any a,b X one has
An isometry is automatically injective;[1] otherwise two

distinct points, a and b, could be mapped to the same
point, thereby contradicting the coincidence axiom of
the metric d. This proof is similar to the proof that an
order embedding between partially ordered sets is injective. Clearly, every isometry between metric spaces is a
topological embedding (i.e. a homeomorphism).
A global isometry, isometric isomorphism or congruence mapping is a bijective isometry. Like any other
Given a metric space (loosely, a set and a scheme for as- bijection, a global isometry has a function inverse. The
signing distances between elements of the set), an isome- inverse of a global isometry is also a global isometry.
try is a transformation which maps elements to the same
or another metric space such that the distance between Two metric spaces X and Y are called isometric if there
the image elements in the new metric space is equal to is a bijective isometry from X to Y. The set of bijective
the distance between the elements in the original met- isometries from a metric space to itself forms a group
ric space. In a two-dimensional or three-dimensional with respect to function composition, called the isometry
Euclidean space, two geometric gures are congruent if group.
they are related by an isometry;[3] the isometry that relates There is also the weaker notion of path isometry or arcthem is either a rigid motion (translation or rotation), or wise isometry:
61
62
CHAPTER 10. ISOMETRY
A path isometry or arcwise isometry is a map which

preserves the lengths of curves; such a map is not necessarily an isometry in the distance preserving sense, and it
need not necessarily be bijective, or even injective. This
term is often abridged to simply isometry, so one should
take care to determine from context which type is intended.
10.3 Examples
Any reection, translation and rotation is a global
isometry on Euclidean spaces. See also Euclidean
group.
The map x 7 |x| in R is a path isometry but not
an isometry. Note that unlike an isometry, it is not
injective.
The isometric linear maps from Cn to itself are given
by the unitary matrices.[5][6][7][8]
10.4 Linear isometry

Given two normed vector spaces V and W, a linear isometry is a linear map f : V W that preserves the norms:
further than away from the image of an element of the domain. Note that -isometries are
not assumed to be continuous.
The restricted isometry property characterizes
nearly isometric matrices for sparse vectors.
Quasi-isometry is yet another useful generalization.
One may also dene an element in an abstract unital
C*-algebra to be an isometry:
a A is an isometry if and only if a
a=1.
Note that as mentioned in the introduction this
is not necessarily a unitary element because one
does not in general have that left inverse is a
right inverse.
On a pseudo-Euclidean space, the term isometry
means a linear bijection preserving magnitude. See
also Quadratic spaces.
10.6 See also

Motion (geometry)
f (v) = v
for all v in V. Linear isometries are distance-preserving
maps in the above sense. They are global isometries if
and only if they are surjective.
By the Mazur-Ulam theorem, any isometry of normed
vector spaces over R is ane.
In an inner product space, the fact that any linear isometry is an orthogonal transformation can be shown by using
polarization to prove <Ax, Ay> = <x, y> and then applying the Riesz representation theorem.
10.5 Generalizations
Given a positive real number , an -isometry or
almost isometry (also called a Hausdor approximation) is a map f : X Y between metric
spaces such that
1. for x,x X one has |dY((x),(x))dX(x,x)|
< , and
2. for any point y Y there exists a point x X
with dY(y,(x)) <
That is, an -isometry preserves distances to
within and leaves no element of the codomain
BeckmanQuarles theorem
Semidenite embedding
Flat (geometry)
Euclidean plane isometry
3D isometries that leave the origin xed
Space group
Involution
Symmetry in mathematics
Homeomorphism group
Partial isometry
The second dual of a Banach space as an isometric
isomorphism
10.7 References
[1] Coxeter 1969, p. 29
We shall nd it convenient to use the word transformation
in the special sense of a one-to-one correspondence P
P among all points in the plane (or in space), that is, a
rule for associating pairs of points, with the understanding
that each pair has a rst member P and a second member
10.8. BIBLIOGRAPHY
P' and that every point occurs as the rst member of just
one pair and also as the second member of just one pair...
In particular, an isometry (or congruent transformation,
or congruence) is a transformation which preserves
length...
[2] Coxeter 1969, p. 46
3.51 Any direct isometry is either a translation or a rotation. Any opposite isometry is either a reection or a glide
reection.
[3] Coxeter 1969, p. 39
3.11 Any two congruent triangles are related by a unique
isometry.
[4] Beckman, F. S.; Quarles, D. A., Jr. (1953). On
isometries of Euclidean spaces (PDF). Proceedings
of the American Mathematical Society 4: 810815.
doi:10.2307/2032415. MR 0058193.
Let T be a transformation (possibly many-valued) of E n
( 2 n < ) into itself.
Let d(p, q) be the distance between points p and q of E n
, and let Tp, Tq be any images of p and q, respectively.
If there is a length a > 0 such that d(T p, T q) = a whenever d(p, q) = a , then T is a Euclidean transformation
of E n onto itself.
[5] Roweis, S. T.; Saul, L. K. (2000).
Nonlinear Dimensionality Reduction by Locally Linear
Embedding.
Science 290 (5500): 23232326.
doi:10.1126/science.290.5500.2323. PMID 11125150.
[6] Saul, Lawrence K.; Roweis, Sam T. (2003). Think globally, t locally: Unsupervised learning of nonlinear manifolds". Journal of Machine Learning Research (http:
//jmlr.org/papers/v4/saul03a.html) 4 (June): 119155.
Quadratic optimisation of M = (I W ) (I W ) (page
135) such that M Y Y
[7] Zhang, Zhenyue; Zha, Hongyuan (2004).
Principal Manifolds and Nonlinear Dimension Reduction via Local Tangent Space Alignment".
SIAM
Journal on Scientic Computing 26 (1): 313338.
doi:10.1137/s1064827502419154.
[8] Zhang, Zhenyue; Wang, Jing (2006). MLLE: Modied Locally Linear Embedding Using Multiple Weights.
Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 19. It
can retrieve the ideal embedding if MLLE is applied on
data points sampled from an isometric manifold.
10.8 Bibliography
Coxeter, H. S. M. (1969). Introduction to Geometry,
Second edition. Wiley. ISBN 9780471504580.
63
Chapter 11
Magma
For other uses, see Magma (disambiguation).
b. The symbol, , is a general placeholder for a properly

dened operation. To qualify as a magma, the set and
operation (M, ) must satisfy the following requirement
In abstract algebra, a magma (or groupoid; not to be
confused with groupoids in category theory) is a basic (known as the magma or closure axiom):
kind of algebraic structure. Specically, a magma conFor all a, b in M, the result of the operation a
sists of a set, M, equipped with a single binary operation,
b is also in M.
M M M. The binary operation must be closed by
denition but no other properties are imposed.
And in mathematical notation:
a, b M: a b M.
11.1 History and terminology

The term groupoid was introduced in 1926 by Heinrich
Brandt describing his Brandt groupoid (translated from
the German Gruppoid). The term was then appropriated by B. A. Hausmann and ystein Ore (1937)[1] in
the sense (of a set with a binary operation) used in
this article. In a couple of reviews of subsequent papers in Zentralblatt, Brandt strongly disagreed with this
overloading of terminology. The Brandt groupoid is a
groupoid in the sense used in category theory, but not
in the sense used by Hausmann and Ore. Nevertheless,
inuential books in semigroup theory, including Cliord
and Preston (1961) and Howie (1995) use groupoid in the
sense of Hausmann and Ore. Hollings (2014) writes that
the term groupoid is perhaps most often used in modern
mathematics in the sense given to it in category theory.[2]
According to Bergman and Hausknecht (1996): There is
no generally accepted word for a set with a not necessarily
associative binary operation. The word groupoid is used
by many universal algebraists, but workers in category
theory and related areas object strongly to this usage because they use the same word to mean category in which
all morphisms are invertible. The term magma was
used by Serre [Lie Algebras and Lie Groups, 1965].[3]
It also appears in Bourbaki's lments de mathmatique,
Algbre, chapitres 1 3, 1970.[4]
If is instead a partial operation, then S is called a partial

magma[5] or more often a partial groupoid.[5][6]
11.3 Morphism of magmas

A morphism of magmas is a function, f : M N, mapping magma M to magma N, that preserves the binary
operation:
f (x M y) = f(x) N f(y)
where M and N denote the binary operation on M and
N respectively.
11.4 Notation and combinatorics

The magma operation may be applied repeatedly, and
in the general, non-associative case, the order matters,
which is notated with parentheses. Also, the operation,
, is often omitted and notated by juxtaposition:
(a (b c)) d = (a(bc))d
A shorthand is often used to reduce the number of parentheses, in which the innermost operations and pairs of
11.2 Denition
parentheses are omitted, being replaced just with juxtaposition, xy z = (x y) z. For example, the above is
A magma is a set M matched with an operation, , that abbreviated to the following expression, still containing
sends any two elements a, b M to another element, a parentheses:
64
11.7. CLASSIFICATION BY PROPERTIES
65
Magma
(a bc)d.
A way to avoid completely the use of parentheses is prex
notation, in which the same expression would be written
abcd.
The set of all possible strings consisting of symbols denoting elements of the magma, and sets of balanced parentheses is called the Dyck language. The total number of
dierent ways of writing n applications of the magma
operator is given by the Catalan number, Cn. Thus, for
example, C 2 = 2, which is just the statement that (ab)c
and a(bc) are the only two ways of pairing three elements
of a magma with two operations. Less trivially, C 3 = 5:
((ab)c)d, (a(bc))d, (ab)(cd), a((bc)d), and a(b(cd)).
divisibility
associativity
Quasigroup
Semigroup
identity
identity
Loop
Monoid
associativity
invertibility
Group
The number of non-isomorphic magmas having 0, 1, 2,
3, 4, ... elements are 1, 1, 10, 3330, 178981952, ...
(sequence A001329 in OEIS). The corresponding numbers of non-isomorphic and non-antiisomorphic magmas Semilattices Semigroups where the operation
are 1, 1, 7, 1734, 89521056, ... (sequence A001424 in
commutative and idempotent
OEIS).[7]
Monoids Semigroups with identity elements
11.5 Free magma
is
Groups Monoids with inverse elements, or equivalently,

associative loops or non-empty associative quasigroups
A free magma, MX, on a set, X, is the most general possible magma generated by X (i.e., there are no relations Abelian groups Groups where the operation is commutative
or axioms imposed on the generators; see free object). It
can be described as the set of non-associative words on X
with parentheses retained:.[8]
Note that each of divisibility and invertibility imply the
It can also be viewed, in terms familiar in computer sci- cancellation property.
ence, as the magma of binary trees with leaves labelled
by elements of X. The operation is that of joining trees at
the root. It therefore has a foundational role in syntax.
11.7 Classication by properties
A free magma has the universal property such that, if f :
X N is a function from X to any magma, N, then there A magma (S, ), with x, y, u, z S, is called
is a unique extension of f to a morphism of magmas, f
Medial If it satises the identity, xy uz xu yz
f : MX N.
Left semimedial If it satises the identity, xx yz xy
xz
See also: Free semigroup, Free group, Hall set, and
WedderburnEtherington number
Right semimedial If it satises the identity, yz xx yx
zx
Semimedial If it is both left and right semimedial
11.6 Types of magmas
Left distributive If it satises the identity, x yz xy

xz
Magmas are not often studied as such; instead there are

several dierent kinds of magmas, depending on what Right distributive If it satises the identity, yz x yx
zx
axioms one might require of the operation. Commonly
studied types of magmas include:
Autodistributive If it is both left and right distributive
Quasigroups Magmas where division is always possible Commutative If it satises the identity, xy yx
Loops Quasigroups with identity elements
Idempotent If it satises the identity, xx x
Semigroups Magmas where the operation is associative Unipotent If it satises the identity, xx yy
66
Zeropotent If it satises the identities, xx y xx y
xx[9]
Alternative If it satises the identities xx y x xy and
x yy xy y
Power-associative If the submagma generated by any
element is associative
A semigroup, or associative If it satises the identity,
x yz xy z
A left unar If it satises the identity, xy xz
A right unar If it satises the identity, yx zx
CHAPTER 11. MAGMA
11.10 References
[1] Hausmann, B. A.; Ore, ystein (October 1937), Theory
of quasi-groups, American Journal of Mathematics 59
(4): 9831004, doi:10.2307/2371362, JSTOR 2371362
[2] Hollings, Christopher (2014), Mathematics across the Iron
Curtain: A History of the Algebraic Theory of Semigroups,
American Mathematical Society, pp. 1423, ISBN 9781-4704-1493-1
[3] Bergman, George M.; Hausknecht, Adam O. (1996),
Cogroups and Co-rings in Categories of Associative Rings,
American Mathematical Society, p. 61, ISBN 978-08218-0495-7
Semigroup with zero multiplication, or null semigroup [4] Bourbaki, N. (1998) [1970], Algebraic Structures: 1.1
Laws of Composition: Denition 1, Algebra I: Chapters
If it satises the identity, xy uv
13, Springer, p. 1, ISBN 978-3-540-64243-5
Unital If it has an identity element

Left-cancellative If, for all x, y, and, z, xy = xz implies
y=z
Right-cancellative If, for all x, y, and, z, yx = zx implies
y=z
Cancellative If it is both right-cancellative and leftcancellative
A semigroup with left zeros If it is a semigroup and,
for all x, the identity, x xy, holds
A semigroup with right zeros If it is a semigroup and,
for all x, the identity, x yx, holds
Trimedial If any triple of (not necessarily distinct) elements generates a medial submagma
Entropic If it is a homomorphic image of a medial
cancellation magma.[10]
[5] Mller-Hoissen, Folkert; Pallo, Jean Marcel; Stashe,

Jim, eds. (2012), Associahedra, Tamari Lattices and Related Structures: Tamari Memorial Festschrift, Springer, p.
11, ISBN 978-3-0348-0405-9
[6] Evseev, A. E. (1988), A survey of partial groupoids,
in Silver, Ben, Nineteen Papers on Algebraic Semigroups,
American Mathematical Society, ISBN 0-8218-3115-1
[7] Weisstein, Eric W., Groupoid, MathWorld.
[8] Rowen, Louis Halle (2008), Denition 21B.1., Graduate Algebra: Noncommutative View, Graduate Studies in
Mathematics, American Mathematical Society, p. 321,
ISBN 0-8218-8408-5
[9] Kepka, T.; Nmec, P. (1996), Simple balanced
groupoids (PDF), Acta Universitatis Palackianae Olomucensis. Facultas Rerum Naturalium. Mathematica 35 (1):
5360
[10] Jeek, Jaroslav; Kepka, Tom (1981), Free entropic
groupoids (PDF), Commentationes Mathematicae Universitatis Carolinae 22 (2): 223233, MR 620359.
See n-ary group.
M. Hazewinkel (2001), Magma, in Hazewinkel,

Michiel, Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer,
ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4
11.9 See also
M. Hazewinkel (2001), Groupoid, in Hazewinkel,

ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4
Auto magma object
M. Hazewinkel (2001), Free magma, in

Hazewinkel, Michiel, Encyclopedia of Mathematics, Springer, ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4
Universal algebra
Weisstein, Eric W., Groupoid, MathWorld.
Magma category
Magma computer algebra system, named after the

object of this article.
Commutative non-associative magmas
Algebraic structures whose axioms are all identities
Groupoid algebra

Bruck, Richard Hubert (1971), A survey of binary systems (3rd ed.), Springer, ISBN 978-0-38703497-3
Chapter 12
Order
This article is about order in group theory. For other If the order of group G is 1, then the group is called a
uses in mathematics, see Order (mathematics). For other trivial group. Given an element a, ord(a) = 1 if and only
uses, see Order.
if a is the identity. If every (non-identity) element in G
is the same as its inverse (so that a2 = e), then ord(a)
2 and consequently G is abelian since ab = (ab)1 =
In group theory, a branch of mathematics, the term order =1
b a1 = ba by Elementary group theory. The converse
is used in two unrelated senses:
of this statement is not true; for example, the (additive)
cyclic group Z6 of integers modulo 6 is abelian, but the
The order of a group is its cardinality, i.e., the num- number 2 has order 3:
ber of elements in its set. Also, the order, sometimes period, of an element a of a group is the smallest positive integer m such that am = e (where e de2 + 2 + 2 = 6 0 (mod 6)
notes the identity element of the group, and am denotes the product of m copies of a). If no such m The relationship between the two concepts of order is the
exists, a is said to have innite order.
following: if we write
The ordering relation of a partially or totally ordered
group.
a = {ak : k Z}
This article is about the rst sense of order.
for the subgroup generated by a, then
The order of a group G is denoted by ord(G) or | G | and

the order of an element a is denoted by ord(a) or | a |.
ord(a) = ord(a).
12.1 Example
For any integer k, we have

ak = e if and only if ord(a) divides k.
Example. The symmetric group S3 has the following

multiplication table.
In general, the order of any subgroup of G divides the

order of G. More precisely: if H is a subgroup of G, then
This group has six elements, so ord(S3 ) = 6. By denition,
the order of the identity, e, is 1. Each of s, t, and w squares
to e, so these group elements have order 2. Completing
the enumeration, both u and v have order 3, for u2 = v
and u3 = vu = e, and v2 = u and v3 = uv = e.
ord(G) / ord(H) = [G : H], where [G : H] is

called the index of H in G, an integer. This
is Lagranges theorem. (This is, however, only
true when G has nite order. If ord(G) = , the
quotient ord(G) / ord(H) does not make sense.)
As an immediate consequence of the above, we see that

the order of every element of a group divides the order of
the group. For example, in the symmetric group shown
The order of a group and that of an element tend to speak above, where ord(S3 ) = 6, the orders of the elements are
about the structure of the group. Roughly speaking, the 1, 2, or 3.
more complicated the factorization of the order the more The following partial converse is true for nite groups: if
d divides the order of a group G and d is a prime number,
complicated the group.
12.2 Order and structure
67
68
CHAPTER 12. ORDER
then there exists an element of order d in G (this is sometimes called Cauchys theorem). The statement does not
hold for composite orders, e.g. the Klein four-group does
not have an element of order four). This can be shown
by inductive proof.[1] The consequences of the theorem
include: the order of a group G is a power of a prime p if
and only if ord(a) is some power of p for every a in G.[2]
be used to prove that there are no (injective) homomorphisms between two concretely given groups. (For example, there can be no nontrivial homomorphism h: S3
Z5 , because every number except zero in Z5 has order 5,
which does not divide the orders 1, 2, and 3 of elements
in S3 .) A further consequence is that conjugate elements
have the same order.
If a has innite order, then all powers of a have innite

order as well. If a has nite order, we have the following
formula for the order of the powers of a:
12.5 Class equation
ord(ak ) = ord(a) / gcd(ord(a), k)

for every integer k. In particular, a and its inverse a1
have the same order.
An important result about orders is the class equation;

it relates the order of a nite group G to the order of
its center Z(G) and the sizes of its non-trivial conjugacy
classes:
In any group,
|G| = |Z(G)| +
di
ord(ab) = ord(ba)
where the di are the sizes of the non-trivial conjugacy

classes; these are proper divisors of |G| bigger than one,
and they are also equal to the indices of the centralizers
in G of the representatives of the non-trivial conjugacy
classes. For example, the center of S3 is just the trivial
group with the single element e, and the equation reads
|S3 | = 1+2+3.
There is no general formula relating the order of a product ab to the orders of a and b. In fact, it is possible that
both a and b have nite order while ab has innite order,
or that both a and b have innite order while ab has nite
order. An example of the former is a(x) = 2-x, b(x) = 1-x
with ab(x) = x-1 in the group Sym(Z) . An example of
the latter is a(x) = x+1, b(x) = x-1 with ab(x) = id. If ab
= ba, we can at least say that ord(ab) divides lcm(ord(a),
ord(b)). As a consequence, one can prove that in a nite 12.6 Open questions
abelian group, if m denotes the maximum of all the orders of the groups elements, then every elements order Several deep questions about the orders of groups and
divides m.
their elements are contained in the various Burnside problems; some of these questions are still open.
12.3 Counting by order of elements

Suppose G is a nite group of order n, and d is a divisor of
n. The number of order-d-elements in G is a multiple of
(d) (possibly zero), where is Eulers totient function,
giving the number of positive integers no larger than d
and coprime to it. For example, in the case of S3 , (3)
= 2, and we have exactly two elements of order 3. The
theorem provides no useful information about elements
of order 2, because (2) = 1, and is only of limited utility
for composite d such as d=6, since (6)=2, and there are
zero elements of order 6 in S3 .
12.4 In relation
phisms
to
homomor-
Group homomorphisms tend to reduce the orders of elements: if f: G H is a homomorphism, and a is an element of G of nite order, then ord(f(a)) divides ord(a).
If f is injective, then ord(f(a)) = ord(a). This can often
12.7 References
[1] Conrad, Keith. Proof of Cauchys Theorem (PDF). Retrieved May 14, 2011.
[2] Conrad, Keith. Consequences of Cauchys Theorem
(PDF). Retrieved May 14, 2011.
12.8 See also

Torsion subgroup
Lagranges theorem (group theory)
Chapter 13
Ring
This article is about an algebraic structure. For geometric rings, see Annulus (mathematics). For the set theory
concept, see Ring of sets.
In mathematics, a ring is one of the fundamen-
rings of invariants that occur in algebraic geometry and

invariant theory. Afterward, they also proved to be useful
in other branches of mathematics such as geometry and
mathematical analysis.
A ring is an abelian group with a second binary operation
that is associative, is distributive over the abelian group
operation, and has an identity element. By extension from
the integers, the abelian group operation is called addition
and the second binary operation is called multiplication.
Whether a ring is commutative or not (i.e., whether the
order in which two elements are multiplied changes or
not the result) has profound implications on its behavior
as an abstract object. As a result, commutative ring theory, commonly known as commutative algebra, is a key
topic in ring theory. Its development has been greatly
inuenced by problems and ideas occurring naturally in
algebraic number theory and algebraic geometry. Examples of commutative rings include the set of integers equipped with the addition and multiplication operations, the set of polynomials equipped with the addition and multiplication of functions, the coordinate ring
of an ane algebraic variety, and the ring of integers of
a number eld. Examples of noncommutative rings include the ring of n n real square matrices with n 2,
group rings in representation theory, operator algebras in
functional analysis, rings of dierential operators in the
theory of dierential operators, and the cohomology ring
of a topological space in topology.
Chapter IX of David Hilbert's Die Theorie der algebraischen

Zahlkrper. The chapter title is Die Zahlringe des Krpers, literally the number rings of the eld. The word ring is the
contraction of Zahlring.

tal algebraic structures used in abstract algebra. It
consists of a set equipped with two binary operations
that generalize the arithmetic operations of addition and The most familiar example of a ring is the set of all
multiplication. Through this generalization, theorems integers, Z, consisting of the numbers
from arithmetic are extended to non-numerical objects
such as polynomials, series, matrices and functions.
. . . , 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .
The conceptualization of rings started in the 1870s
and completed in the 1920s. Key contributors include
Dedekind, Hilbert, Fraenkel, and Noether. Rings were
rst formalized as a generalization of Dedekind domains The familiar properties for addition and multiplication of
that occur in number theory, and of polynomial rings and integers serve as a model for the axioms for rings.
69
70
13.1.1
CHAPTER 13. RING
Denition
algebraic geometry often adopt the convention that ring

means commutative ring, to simplify terminology.
A ring is a set R equipped with binary operations[1] + and

The additive group of a ring is the ring equipped just
satisfying the following three sets of axioms, called the
with the structure of addition. Although the denition
ring axioms[2][3][4]
assumes that the additive group is abelian, this can be in1. R is an abelian group under addition, meaning that
ferred from the other ring axioms.[6]
(a + b) + c = a + (b + c) for all a, b, c in
R (+ is associative).
13.1.3 Basic properties
a + b = b + a for all a, b in R (+ is
commutative).
Some basic properties of a ring follow immediately from

the axioms:
There is an element 0 in R such that a +

0 = a for all a in R (0 is the additive identity).
The additive identity, the additive inverse of each

element, and the multiplicative identity are unique.
For each a in R there exists a in R such

that a + (a) = 0 (a is the additive inverse of a).
2. R is a monoid under multiplication, meaning that:
(a b) c = a (b c) for all a, b, c in R (
is associative).
There is an element 1 in R such that a 1
= a and 1 a = a for all a in R (1 is the
multiplicative identity).[5]
3. Multiplication is distributive with respect to addition:
a (b + c) = (a b) + (a c) for all a, b, c
in R (left distributivity).
(b + c) a = (b a) + (c a) for all a, b, c
in R (right distributivity).
13.1.2
Notes on the denition
As explained in History below, many authors follow an

alternative convention in which a ring is not dened to
have a multiplicative identity. This article adopts the convention that, unless otherwise stated, a ring is assumed
to have such an identity. A structure satisfying all the
axioms except possibly the existence of a multiplicative
identity 1 is called a rng (or sometimes pseudo-ring).
For example, the set of even integers with the usual +
and is a rng, but not a ring.
For any element x in a ring R, one has x0 = 0 = 0x

and (1)x = x.
If 0 = 1 in a ring R (or more generally, 0 is a unit
element), then R has only one element, and is called
the zero ring.
The binomial formula holds for any commuting pair
of elements (i.e., any x and y such that xy = yx).
13.1.4 Example: Integers modulo 4

See also: Modular arithmetic
Equip the set Z4 = {0, 1, 2, 3} with the following operations:
The sum x + y in Z4 is the remainder when the integer x + y is divided by 4. For example, 2 + 3 = 1
and 3 + 3 = 2 .
The product x y in Z4 is the remainder when the
integer xy is divided by 4. For example, 2 3 = 2
and 3 3 = 1 .
Then Z4 is a ring: each axiom follows from the corresponding axiom for Z. If x is an integer, the remainder of
x when divided by 4 is an element of Z4 , and this element
is often denoted by "x mod 4 or x , which is consistent
with the notation for 0,1,2,3. The additive inverse of any
x in Z4 is x . For example, 3 = 3 = 1.
13.1.5 Example: 2-by-2 matrices
The operations + and are called addition and multiplication, respectively. The multiplication symbol is often Main article: Matrix ring
omitted, so the juxtaposition of ring elements is interpreted as multiplication. For example, xy means x y.
The set of 2-by-2 matrices with real number entries is
Although ring addition is commutative, ring multiplica- written
tion is not required to be commutative: ab need not necessarily equal ba. Rings that also satisfy commutativity
{(
)
}
for multiplication (such as the ring of integers) are called
a b
a, b, c, d R .
commutative rings. Books on commutative algebra or M2 (R) =
c d
13.2. HISTORY
With the operations of matrix addition and matrix multiplication,
( this)set satises the above ring axioms. The ele1 0
ment
is the multiplicative identity of the ring. If
)
)
( 0 1)
(
(
0 1
0 1
0 0
A=
and B =
, then AB =
1 0 (
0 0
0 1
)
1 0
while BA =
; this example shows that the ring
0 0
is noncommutative.
71
13.2.2 Hilbert
The term Zahlring (number ring) was coined by David

Hilbert in 1892 and published in 1897.[9] In 19th century German, the word Ring could mean association,
which is still used today in English in a limited sense
(e.g., spy ring),[10] so if that were the etymology then it
would be similar to the way group entered mathematics by being a non-technical word for collection of related things. According to Harvey Cohn, Hilbert used
More generally, for any ring R, commutative or not, and
the term for a ring that had the property of circling diany nonnegative integer n, one may form the ring of nrectly back to an element of itself.[11] Specically, in
by-n matrices with entries in R: see matrix ring.
a ring of algebraic integers, all high powers of an algebraic integer can be written as an integral combination of
a xed set of lower powers, and thus the powers cycle
back. For instance, if a3 4a + 1 = 0 then a3 = 4a 1,
13.2 History
a4 = 4a2 a, a5 = a2 + 16a 4, a6 = 16a2 8a + 1,
a7 = 8a2 + 65a 16, and so on; in general, an is going
See also: Ring theory History
to be an integral linear combination of 1, a, and a2 .
13.2.3 Fraenkel and Noether

The rst axiomatic denition of a ring was given by Adolf
Fraenkel in 1914,[12][13] but his axioms were stricter than
those in the modern denition. For instance, he required every non-zero-divisor to have a multiplicative inverse.[14] In 1921, Emmy Noether gave the modern axiomatic denition of (commutative) ring and developed
the foundations of commutative ring theory in her paper
Idealtheorie in Ringbereichen.[15]
13.2.4 Multiplicative identity: mandatory

vs. optional
Fraenkel required a ring to have a multiplicative identity
1,[16] whereas Noether did not.[15]
Richard Dedekind, one of the founders of ring theory.
13.2.1
Dedekind
The study of rings originated from the theory of

polynomial rings and the theory of algebraic integers.[7]
In 1871, Richard Dedekind dened the concept of the
ring of integers of a number eld.[8] In this context, he introduced the terms ideal (inspired by Ernst Kummer's
notion of ideal number) and module and studied their
properties. But Dedekind did not use the term ring and
did not dene the concept of a ring in a general setting.
Most or all books on algebra[17][18] up to around 1960 followed Noethers convention of not requiring a 1. Starting in the 1960s, it became increasingly common to
see books including the existence of 1 in the denition of ring, especially in advanced books by notable
authors such as Artin,[19] Atiyah and MacDonald,[20]
Bourbaki,[21] Eisenbud,[22] and Lang.[23] But even today,
there remain many books that do not require a 1.
Faced with this terminological ambiguity, some authors
have tried to impose their views, while others have tried
to adopt more precise terms.
In the rst category, we nd for instance Gardner and
Wiegandt, who argue that if one requires all rings to have
a 1, then some consequences include the lack of existence
of innite direct sums of rings, and the fact that proper direct summands of rings are not subrings. They conclude
that in many, maybe most, branches of ring theory the
requirement of the existence of a unity element is not sensible, and therefore unacceptable.[24]
72
CHAPTER 13. RING
In the second category, we nd authors who use the following terms:[25][26]

rings with multiplicative identity: unital
ring, unitary ring, ring with unity, ring
with identity, or ring with 1
rings not requiring multiplicative identity: rng or pseudo-ring.
13.3 Basic examples

Commutative rings:
The prototype example is the ring of integers with
the two operations of addition and multiplication.
The rational, real and complex numbers are commutative rings of a type called elds.
An algebra over a ring is itself a ring. These are also
modules. Some examples:
Any algebra over a eld.
The polynomial ring R[X] of polynomials over
a ring R is itself a ring. A free module over R
of innite dimension
Z[c] , the integers with an irrational number c
adjoined. A free module of innite dimension
if c is a transcendental number, a free module
of nite dimension if c is an algebraic integer
Z[1/n] , the set of fractions whose denominators are a power of n (including negative ones).
A non-free module.
The set of all continuous real-valued functions dened on the real line forms a commutative ring. The
operations are pointwise addition and multiplication
of functions.
Let X be a set and R a ring. Then the set of all functions from X to R forms a ring, which is commutative
if R is commutative. The ring of continuous functions in the previous example is a subring of this ring
if X is the real line and R is the eld of real numbers.
Noncommutative rings:
For any ring R and any natural number n, the set
of all square n-by-n matrices with entries from R,
forms a ring with matrix addition and matrix multiplication as operations. For n = 1, this matrix ring
is isomorphic to R itself. For n > 1 (and R not the
zero ring), this matrix ring is noncommutative.
If G is an abelian group, then the endomorphisms of
G form a ring, the endomorphism ring End(G) of G.
The operations in this ring are addition and composition of endomorphisms. More generally, if V is a
left module over a ring R, then the set of all R-linear
maps forms a ring, also called the endomorphism
ring and denoted by EndR(V).
If G is a group and R is a ring, the group ring of
G over R is a free module over R having G as basis. Multiplication is dened by the rules that the
elements of G commute with the elements of R and
multiply together as they do in the group G.
Many rings that appear in analysis are noncommutative. For example, most Banach algebras are noncommutative.
Z[1/10] , the set of decimal fractions.
Z[(1 + d)/2] , where d is a square-free inte- Non-rings:

ger of the form 4n+1. A free module of rank
two. Cf. Quadratic integers.
The set of natural numbers N with the usual opera Z[i] , the Gaussian integers.
tions is not a ring, since (N, +) is not even a group
(the
elements are not all invertible with respect to
Z[(1 + 3)/2] , the Eisenstein integers.
addition).
For instance, there is no natural number
Also their generalization, a Kummer ring.
which can be added to 3 to get 0 as a result. There
The set of all algebraic integers forms a ring. This
is a natural way to make it a ring by adding negafollows for example from the fact that it is the
tive numbers to the set, thus obtaining the ring of
integral closure of the ring of rational integers in the
integers. The natural numbers (including 0) form
eld of complex numbers. The rings in the three
an algebraic structure known as a semiring (which
previous examples are subrings of this ring.
has all of the properties of a ring except the additive
inverse property).
The set of formal power series R[[X1 , , Xn]] over
a commutative ring R is a ring.
Let R be the set of all continuous functions on the
real line that vanish outside a bounded interval de If S is a set, then the power set of S becomes a ring
pending on the function, with addition as usual but
if we dene addition to be the symmetric dierence
with multiplication dened as convolution:
of sets and multiplication to be intersection. This

corresponds to a ring of sets and is an example of a
(f g)(x) =
f (y)g(x y)dy.
Boolean ring.
13.4. BASIC CONCEPTS

Then R is a rng, but not a ring: the Dirac delta
function has the property of a multiplicative
identity, but it is not a function and hence is
not an element of R.
13.4 Basic concepts

13.4.1
Elements in a ring
A left zero divisor of a ring R is an element a in the ring

such that there exists a nonzero element b of R such that
ab = 0 .[27] A right zero divisor is dened similarly.
A nilpotent element is an element a such that an = 0 for
some n > 0 . One example of a nilpotent element is a
nilpotent matrix. A nilpotent element in a nonzero ring is
necessarily a zero divisor.
73
copies of 1 and 1 together many times in any mixture.
It is possible that n 1 = 1 + 1 + . . . + 1 (n times) can
be zero. If n is the smallest positive integer such that this
occurs, then n is called the characteristic of R. In some
rings, n 1 is never zero for any positive integer n, and
those rings are said to have characteristic zero.
Given a ring R, let Z(R) denote the set of all elements
x in R such that x commutes with every element in R:
xy = yx for any y in R. Then Z(R) is a subring of R;
called the center of R. More generally, given a subset X
of R, let S be the set of all elements in R that commute
with every element in X. Then S is a subring of R, called
the centralizer (or commutant) of X. The center is the
centralizer of the entire ring R. Elements or subsets of the
center are said to be central in R; they generate a subring
of the center.
An idempotent e is an element such that e2 = e . One 13.4.3 Ideal

example of an idempotent element is a projection in linear
Main article: Ideal (ring theory)
algebra.
A unit is an element a having a multiplicative inverse; in
this case the inverse is unique, and is denoted by a1 .
The set of units of a ring is a group under ring multiplication; this group is denoted by R or R or U (R) . For
example, if R is the ring of all square matrices of size n
over a eld, then R consists of the set of all invertible
matrices of size n, and is called the general linear group.
13.4.2
Subring
The denition of an ideal in a ring is analogous to that of

normal subgroup in a group. But, in actuality, it plays a
role of an idealized generalization of an element in a ring;
hence, the name ideal. Like elements of rings, the study
of ideals is central to structural understanding of a ring.
Let R be a ring. A nonempty subset I of R is then said to
be a left ideal in R if, for any x, y in I and r in R, x + y
and rx are in I. If RI denotes the span of I over R; i.e.,
the set of nite sums
Main article: Subring

A subset S of R is said to be a subring if it can be regarded as a ring with the addition and the multiplication
restricted from R to S. Equivalently, S is a subring if it is
not empty, and for any x, y in S, xy , x + y and x are in
S. If all rings have been assumed, by convention, to have
a multiplicative identity, then to be a subring one would
also require S to share the same identity element as R.[28]
So if all rings have been assumed to have a multiplicative
identity, then a proper ideal is not a subring.
For example, the ring Z of integers is a subring of the
eld of real numbers and also a subring of the ring of
polynomials Z[X] (in both cases, Z contains 1, which is
the multiplicative identity of the larger rings). On the
other hand, the subset of even integers 2Z does not contain the identity element 1 and thus does not qualify as a
subring.
r1 x1 + + rn xn ,
ri R,
xi I,
then I is a left ideal if RI I . Similarly, I is said to

be right ideal if IR I . A subset I is said to be a
two-sided ideal or simply ideal if it is both a left ideal
and right ideal. A one-sided or two-sided ideal is then an
additive subgroup of R. If E is a subset of R, then RE is
a left ideal, called the left ideal generated by E; it is the
smallest left ideal containing E. Similarly, one can consider the right ideal or the two-sided ideal generated by a
subset of R.
If x is in R, then Rx and xR are left ideals and right ideals,

respectively; they are called the principal left ideals and
right ideals generated by x. The principal ideal RxR is
written as (x) . For example, the set of all positive and
negative multiples of 2 along with 0 form an ideal of the
integers, and this ideal is generated by the integer 2. In
An intersection of subrings is a subring. The smallest sub- fact, every ideal of the ring of integers is principal.
ring containing a given subset E of R is called a subring Like a group, a ring is said to be a simple if it is nonzero
generated by E. Such a subring exists since it is the inter- and it has no proper nonzero two-sided ideals. A commutative simple ring is precisely a eld.
section of all subrings containing E.
For a ring R, the smallest subring containing 1 is called the Rings are often studied with special conditions set upon
characteristic subring of R. It can be obtained by adding their ideals. For example, a ring in which there is no
74
CHAPTER 13. RING
strictly increasing innite chain of left ideals is called a

left Noetherian ring. A ring in which there is no strictly
decreasing innite chain of left ideals is called a left
Artinian ring. It is a somewhat surprising fact that a left
Artinian ring is left Noetherian (the HopkinsLevitzki
theorem). The integers, however, form a Noetherian ring
which is not Artinian.
For commutative rings, the ideals generalize the classical
notion of divisibility and decomposition of an integer into
prime numbers in algebra. A proper ideal P of R is called
a prime ideal if for any elements x, y R we have that
xy P implies either x P or y P . Equivalently, P
is prime if for any ideals I, J we have that IJ P implies either I P or J P. This latter formulation illustrates the idea of ideals as generalizations of elements.
13.4.4
Homomorphism
Main article: Ring homomorphism
The Galois group of a eld extension L/K is the set

of all automorphisms of L whose restrictions to K
are the identity.
For any ring R, there are a unique ring homomorphism Z R and a unique ring homomorphism R
0.
An epimorphism (i.e., right-cancelable morphism)
of rings need not be surjective. For example, the
unique map Z Q is an epimorphism.
An algebra homomorphism from a k-algebra to the
endomorphism algebra of a vector space over k is
called a representation of the algebra.
Given a ring homomorphism f : R S , the set of
all elements mapped to 0 by f is called the kernel of f.
The kernel is a two-sided ideal of R. The image of f, on
the other hand, is not always an ideal, but it is always a
subring of S.
A homomorphism from a ring (R, +, ) to a ring (S, ,

*) is a function f from R to S that preserves the ring op- To give a ring homomorphism from a commutative ring
erations; namely, such that, for all a, b in R the following R to a ring A with image contained in the center of A is
identities hold:
the same as to give a structure of an algebra over R to A
(in particular gives a structure of A-module).
f(a + b) = f(a) f(b)
f(a b) = f(a) * f(b)
13.4.5 Quotient ring
f(1R) = 1S
Main article: Quotient ring
If one is working with not necessarily unital rings, then
the third condition is dropped.
The quotient ring of a ring, is analogous to the notion of
A ring homomorphism is said to be an isomorphism a quotient group of a group. More formally, given a ring
if there exists an inverse homomorphism to f (i.e., a (R, +, ) and a two-sided ideal I of (R, +, ), the quotient
ring homomorphism which is an inverse function). Any ring (or factor ring) R/I is the set of cosets of I (with
bijective ring homomorphism is a ring isomorphism. respect to the additive group of (R, +, ); i.e. cosets with
Two rings R, S are said to be isomorphic if there is an respect to (R, +)) together with the operations:
isomorphism between them and in that case one writes
R S . A ring homomorphism between the same ring
is called an endomorphism and an isomorphism between
the same ring an automorphism.
(a + I) + (b + I) = (a + b) + I and
(a + I)(b + I) = (ab) + I.
Examples:
for every a, b in R.
The function that maps each integer x to its remainLike the case of a quotient group, there is a canonical
der modulo 4 (a number in {0, 1, 2, 3}) is a homomap p : R R/I given by x 7 x + I . It is surjective
morphism from the ring Z to the quotient ring Z/4Z
and satises the universal property: if f : R S is a
(quotient ring is dened below).
ring homomorphism such that f (I) = 0 , then there is a
If u is a unit element in a ring R, then R R, x 7 unique f : R/I S such that f = f p . In particular,
uxu1 is a ring homomorphism, called an inner au- taking I to be the kernel, one sees that the quotient ring
R/ ker f is isomorphic to the image of f; the fact known
tomorphism of R.
as the rst isomorphism theorem. The last fact implies
Let R be a commutative ring of prime characteristic that actually any surjective ring homomorphism satises
p. Then x 7 xp is a ring endmorphism of R called the universal property since the image of such a map is a
the Frobenius homomorphism.
quotient ring.
13.6. CONSTRUCTIONS
13.5 Ring action: a module over a

ring
75
section ring of L. A particularly important case is when
L is the canonical line bundle and then R is the canonical
ring of the base variety.
Main article: Module (mathematics)
13.6 Constructions
In group theory, one can consider the action of a group on
a set. To give a group action, say, G acting on a set S, is to
13.6.1 Direct product
give a group homomorphism from G to the automorphism
group of S (that is, the symmetric group of S.)
Main article: Direct product of rings
In much the same way, one can consider a ring action;
that is, a ring homomorphism f from a ring R to the
Let R and S be rings. Then the product R S can be
endomorphism ring of an abelian group M. One usually
equipped with the following natural ring structure:
writes rm or rm for f(r)m and calls M a left module over
R. If R is a eld, this amounts to giving a structure of a
(r1 , s1 ) + (r2 , s2 ) = (r1 + r2 , s1 + s2 )
vector space on M.
In particular, a ring R is a left module over R itself through
l : R End(R), l(r)x = rx (called the left regular representation of R). Some ring-theoretic concepts can be stated
in a module-theoretic language: for example, a subset of a
ring R is a left ideal of R if and only if it is an R-submodule
with respect to the left R-module structure of R. A left
ideal is principal if and only if it is a cyclic submodule.
(r1 , s1 ) (r2 , s2 ) = (r1 r2 , s1 s2 )
for every r1 , r2 in R and s1 , s2 in S. The ring R S with the

above operations of addition and multiplication and the
multiplicative identity (1, 1) is called the direct product
of R with S. The same construction also works for an arbitrary
family of rings: if Ri are rings indexed by a set I,
then
iI Ri is a ring with componentwise addition and
A Z-module is the same thing as an abelian group; this almultiplication.
lows one to use the module theory to study abelian groups.
For example, in general, if M is a left module over a ring Let R be a commutative ring and a1 , ,an be ideals such
R that is cyclic; i.e., M = Rx for some x, then M is iso- that ai + aj = (1) whenever i = j . Then the Chinese
morphic to the quotient of R by the kernel of R M, r remainder theorem says there is a canonical ring isomorrx. In particular, if R is Z, then any cyclic group (which is phism:
cyclic as Z-module) is of the form Z/nZ, recovering the
usual classication of cyclic groups.
R/ai , x 7 (x mod a1 , . . . , x mod an )

See Domains for an example of an application to linear R/ (ai )
algebra.
A nite direct product may also be viewed as a direct
Any ring homomorphism induces the structure of a mod- sum of ideals.[29] Namely, let R , 1 i n be rings,
i
ule: if f : R S is a ring homomorphism, then S is a R R = R the inclusions with the images a (in
i
i
i
left module over R by the formula: rs = f(r)s. A module particular a are rings though not subrings). Then a are
i
i
that is also a ring is called an algebra over the base ring ideals of R and
(provided the base ring is central).
Example: Geometrically, a module can be viewed as an
algebraic counterpart of a vector bundle. Let E be a vector bundle over a compact space, and (E) the space of its
sections. Then (E) is a module over the ring R of continuous functions on the base space. Swans theorem states
that, via , the category of vector bundles is equivalent to
the category of nitely generated projective R-modules
(projective corresponds to local trivialization.)
R = a1 an ,
ai aj = 0, i = j,
a2i ai
as a direct sum of abelian groups (because for abelian

groups nite products are the same as direct sums).
Clearly the direct sum of such ideals also denes a product
of rings that is isomorphic to R. Equivalently, the above
can be done through central idempotents. Assume R has
the above decomposition. Then we can write
In application, one often cooks up a ring by summing up

modules. Continuing the above geometric example, let L
be a line bundle on an algebraic variety ((L) is a module
over the coordinate ring of the variety). Then the direct 1 = e1 + + en , ei ai .
sum of modules
By the conditions on ai , one has that ei are central idempotents and ei ej = 0, i = j (orthogonal). Again, one
can reverse the construction. Namely, if one is given a
n
n0 (L )
partition of 1 in orthogonal central idempotents, then let
has the structure of a commutative ring; it is called the ai = Rei , which are two-sided ideals. If each ei is not a
76
CHAPTER 13. RING
there exists a unique ring homomorphism : R[t] S

such that (t) = x and restricts to .[31] For example,
An important application of an innite direct product is choosing a basis, a symmetric algebra satises the univerthe construction of a projective limit of rings (see below). sal property and so is a polynomial ring.
Another application is a restricted product of a family of To give an example, let S be the ring of all functions from
rings (cf. adele ring).
R to itself; the addition and the multiplication are those
of functions. Let x be the identity function. Each r in R
denes a constant function, giving rise to the homomor13.6.2 Polynomial ring
phism R S . The universal property says that this map
extends uniquely to
Main article: Polynomial ring
sum of orthogonal central idempotents,[30] then their direct sum is isomorphic to R.
Given a symbol t (called a variable) and a commutative R[t] S, f 7 f

ring R, the set of polynomials
(t maps to x) where f is the polynomial function dened
by f. The resulting map is injective if and only if R is
{ n
}
n1
R[t] = an t + an1 t
+ + a1 t + a0 | n 0, aj innite.
R
Given a non-constant monic polynomial f in R[t] , there
forms a commutative ring with the usual addition and exists a ring S containing R such that f is a product of
multiplication, containing R as a subring. It is called linear factors in S[t] .[32]
the polynomial ring over R. More generally, the set
R[t1 , . . . , tn ] of all polynomials in variables t1 , . . . , tn Let k be an algebraically closed eld. The Hilberts Nullforms a commutative ring, containing R[ti ] as subrings. stellensatz (theorem of zeros) states that there is a natural
one-to-one correspondence between the set of all prime
If R is an integral domain, then R[t] is also an integral ideals in k[t , . . . , t ] and the set of closed subvarieties
1
n
domain; its eld of fractions is the eld of rational func- of k n . In particular, many local problems in algebraic
tions. If R is a noetherian ring, then R[t] is a noetherian geometry may be attacked through the study of the genring. If R is a unique factorization domain, then R[t] is erators of an ideal in a polynomial ring. (cf. Grbner
a unique factorization domain. Finally, R is a eld if and basis.)
only if R[t] is a principal ideal domain.
There are some other related constructions. A formal
Let R S be commutative rings. Given an element x of power series ring R[[t]] consists of formal power series
S, one can consider the ring homomorphism
R[t] S,
f 7 f (x)
a i ti ,
ai R
(i.e., the substitution). If S=R[t] and x=t, then f(t)=f. Because of this, the polynomial f is often also denoted by
f (t) . The image of the map f 7 f (x) is denoted by
R[x] ; it is the same thing as the subring of S generated
by R and x.
together with multiplication and addition that mimic

those for convergent series. It contains R[t] as a subring.
Note a formal power series ring does not have the universal property of a polynomial ring; a series may not converge after a substitution. The important advantage of a
Example: k[t2 , t3 ] denotes the image of the homomor- formal power series ring over a polynomial ring is that it
phism
is local (in fact, complete).
k[x, y] k[t], f 7 f (t2 , t3 ).
In other words, it is the subalgebra of k[t] generated by t 2
and t 3 .
Example: let f be a polynomial in one variable; i.e., an element in a polynomial ring R. Then f (x+h) is an element
in R[h] and f (x + h) f (x) is divisible by h in that ring.
The result of substituting zero to h in (f (x+h)f (x))/h
is f (x) , the derivative of f at x.
13.6.3 Matrix ring and endomorphism

ring
Main articles: Matrix ring and Endomorphism ring
Let R be a ring (not necessarily commutative). The set of

all square matrices of size n with entries in R forms a ring
with the entry-wise addition and the usual matrix multiplication. It is called the matrix ring and is denoted by
The substitution is a special case of the universal prop- Mn(R). Given a right R-module U , the set of all R-linear
erty of a polynomial ring. The property states: given a maps from U to itself forms a ring with addition that is
ring homomorphism : R S and an element x in S of function and multiplication that is of composition of
13.6. CONSTRUCTIONS
77
functions; it is called the endomorphism ring of U and is

denoted by EndR (U ) .
The function eld of an algebraic variety over a eld

k is lim k[U ] where the limit runs over all the coordi
nate rings k[U ] of nonempty open subsets U (more
succinctly it is the stalk of the structure sheaf at the
generic point.)
As in linear algebra, a matrix ring may be canonically

interpreted as an endomorphism ring: EndR (Rn )
Mn (R) . This is a special case of the following fact: If
f : n1 U n1 U is an R-linear map, then f may be
written as a matrix with entries fij in S = EndR (U ) , Any commutative ring is the colimit of nitely generated
subrings.
resulting in the ring isomorphism:
A projective limit (or a ltered limit) of rings is dened as

follows. Suppose we're given a family of rings Ri , i runEndR (n1 U ) Mn (S), f 7 (fij ).
ning over positive integers, say, and ring homomorphisms
Rj Ri , j i such that Ri Ri are all the identities
Any ring homomorphism R S induces Mn(R) and Rk Rj Ri is Rk Ri whenever k j i
Mn(S); in fact, any ring homomorphism between matrix . Then lim Ri is the subring of Ri consisting of (xn )
rings arises in this way.[33]

such that xj maps to xi under Rj Ri , j i .
Schurs lemma says that if U is a simple right R-module, For an example of a projective limit, see #completion.
r
[34]
then EndR (U ) is a division ring. If U =
Uimi is
i=1
a direct sum of mi-copies of simple R-modules Ui , then
EndR (U )
Mmi (EndR (Ui ))
The ArtinWedderburn theorem states any semisimple

ring (cf. below) is of this form.
A ring R and the matrix ring Mn(R) over it are Morita
equivalent: the category of right modules of R is equivalent to the category of right modules over Mn(R).[33] In
particular, two-sided ideals in R correspond in one-to-one
to two-sided ideals in Mn(R).
Examples:
The automorphisms of the projective line over a ring
are given by homographies from the 2 x 2 matrix
ring.
13.6.4
Limits and colimits of rings
13.6.5 Localization
The localization generalizes the construction of the eld
of fractions of an integral domain to an arbitrary ring and
modules. Given a (not necessarily commutative) ring R
and a subset S of R, there exists a ring R[S 1 ] together
with the ring homomorphism R R[S 1 ] that inverts
S; that is, the homomorphism maps elements in S to unit
elements in R[S 1 ] , and, moreover, any ring homomorphism from R that inverts S uniquely factors through
R[S 1 ] .[35] The ring R[S 1 ] is called the localization
of R with respect to S. For example, if R is a commutative
ring and f an element in R, then the localization R[f 1 ]
consists of elements of the form r/f n , r R, n 0 (to
be precise, R[f 1 ] = R[t]/(tf 1). )[36]
The localization is frequently applied to a commutative
ring R with respect to the complement of a prime ideal
(or a union of prime ideals) in R. In that case S = R p
, one often writes Rp for R[S 1 ] . Rp is then a local
ring with the maximal ideal pRp . This is the reason for
the terminology localization. The eld of fractions of
an integral domain R is the localization of R at the prime
ideal zero. If p is a prime ideal of a commutative ring
R, then the eld of fractions of R/p is the same as the
residue eld of the local ring Rp and is denoted by k(p) .
Let Ri be a sequence of rings such that Ri is a subring of

Ri for all i. Then the union (or ltered colimit) of Ri is
the ring lim Ri dened as follows: it is the disjoint union
If M is a left R-module, then the localization of M with
of all Ri's modulo the equivalence relation x y if and

respect to S is given by a change of rings M [S 1 ] =
only if x = y in Ri for suciently large i.
R[S 1 ] R M .
Examples of colimits:
The most important properties of localization are the following: when R is a commutative ring and S a multiplica A polynomial ring in innitely many variables: tively closed subset
R[t1 , t2 , ] = lim R[t1 , t2 , , tm ].
p 7 p[S 1 ] is a bijection between the set of all

The algebraic closure of nite elds of the same
prime ideals in R disjoint from S and the set of all
characteristic Fp = lim Fpm .
prime ideals in R[S 1 ] .[37]

The eld of formal Laurent series over a eld k:
R[S 1 ] = lim R[f 1 ] , f running over elements in
k((t)) = lim tm k[[t]] (it is the eld of fractions of
S with partial ordering given by divisibility.[38]

the formal power series ring k[[t]] .)
78
CHAPTER 13. RING
The localization is exact:
A complete ring has much simpler structure than a commutative ring. This owns to the Cohen structure theorem,
0 M [S 1 ] M [S 1 ]
which says, roughly, that a complete local ring tends to
M [S 1 ] 0 is exact over R[S 1 ]
look like a formal power series ring or a quotient of it. On
whenever 0 M M M 0
the other hand, the interaction between the integral clois exact over R.
sure and completion has been among the most important
aspects that distinguish modern commutative ring theory
Conversely, if 0 Mm Mm Mm 0 is
from the classical one developed by the likes of Noether.
exact for any maximal ideal m , then 0 M

Pathological examples found by Nagata led to the reex
M M 0 is exact.
amination of the roles of Noetherian rings and motivated,
A remark: localization is no help in proving a global among other things, the denition of excellent ring.
existence. One instance of this is that if two modules
are isomorphic at all prime ideals, it does not follow
that they are isomorphic. (One way to explain this 13.6.7 Rings with generators and relations
is that the localization allows one to view a module
as a sheaf over prime ideals and a sheaf is inherently The most general way to construct a ring is by specifya local notion.)
ing generators and relations. Let F be a free ring (i.e.,
free algebra over the integers) with the set X of symbols;
In category theory, a localization of a category amounts i.e., F consists of polynomials with integral coecients
to making some morphisms isomorphisms. An element in noncommuting variables that are elements of X. A free
in a commutative ring R may be thought of as an endo- ring satises the universal property: any function from
morphism of any R-module. Thus, categorically, a local- the set X to a ring R factors through F so that F R
ization of R with respect to a subset S of R is a functor is the unique ring homomorphism. Just as in the group
from the category of R-modules to itself that sends ele- case, every ring can be represented as a quotient of a free
[40]
ments of S viewed as endomorphisms to automorphisms ring.
and is universal with respect to this property. (Of course, Now, we can impose relations among symbols in X by
R then maps to R[S 1 ] and R-modules map to R[S 1 ] taking a quotient. Explicitly, if E is a subset of F, then the
-modules.)
quotient ring of F by the ideal generated by E is called the
ring with generators X and relations E. If we used a ring,
say, A as a base ring instead of Z, then the resulting ring
13.6.6 Completion
will be over A. For example, if E = {xy yx | x, y
X} , then the resulting ring will be the usual polynomial
Let R be a commutative ring, and let I be an ideal of R. ring with coecients in A in variables that are elements
=
The completion of R at I is the projective limit R
of X (It is also the same thing as the symmetric algebra
lim R/I n ; it is a commutative ring. The canonical homo- over A with symbols X.)
morphisms from R to the quotients R/I n induce a homo . The latter homomorphism is injec- In the category-theoretic terms, the formation S 7
morphism R R
tive if R is a noetherian integral domain and I is a proper set the by generated ring free theS is the left adjoint
ideal, or if R is a noetherian local ring with maximal ideal functor of the forgetful functor from the category of rings
I, by Krulls intersection theorem.[39] The construction is to Set (and it is often called the free ring functor.)
especially useful when I is a maximal ideal.
Let A, B be algebras over a commutative ring R. Then the

tensor product of R-modules A R B is a R-module. We
can turn it to a ring by extending linearly (xu)(yv) =
xy uv . See also: tensor product of algebras, change of
rings.
The basic example is the completion Zp of Z at the principal ideal (p) generated by a prime number p; it is called
the ring of p-adic integers. The completion can in this
case be constructed also from the p-adic absolute value on
Q. The p-adic absolute value on Q is a map x 7 |x| from
Q to R given by |n|p = pvp (n) where vp (n) denotes the
exponent of p in the prime factorization of a nonzero in- 13.7 Special kinds of rings
teger n into prime numbers (we also put |0|p = 0 and
|m/n|p = |m|p /|n|p ). It denes a distance function on
Q and the completion of Q as a metric space is denoted 13.7.1 Domains
by Qp. It is again a eld since the eld operations extend to the completion. The subring of Qp consisting of A nonzero ring with no nonzero zero-divisors is called a
domain. A commutative domain is called an integral doelements x with |x|p 1 is isomorphic to Zp.
main. The most important integral domains are princiSimilarly, the formal power series ring R[[t]] is the com- pal ideals domains, PID for short, and elds. A principal
pletion of R[t] at (t) .
ideal domain is an integral domain in which every ideal
is principal. An important class of integral domains that
See also: Hensels lemma.
13.7. SPECIAL KINDS OF RINGS

contain a PID is a unique factorization domain (UFD), an
integral domain in which every nonunit element is a product of prime elements (an element is prime if it generates
a prime ideal.) The fundamental question in algebraic
number theory is on the extent to which the ring of (generalized) integers in a number eld, where an ideal admits prime factorization, fails to be a PID.
Among theorems concerning a PID, the most important one is the structure theorem for nitely generated
modules over a principal ideal domain. The theorem
may be illustrated by the following application to linear
algebra.[41] Let V be a nite-dimensional vector space
over a eld k and f : V V a linear map with minimal polynomial q. Then, since k[t] is a unique factorization domain, q factors into powers of distinct irreducible
polynomials (i.e., prime elements):
79
asked the following question: given a division ring D and
a proper sub-division-ring S that is not contained in the
center, does each inner automorphism of D restrict to an
automorphism of S? The answer is negative: this is the
CartanBrauerHua theorem.
A cyclic algebra, introduced by L. E. Dickson, is a generalization of a quaternion algebra.
13.7.3 Semisimple rings

A ring is called a semisimple ring if it is semisimple as
a left module (or right module) over itself; i.e., a direct
sum of simple modules. A ring is called a semiprimitive
ring if its Jacobson radical is zero. (The Jacobson radical
is the intersection of all maximal left ideals.) A ring is
semisimple if and only if it is artinian and is semiprimitive.
q = pe11 ...pess .
An algebra over a eld k is artinian if and only if it has

nite dimension. Thus, a semisimple algebra over a eld
Letting t v = f (v) , we make V a k[t]-module. The
is necessarily nite-dimensional, while a simple algebra
structure theorem then says V is a direct sum of cyclic
may have innite dimension; e.g., the ring of dierential
modules, each of which is isomorphic to the module of
operators.
k
the form k[t]/(pi j ) . Now, if pi (t) = t i , then such a
cyclic module (for pi ) has a basis in which the restriction Any module over a semisimple ring is semisimple.
of f is represented by a Jordan matrix. Thus, if, say, k is (Proof: any free module over a semisimple ring is clearly
algebraically closed, then all pi 's are of the form t i semisimple and any module is a quotient of a free modand the above decomposition corresponds to the Jordan ule.)
canonical form of f.
Examples of semisimple rings:
In algebraic geometry, UFDs arise because of smoothness. More precisely, a point in a variety (over a perfect
eld) is smooth if the local ring at the point is a regular
local ring. A regular local ring is a UFD.[42]
The following is a chain of class inclusions that describes
the relationship between rings, domains and elds:
Commutative rings integral domains
integrally closed domains unique factorization
domains principal ideal domains Euclidean
domains elds
A matrix ring over a division ring is semisimple (actually simple).

The group ring k[G] of a nite group G over a eld
k is semisimple if the characteristic of k does not
divide the order of G. (Maschkes theorem)
The Weyl algebra (over a eld) is a simple ring; it
is not semisimple since it has innite dimension and
thus not artinian.
Cliord algebras are semisimple.
Semisimplicity is closely related to separability. An

algebra A over a eld k is said to be separable if the base
extension A k F is semisimple for any eld extension
A division ring is a ring such that every non-zero element
F /k . If A happens to be a eld, then this is equivalent to
is a unit. A commutative division ring is a eld. A promithe usual denition in eld theory (cf. separable extennent example of a division ring that is not a eld is the ring
sion.)
of quaternions. Any centralizer in a division ring is also a
division ring. In particular, the center of a division ring is
a eld. It turned out that every nite domain (in particular 13.7.4 Central simple algebra and Brauer
nite division ring) is a eld; in particular commutative
group
(the Wedderburns little theorem).
13.7.2
Division ring
Every module over a division ring is a free module (has a Main article: Central simple algebra
basis); consequently, much of linear algebra can be carried out over a division ring instead of a eld.
For a eld k, a k-algebra is central if its center is k and is
The study of conjugacy classes gures prominently in simple if it is a simple ring. Since the center of a simple kthe classical theory of division rings. Cartan famously algebra is a eld, any simple k-algebra is a central simple
80
CHAPTER 13. RING
algebra over its center. In this section, a central simple

algebra is assumed to have nite dimension. Also, we
mostly x the base eld; thus, an algebra refers to a kalgebra. The matrix ring of size n over a ring R will be
denoted by Rn .
convolution:
The SkolemNoether theorem states any automorphism

of a central simple algebra is inner.
It also comes with the valuation v such that v(f)

is the least element in the support of f. The
subring consisting of elements with nite support is called the group ring of G (which makes
sense even if G is not commutative). If G is the
ring of integers, then we recover the previous
example (by identifying f with the series whose
n-th coecient is f(n).)
(f g)(t) =
f (s)g(t s)
sG
Two central simple algebras A and B are said to be similar

if there are integers n and m such that A k kn B k
km .[43] Since kn k km knm , the similarity is an
equivalence relation. The similarity classes [A] with the
multiplication [A][B] = [A k B] form an abelian group
called the Brauer group of k and is denoted by Br(k) . By
the ArtinWedderburn theorem, a central simple algebra
is the matrix ring of a division ring; thus, each similarity See also: Novikov ring and uniserial ring.
class is represented by a unique division ring.
For example, Br(k) is trivial if k is a nite eld or an algebraically closed eld (more generally quasi-algebraically
closed eld; cf. Tsens theorem). Br(R) has order 2 13.8 Rings with extra structure
(a special case of the theorem of Frobenius). Finally,
if k is a nonarchimedean local eld (e.g., Qp ), then A ring may be viewed as an abelian group (by using the
Br(k) = Q/Z through the invariant map.
addition operation), with extra structure: namely, ring
Now, if F is a eld extension of k, then the base extension multiplication. In the same way, there are other mathk F induces Br(k) Br(F ) . Its kernel is denoted by ematical objects which may be considered as rings with
Br(F /k) . It consists of [A] such that A F is a matrix extra structure. For example:
k
ring over F (i.e., A is split by F.) If the extension is nite

and Galois, then Br(F /k) is canonically isomorphic to
H 2 (Gal(F /k), k ) .[44]
Azumaya algebras generalize the notion of central simple
algebras to a commutative local ring.
13.7.5
Valuation ring
Main article: valuation ring

If K is a eld, a valuation v is a group homomorphism
from the multiplicative group K * to a totally ordered
abelian group G such that, for any f, g in K with f + g
nonzero, v(f + g) min{v(f), v(g)}. The valuation ring
of v is the subring of K consisting of zero and all nonzero
f such that v(f) 0.
Examples:
The eld of formal Laurent series k((t)) over a eld k
comes with the valuation v such that v(f) is the least
degree of a nonzero term in f; the valuation ring of
v is the formal power series ring k[[t]] .
An associative algebra is a ring that is also a vector

space over a eld K such that the scalar multiplication distributes over the ring multiplication. For instance, the set of n-by-n matrices over the real eld
R has dimension n2 as a real vector space.
A ring R is a topological ring if its set of elements
R is given a topology which makes the addition map
( + : R R R ) and the multiplication map (
: R R R ) to be both continuous as maps between topological spaces (where X X inherits the
product topology or any other product in the category). For example, n-by-n matrices over the real
numbers could be given either the Euclidean topology, or the Zariski topology, and in either case one
would obtain a topological ring.
A -ring is a commutative ring R together with operations n : R R that are like n-th exterior powers:
n (x + y) =
i (x)ni (y)
More generally, given a eld k and a totally ordered abelian group G, let k((G)) be the set of all
functions from G to k whose supports (the sets of
points at which the functions are nonzero) are well
ordered. It is a eld with the multiplication given by
( )
For example, Z is a -ring with n (x) = nx
, the binomial coecients. The notion plays
a central rule in the algebraic approach to the
RiemannRoch theorem.
13.10. CATEGORY THEORETICAL DESCRIPTION
81
13.9 Some examples of the ubiquity 13.9.3 Representation ring of a group ring
of rings
To any group ring or Hopf algebra is associated its
representation ring or Green ring. The representation
Many dierent kinds of mathematical objects can be rings additive group is the free abelian group whose bafruitfully analyzed in terms of some associated ring.
sis are the indecomposable modules and whose addition
corresponds to the direct sum. Expressing a module in
terms of the basis is nding an indecomposable decom13.9.1 Cohomology ring of a topological position of the module. The multiplication is the tensor
product. When the algebra is semisimple, the representaspace
tion ring is just the character ring from character theory,
To any topological space X one can associate its integral which is more or less the Grothendieck group given a ring
structure.
cohomology ring
H (X, Z) =
H (X, Z),
i
13.9.4 Function eld of an irreducible algebraic variety
i=0
a graded ring. There are also homology groups Hi (X, Z)

of a space, and indeed these were dened rst, as a
useful tool for distinguishing between certain pairs of
topological spaces, like the spheres and tori, for which
the methods of point-set topology are not well-suited.
Cohomology groups were later dened in terms of homology groups in a way which is roughly analogous to
the dual of a vector space. To know each individual integral homology group is essentially the same as knowing
each individual integral cohomology group, because of
the universal coecient theorem. However, the advantage of the cohomology groups is that there is a natural
product, which is analogous to the observation that one
can multiply pointwise a k-multilinear form and an lmultilinear form to get a (k + l)-multilinear form.
To any irreducible algebraic variety is associated its

function eld. The points of an algebraic variety correspond to valuation rings contained in the function
eld and containing the coordinate ring. The study of
algebraic geometry makes heavy use of commutative
algebra to study geometric concepts in terms of ringtheoretic properties. Birational geometry studies maps
between the subrings of the function eld.
13.9.5 Face ring of a simplicial complex
Every simplicial complex has an associated face ring, also

called its StanleyReisner ring. This ring reects many of
the combinatorial properties of the simplicial complex, so
it is of particular interest in algebraic combinatorics. In
particular, the algebraic geometry of the StanleyReisner
The ring structure in cohomology provides the founda- ring was used to characterize the numbers of faces in each
tion for characteristic classes of ber bundles, intersec- dimension of simplicial polytopes.
tion theory on manifolds and algebraic varieties, Schubert
calculus and much more.
13.9.2
Burnside ring of a group
To any group is associated its Burnside ring which uses a

ring to describe the various ways the group can act on
a nite set. The Burnside rings additive group is the
free abelian group whose basis are the transitive actions
of the group and whose addition is the disjoint union of
the action. Expressing an action in terms of the basis
is decomposing an action into its transitive constituents.
The multiplication is easily expressed in terms of the
representation ring: the multiplication in the Burnside
ring is formed by writing the tensor product of two permutation modules as a permutation module. The ring
structure allows a formal way of subtracting one action
from another. Since the Burnside ring is contained as a
nite index subring of the representation ring, one can
pass easily from one to the other by extending the coecients from integers to the rational numbers.
13.10 Category theoretical description

Main article: Category of rings
Every ring can be thought of as a monoid in Ab, the
category of abelian groups (thought of as a monoidal category under the tensor product of Z -modules). The
monoid action of a ring R on an abelian group is simply
an R-module. Essentially, an R-module is a generalization of the notion of a vector space where rather than a
vector space over a eld, one has a vector space over a
ring.
Let (A, +) be an abelian group and let End(A) be its
endomorphism ring (see above). Note that, essentially,
End(A) is the set of all morphisms of A, where if f is in
End(A), and g is in End(A), the following rules may be
used to compute f + g and f g:
82
CHAPTER 13. RING
(f + g)(x) = f(x) + g(x)
13.11.3 Semiring
A semiring is obtained by weakening the assumption that

(R,+) is an abelian group to the assumption that (R,+) is
a commutative monoid, and adding the axiom that 0 a
where + as in f(x) + g(x) is addition in A, and func- = a 0 = 0 for all a in R (since it no longer follows from
tion composition is denoted from right to left. There- the other axioms).
fore, associated to any abelian group, is a ring. ConExample: a tropical semiring.
versely, given any ring, (R, +, ), (R, +) is an abelian
group. Furthermore, for every r in R, right (or left) multiplication by r gives rise to a morphism of (R, +), by right
(or left) distributivity. Let A = (R, +). Consider those 13.12 Other ring-like objects
endomorphisms of A, that factor through right (or left)
multiplication of R. In other words, let EndR(A) be the 13.12.1 Ring object in a category
set of all morphisms m of A, having the property that m(r
x) = r m(x). It was seen that every r in R gives rise to a Let C be a category with nite products. Let pt denote a
morphism of A: right multiplication by r. It is in fact true terminal object of C (an empty product). A ring object
a
that this association of any element of R, to a morphism in C is an object R equipped with morphisms R RR
of A, as a function from R to EndR(A), is an isomorphism
m
0
(additive
of rings. In this sense, therefore, any ring can be viewed (addition), Ri RR (multiplication), pt R
1
as the endomorphism ring of some abelian X-group (by identity), RR (additive inverse), and pt R (multiX-group, it is meant a group with X being its set of oper- plicative identity) satisfying the usual ring axioms. Equivators).[45] In essence, the most general form of a ring, is alently, a ring object is an object R equipped with a factorization of its functor of points hR = Hom(, R) :
the endomorphism group of some abelian X-group.
C op Sets through the category of rings: C op
Any ring can be seen as a preadditive category with a sinforgetful
gle object. It is therefore natural to consider arbitrary Rings Sets .
preadditive categories to be generalizations of rings. And
indeed, many denitions and theorems originally given
13.12.2 Ring scheme
for rings can be translated to this more general context.
Additive functors between preadditive categories generIn algebraic geometry, a ring scheme over a base scheme
alize the concept of ring homomorphism, and ideals in
S is a ring object in the category of S-schemes. One exadditive categories can be dened as sets of morphisms
ample is the ring scheme Wn over Spec Z, which for any
closed under addition and under composition with arbicommutative ring A returns the ring Wn(A) of p-isotypic
trary morphisms.
Witt vectors of length n over A.[47]
(f g)(x) = f(g(x))
13.11 Generalization
13.12.3 Ring spectrum
In algebraic topology, a ring spectrum is a spectrum X toAlgebraists have dened structures more general than gether with a multiplication : X X X and a unit
rings by weakening or dropping some of ring axioms.
map S X from the sphere spectrum S, such that the
ring axiom diagrams commute up to homotopy. In practice, it is common to dene a ring spectrum as a monoid
object in a good category of spectra such as the category
13.11.1 Rng
of symmetric spectra.
A rng is the same as a ring, except that the existence of a
multiplicative identity is not assumed.[46]
13.13 See also
13.11.2
Nonassociative ring
A nonassociative ring is an algebraic structure that satises all of the ring axioms but the associativity and the
existence of a multiplicative identity. A notable example is a Lie algebra. There exists some structure theory
for such algebras that generalizes the analogous results for
Lie algebras and associative algebras.
Algebra over a commutative ring

Algebraic structure
Categorical ring
Category of rings
Glossary of ring theory
13.15. CITATIONS
Nonassociative ring
Ring theory
Semiring
Spectrum of a ring
83
^ d: The transition from the integers to the rationals by
adding fractions is generalized by the quotient eld.
^ e: Many authors include commutativity of rings in
the set of ring axioms (see above) and therefore refer to
commutative rings as just rings.
Simplicial commutative ring

Special types of rings:
Boolean ring
Commutative ring
Dedekind ring
Dierential ring
Division ring (skew eld)
Exponential ring
Field
Integral domain
Lie ring
Local ring
Noetherian and artinian rings
Ordered ring
Principal ideal domain (PID)
Reduced ring
Regular ring
Ring of periods
Ring theory
SBI ring
Unique factorization domain (UFD)
Valuation ring and discrete valuation ring
Zero ring
13.14 Notes
^ a: Some authors only require that a ring be a semigroup
under multiplication; that is, do not require that there be
a multiplicative identity (1). See the section Notes on
the denition for more details.
^ b: Elements which do have multiplicative inverses are
called units, see Lang 2002, II.1, p. 84.
^ c: The closure axiom is already implied by the
condition that +/ be a binary operation. Some authors
therefore omit this axiom. Lang 2002
13.15 Citations
[1] Implicit in the assumption that "+" is a binary operation
is that 1) a + b is dened for all ordered pairs (a,b) of
elements a and b of R; 2) "+" is well-dened, that is, if a
+ b = c1 and a + b = c2 , then c1 = c2 ; and 3) R is closed
under "+", meaning that for any a and b in R, the value of
a + b is dened to be an element of R. The same applies to
multiplication. Closure would be an axiom, however, only
if, instead of binary operations on R, we had functions "+"
and "" a priori taking values in some larger set S.
[2] Nicolas Bourbaki (1970). "I.8. Algebra. SpringerVerlag.
[3] Saunders MacLane; Garrett Birkho (1967). Algebra.
AMS Chelsea. p. 85.
[4] Serge Lang (2002). Algebra (Third ed.). Springer-Verlag.
p. 83.
[5] The existence of 1 is not assumed by some authors. In
this article, and more generally in Wikipedia, we adopt
the most common convention of the existence of a multiplicative identity, and use the term rng if this existence is
not required. See next subsection
[6] I. M. Isaacs, Algebra: A Graduate Course, AMS, 1994,
p. 160.
[7] The development of Ring Theory
[8] Kleiner 1998, p. 27.
[9] Hilbert 1897.
[10]
[11] Cohn, Harvey (1980), Advanced Number Theory, New
York: Dover Publications, p. 49, ISBN 978-0-48664023-5
[12] Fraenkel, pp. 143145
[13] Jacobson (2009), p. 86, footnote 1.
[14] Fraenkel, p. 144, axiom R.
[15] Noether, p. 29.
[16] Fraenkel, p. 144, axiom R.
[17] Van der Waerden, 1930.
[18] Zariski and Samuel, 1958.
[19] Artin, p. 346.
[20] Atiyah and MacDonald, p. 1.
84
CHAPTER 13. RING
[21] Bourbaki, p. 96.

[22] Eisenbud, p. 11.
[23] Lang, p. 83.
[24] Gardner and Wiegandt 2003.
[25] Wilder 1965, p. 176.
[26] Rotman 1998, p. 7.
[27] This is the denition of Bourbaki. Some other authors
such as Lang require a zero divisor to be nonzero.
[28] In the unital case, like addition and multiplication, the
multiplicative identity must be restricted from the original ring. The denition is also equivalent to requiring the
set-theoretic inclusion is a ring homomorphism.
[29] Cohn 2003, Theorem 4.5.1
[30] such a central idempotent is called centrally primitive.
[31] Jacobson 1974, Theorem 2.10
[32] Bourbaki Algbre commutative, Ch 5. 1, Lemma 2
[33] Cohn 2003, 4.4
[34] Lang 2002, Ch. XVII. Proposition 1.1.
[35] Cohn 1995, Proposition 1.3.1.
[36] Eisenbud 2004, Exercise 2.2
[37] Milne 2012, Proposition 6.4
[38] Milne 2012, The end of Chapter 7
[39] Atiyah and Macdonald, Theorem 10.17 and its corollaries.
[40] Cohn 1995, pg. 242.
Bourbaki, N. (1998).
Springer.
Algebra I, Chapters 1-3.
Cohn, Paul Moritz (2003), Basic algebra: groups,

rings, and elds, Springer, ISBN 978-1-85233-5878.
Eisenbud, David (1995). Commutative algebra with
a view toward algebraic geometry. Springer.
Gardner, J.W.; Wiegandt, R. (2003). Radical Theory of Rings. Chapman & Hall/CRC Pure and Applied Mathematics. ISBN 0824750330.
Herstein, I. N. (1994) [reprint of the 1968 original].
Noncommutative rings. Carus Mathematical Monographs 15. With an afterword by Lance W. Small.
Mathematical Association of America. ISBN 088385-015-X.
Jacobson, Nathan (2009). Basic algebra 1 (2nd ed.).
Dover. ISBN 978-0-486-47189-1.
Jacobson, Nathan (1964). Structure of rings.
American Mathematical Society Colloquium Publications (Revised ed.) 37.
Jacobson, Nathan (1943). The Theory of Rings.
American Mathematical Society Mathematical Surveys I.
Kaplansky, Irving (1974), Commutative rings (Revised ed.), University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226-42454-5, MR 0345945.
Lam, Tsit Yuen (2001). A rst course in noncommutative rings. Graduate Texts in Mathematics 131
(2nd ed.). Springer. ISBN 0-387-95183-0.
[41] Lang 2002, Ch XIV, 2

[42] Weibel, Ch 1, Theorem 3.8
[43] Milne CFT, Ch IV, 2
[44] Serre, J-P ., Applications algbriques de la cohomologie
des groupes, I, II, Sminaire Henri Cartan, 1950/51
[45] Jacobson (2009), p. 162, Theorem 3.2.
[46] Jacobson 2009.
[47] Serre, p. 44.
13.16 References
13.16.1
General references
Lam, Tsit Yuen (2003). Exercises in classical ring

theory. Problem Books in Mathematics (2nd ed.).
Springer. ISBN 0-387-00500-5.
Lam, Tsit Yuen (1999). Lectures on modules
and rings. Graduate Texts in Mathematics 189.
Springer. ISBN 0-387-98428-3.
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-95385-4, Zbl
0984.00001, MR 1878556.
Matsumura, Hideyuki (1989). Commutative Ring
Theory. Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 978-0-521-36764-6.
Artin, Michael (1991). Algebra. Prentice-Hall.
Milne, J. A primer of commutative algebra.
Atiyah, Michael; Macdonald, Ian G. (1969). Introduction to commutative algebra. AddisonWesley.
Rotman, Joseph (1998), Galois Theory (2nd ed.),

Springer, ISBN 0-387-98541-7.
13.16. REFERENCES
van der Waerden, Bartel Leendert (1930), Moderne
Algebra. Teil I, Die Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften 33, Springer, ISBN 9783-540-56799-8, MR 0009016MR 0037277MR
0069787MR 0122834MR 0177027MR 0263581.
Wilder, Raymond Louis (1965). Introduction to
Foundations of Mathematics. Wiley.
Zariski, Oscar; Samuel, Pierre (1958). Commutative Algebra 1. Van Nostrand.
13.16.2
Special references
Balcerzyk, Stanisaw; Jzeak, Tadeusz (1989),

Commutative Noetherian and Krull rings, Mathematics and its Applications, Chichester: Ellis Horwood
Ltd., ISBN 978-0-13-155615-7.
Balcerzyk, Stanisaw; Jzeak, Tadeusz (1989),
Dimension, multiplicity and homological methods,
Mathematics and its Applications, Chichester: Ellis Horwood Ltd., ISBN 978-0-13-155623-2.
Ballieu, R. (1947). Anneaux nis; systmes hypercomplexes de rang trois sur un corps commutatif.
Ann. Soc. Sci. Bruxelles I (61): 222227.
Berrick, A. J.; Keating, M. E. (2000). An Introduction to Rings and Modules with K-Theory in View.
Cohn, Paul Moritz (1995), Skew Fields: Theory of
General Division Rings, Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications 57, Cambridge University
Press, ISBN 9780521432177.
85
Milne, J. Class eld theory.
Nagata, Masayoshi (1962) [1975 reprint], Local
rings, Interscience Tracts in Pure and Applied Mathematics 13, Interscience Publishers, ISBN 978-088275-228-0, MR 0155856.
Pierce, Richard S. (1982). Associative algebras.
Graduate Texts in Mathematics 88. Springer. ISBN
0-387-90693-2.
Serre, Jean-Pierre (1979), Local elds, Graduate
Texts in Mathematics 67, Springer.
Springer, Tonny A. (1977), Invariant theory, Lecture Notes in Mathematics 585, Springer.
Weibel, Charles. The K-book: An introduction to
algebraic K-theory.
Zariski, Oscar; Samuel, Pierre (1975). Commutative algebra. Graduate Texts in Mathematics. 2829. Springer. ISBN 0-387-90089-6.
13.16.3 Primary sources

Fraenkel, A. (1914). "ber die Teiler der Null und
die Zerlegung von Ringen. J. reine angew. Math.
145: 139176.
Hilbert, David (1897). Die Theorie der algebraischen Zahlkrper. Jahresbericht der Deutschen
Mathematiker Vereinigung 4.
Noether, Emmy (1921).
Idealtheorie in
Ringbereichen. Math. Annalen 83: 2466.
doi:10.1007/bf01464225.
Eisenbud, David (1995), Commutative algebra.

With a view toward algebraic geometry., Graduate 13.16.4 Historical references
Texts in Mathematics 150, Springer, ISBN 978-0387-94268-1, MR 1322960.
History of ring theory at the MacTutor Archive
Gilmer, R.; Mott, J. (1973). Associative Rings
of Order. Proc. Japan Acad. 49: 795799.
doi:10.3792/pja/1195519146.
Birkho, G. and Mac Lane, S. A Survey of Modern

Algebra, 5th ed. New York: Macmillian, 1996.
Harris, J. W.; Stocker, H. (1998). Handbook of

Mathematics and Computational Science. Springer.
Bronshtein, I. N. and Semendyayev, K. A.

Handbook of Mathematics, 4th ed. New York:
Springer-Verlag, 2004. ISBN 3-540-43491-7.
Jacobson, Nathan (1945), Structure theory of algebraic algebras of bounded degree, Annals of Mathematics (Annals of Mathematics) 46 (4): 695707,
doi:10.2307/1969205, ISSN 0003-486X, JSTOR
1969205.
Faith, Carl, Rings and things and a ne array of

twentieth century associative algebra. Mathematical
Surveys and Monographs, 65. American Mathematical Society, Providence, RI, 1999. xxxiv+422 pp.
ISBN 0-8218-0993-8.
Knuth, D. E. (1998). The Art of Computer Programming. Vol. 2: Seminumerical Algorithms (3rd ed.).
AddisonWesley.
It, K. (Ed.). Rings. 368 in Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mathematics, 2nd ed., Vol. 2. Cambridge,
MA: MIT Press, 1986.
Korn, G. A.; Korn, T. M. (2000). Mathematical

Handbook for Scientists and Engineers. Dover.
Kleiner, I., The Genesis of the Abstract Ring Concept, Amer. Math. Monthly 103, 417424, 1996.
86
Kleiner, I., From numbers to rings: the early history of ring theory, Elem. Math. 53 (1998), 1835.
Renteln, P. and Dundes, A. Foolproof: A Sampling of Mathematical Folk Humor. Notices Amer.
Math. Soc. 52, 2434, 2005.
Singmaster, D. and Bloom, D. M. Problem
E1648. Amer. Math. Monthly 71, 918920, 1964.
Van der Waerden, B. L. A History of Algebra. New
York: Springer-Verlag, 1985.
CHAPTER 13. RING
Chapter 14
Subgroup
This article is about the mathematical concept. For the
galaxy-related concept, see galaxy group.
In group theory, a branch of mathematics, given a group
G under a binary operation , a subset H of G is called
a subgroup of G if H also forms a group under the operation . More precisely, H is a subgroup of G if the
restriction of to H H is a group operation on H. This
is usually denoted H G, read as "H is a subgroup of G".
The trivial subgroup of any group is the subgroup {e}
consisting of just the identity element.
A proper subgroup of a group G is a subgroup H which
is a proper subset of G (i.e. H G). This is usually represented notationally by H < G, read as "H is a proper
subgroup of G". Some authors also exclude the trivial
group from being proper (i.e. {e} H G).[1][2]
If H is a subgroup of G, then G is sometimes called an
overgroup of H.
The same denitions apply more generally when G is an
arbitrary semigroup, but this article will only deal with
subgroups of groups. The group G is sometimes denoted
by the ordered pair (G, ), usually to emphasize the operation when G carries multiple algebraic or other structures.
This article will write ab for a b, as is usual.
14.1 Basic properties of subgroups

A subset H of the group G is a subgroup of G if and
only if it is nonempty and closed under products and
inverses. (The closure conditions mean the following: whenever a and b are in H, then ab and a1 are
also in H. These two conditions can be combined
into one equivalent condition: whenever a and b are
in H, then ab1 is also in H.) In the case that H is
nite, then H is a subgroup if and only if H is closed
under products. (In this case, every element a of H
generates a nite cyclic subgroup of H, and the inverse of a is then a1 = an 1 , where n is the order
of a.)
87
The above condition can be stated in terms of a

homomorphism; that is, H is a subgroup of a group
G if and only if H is a subset of G and there is an
inclusion homomorphism (i.e., i(a) = a for every a)
from H to G.
The identity of a subgroup is the identity of the
group: if G is a group with identity eG, and H is
a subgroup of G with identity eH, then eH = eG.
The inverse of an element in a subgroup is the inverse of the element in the group: if H is a subgroup
of a group G, and a and b are elements of H such that
ab = ba = eH, then ab = ba = eG.
The intersection of subgroups A and B is again a
subgroup.[3] The union of subgroups A and B is a
subgroup if and only if either A or B contains the
other, since for example 2 and 3 are in the union of
2Z and 3Z but their sum 5 is not. Another example
is the union of the x-axis and the y-axis in the plane
(with the addition operation); each of these objects
is a subgroup but their union is not. This also serves
as an example of two subgroups, whose intersection
is precisely the identity.
If S is a subset of G, then there exists a minimum
subgroup containing S, which can be found by taking
the intersection of all of subgroups containing S; it
is denoted by <S> and is said to be the subgroup
generated by S. An element of G is in <S> if and
only if it is a nite product of elements of S and their
inverses.
Every element a of a group G generates the cyclic
subgroup <a>. If <a> is isomorphic to Z/nZ for
some positive integer n, then n is the smallest positive integer for which an = e, and n is called the order
of a. If <a> is isomorphic to Z, then a is said to have
innite order.
The subgroups of any given group form a complete
lattice under inclusion, called the lattice of subgroups. (While the inmum here is the usual settheoretic intersection, the supremum of a set of subgroups is the subgroup generated by the set-theoretic
union of the subgroups, not the set-theoretic union
88
CHAPTER 14. SUBGROUP

itself.) If e is the identity of G, then the trivial Right cosets are dened analogously: Ha = {ha : h in
group {e} is the minimum subgroup of G, while the H}. They are also the equivalence classes for a suitable
maximum subgroup is the group G itself.
equivalence relation and their number is equal to [G : H].
0
1
2
3
G
4 H
5 1+H
6 2+H
7 3+H
G is the group Z/8Z , the integers mod 8 under addition. The

subgroup H contains only 0 and 4, and is isomorphic to Z/2Z
. There are four left cosets of H: H itself, 1+H, 2+H, and 3+H
(written using additive notation since this is an additive group).
Together they partition the entire group G into equal-size, nonoverlapping sets. The index [G : H] is 4.
14.2 Cosets and Lagranges theorem

Given a subgroup H and some a in G, we dene the left
coset aH = {ah : h in H}. Because a is invertible, the map
: H aH given by (h) = ah is a bijection. Furthermore, every element of G is contained in precisely one
left coset of H; the left cosets are the equivalence classes
corresponding to the equivalence relation a1 ~ a2 if and
only if a1 1 a2 is in H. The number of left cosets of H is
called the index of H in G and is denoted by [G : H].
Lagranges theorem states that for a nite group G and a
subgroup H,
|G|
[G : H] =
|H|
where |G| and |H| denote the orders of G and H, respectively. In particular, the order of every subgroup of G
(and the order of every element of G) must be a divisor
of |G|.
If aH = Ha for every a in G, then H is said to be a normal

subgroup. Every subgroup of index 2 is normal: the left
cosets, and also the right cosets, are simply the subgroup
and its complement. More generally, if p is the lowest
prime dividing the order of a nite group G, then any
subgroup of index p (if such exists) is normal.
14.3 Example: Subgroups of Z8

Let G be the cyclic group Z8 whose elements are
G = {0, 2, 4, 6, 1, 3, 5, 7}
and whose group operation is addition modulo eight. Its
Cayley table is
This group has two nontrivial subgroups: J={0,4} and
H={0,2,4,6}, where J is also a subgroup of H. The Cayley
table for H is the top-left quadrant of the Cayley table for
G. The group G is cyclic, and so are its subgroups. In
general, subgroups of cyclic groups are also cyclic.
14.4 Example: Subgroups of S

(the symmetric group on 4 elements)
Every group has as many small subgroups as neutral elements on the main diagonal:
The trivial group and two-element groups Z2 . These
small subgroups are not counted in the following list.
14.4.1 12 elements
14.4.2 8 elements
14.4.3 6 elements
14.4.4 4 elements
14.4.5 3 elements
14.5 Other examples

An ideal in a ring R is a subgroup of the additive
group of R .
Let A be an abelian group; the elements of A that
have nite period form a subgroup of A called the
torsion subgroup of A .
14.8. REFERENCES
The alternating group A4 showing only the even permutations

Subgroups:
14.6 See also

Cartan subgroup
Fitting subgroup
Stable subgroup
Fixed-point subgroup
14.7 Notes
[1] Hungerford (1974), p. 32
[2] Artin (2011), p. 43
[3] Jacobson (2009), p. 41
14.8 References
Jacobson, Nathan (2009), Basic algebra 1 (2nd ed.),
Dover, ISBN 978-0-486-47189-1.
Hungerford, Thomas (1974), Algebra (1st ed.),
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 9780387905181.
Artin, Michael (2011), Algebra (2nd ed.), Prentice
Hall, ISBN 9780132413770.
89
Chapter 15
Symmetry
For other uses, see Symmetry (disambiguation).
Symmetry (from Greek symmetria agree-
SYMMETRIC
ASYMMETRIC
3
Leonardo da Vinci's 'Vitruvian Man' (ca. 1487) is often used as a
representation of symmetry in the human body and, by extension,
the natural universe.
432
Mathematical symmetry may be observed with respect to the passage of time; as a spatial relationSphere symmetrical group o representing an octahedral rotational ship; through geometric transformations such as scaling,
symmetry. The yellow region shows the fundamental domain.
reection, and rotation; through other kinds of functional
transformations; and as an aspect of abstract objects,
ment in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement)[1] in theoretic models, language, music and even knowledge
everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and itself.[3][lower-alpha 2]
beautiful proportion and balance.[2][lower-alpha 1] In mathematics, symmetry has a more precise denition, that an This article describes symmetry from three perspectives:
object is invariant to a transformation, such as reection in mathematics, including geometry, the most familiar
but including other transforms too. Although these two type of symmetry for many people; in science and nature;
meanings of symmetry can sometimes be told apart, and in the arts, covering architecture, art and music.
The opposite of symmetry is asymmetry.
they are related, so they are here discussed together.
90
15.1. IN MATHEMATICS
91
15.1.1 In geometry
Main article: Symmetry (geometry)
A geometric shape or object is symmetric if it can be di-
A fractal-like shape that has reectional symmetry, rotational

symmetry and self-similarity, three forms of symmetry. This
shape is obtained by a nite subdivision rule.
The triskelion has 3-fold rotational symmetry.
vided into two or more identical pieces that are arranged

in an organized fashion.[4] This means that an object is
symmetric if there is a transformation that moves individual pieces of the object but doesn't change the overall
shape. The type of symmetry is determined by the way
the pieces are organized, or by the type of transformation:
An object has reectional symmetry (line or mirror
symmetry) if there is a line going through it which
divides it into two pieces which are mirror images
of each other.[5]
An object has rotational symmetry if the object can
be rotated about a xed point without changing the
overall shape.[6]
An object has translational symmetry if it can be
translated without changing its overall shape.[7]
An object has helical symmetry if it can be simultaneously translated and rotated in three-dimensional
space along a line known as a screw axis.[8]
An object has scale symmetry if it does not change
shape when it is expanded or contracted.[9] Fractals
also exhibit a form of scale symmetry, where small
portions of the fractal are similar in shape to large
portions.[10]
Symmetric arcades of a portico in the Great Mosque of Kairouan
also called the Mosque of Uqba, in Tunisia.
Other symmetries include glide reection symmetry

and rotoreection symmetry.
15.1.2 In logic
15.1 In mathematics
A dyadic relation R is symmetric if and only if, whenever

its true that Rab, its true that Rba.[11] Thus, is the same
92
CHAPTER 15. SYMMETRY
age as is symmetrical, for if Paul is the same age as Mary, symmetries of particles; and supersymmetry of physical
then Mary is the same age as Paul.
theories.
Symmetric binary logical connectives are and (, or &),
or (, or |), biconditional (if and only if) (), nand (notand, or ), xor (not-biconditional, or ), and nor (not-or,
or ).
15.1.3
Other areas of mathematics
Main article: Symmetry (mathematics)

Generalizing from geometrical symmetry in the previous
section, we say that a mathematical object is symmetric
with respect to a given mathematical operation, if, when
applied to the object, this operation preserves some property of the object.[12] The set of operations that preserve
a given property of the object form a group.
In general, every kind of structure in mathematics will
have its own kind of symmetry. Examples include even
and odd functions in calculus; the symmetric group in
abstract algebra; symmetric matrices in linear algebra;
and the Galois group in Galois theory. In statistics, it
appears as symmetric probability distributions, and as
skewness, asymmetry of distributions.
15.2 In science and nature

Further information: Patterns in nature
15.2.1
Many animals are approximately mirror-symmetric, though internal organs are often arranged asymmetrically.
In physics
Main article: Symmetry in physics

Symmetry in physics has been generalized to mean
invariancethat is, lack of changeunder any kind of
transformation, for example arbitrary coordinate transformations.[13] This concept has become one of the most
powerful tools of theoretical physics, as it has become evident that practically all laws of nature originate in symmetries. In fact, this role inspired the Nobel laureate PW
Anderson to write in his widely read 1972 article More is
Dierent that it is only slightly overstating the case to say
that physics is the study of symmetry.[14] See Noethers
theorem (which, in greatly simplied form, states that for
every continuous mathematical symmetry, there is a corresponding conserved quantity; a conserved current, in
Noethers original language);[15] and also, Wigners classication, which says that the symmetries of the laws of
physics determine the properties of the particles found in
nature.[16]
15.2.2 In biology
Further information: symmetry in biology and facial
symmetry
Bilateral animals, including humans, are more or less
symmetric with respect to the sagittal plane which divides the body into left and right halves.[17] Animals that
move in one direction necessarily have upper and lower
sides, head and tail ends, and therefore a left and a right.
The head becomes specialized with a mouth and sense organs, and the body becomes bilaterally symmetric for the
purpose of movement, with symmetrical pairs of muscles and skeletal elements, though internal organs often
remain asymmetric.[18]
Plants and sessile (attached) animals such as sea

anemones often have radial or rotational symmetry,
which suits them because food or threats may arrive
from any direction. Fivefold symmetry is found in the
Important symmetries in physics include continuous sym- echinoderms, the group that includes starsh, sea urchins,
metries and discrete symmetries of spacetime; internal and sea lilies.[19]
15.4. IN THE ARTS
15.2.3
In chemistry
93
Further information: Mathematics and art
Main article: molecular symmetry
15.4.1 In architecture
Symmetry is important to chemistry because it undergirds essentially all specic interactions between Further information: Mathematics and architecture
molecules in nature (i.e., via the interaction of natural Symmetry nds its ways into architecture at every scale,
and human-made chiral molecules with inherently chiral biological systems). The control of the symmetry of
molecules produced in modern chemical synthesis contributes to the ability of scientists to oer therapeutic
interventions with minimal side eects. A rigorous understanding of symmetry explains fundamental observations in quantum chemistry, and in the applied areas of
spectroscopy and crystallography. The theory and application of symmetry to these areas of physical science
draws heavily on the mathematical area of group theory.[20]
15.3 In social interactions

People observe the symmetrical nature, often including
asymmetrical balance, of social interactions in a variety
of contexts. These include assessments of Reciprocity,
empathy, sympathy, apology, dialog, respect, justice, and
revenge. Reective equilibrium is the balance that may be
attained through deliberative mutual adjustment among
general principles and specic judgments.[21] Symmetrical interactions send the moral message we are all the
same while asymmetrical interactions may send the message I am special; better than you. Peer relationships,
such as can be governed by the golden rule, are based
on symmetry, whereas power relationships are based on
asymmetry.[22] Symmetrical relationships can to some
degree be maintained by simple (game theory) strategies
seen in symmetric games such as tit for tat.[23]
Seen from the side, the Taj Mahal has bilateral symmetry; from
the top (in plan), it has fourfold symmetry.
from the overall external views of buildings such as

Gothic cathedrals and The White House, through the layout of the individual oor plans, and down to the design of
individual building elements such as tile mosaics. Islamic
buildings such as the Taj Mahal and the Lotfollah mosque
make elaborate use of symmetry both in their structure and in their ornamentation.[24][25] Moorish buildings
like the Alhambra are ornamented with complex patterns made using translational and reection symmetries
as well as rotations.[26]
It has been said that only bad architects rely on a symmetrical layout of blocks, masses and structures";[27]
Modernist architecture, starting with International style,
relies instead on wings and balance of masses.[27]
15.4.2 In pottery and metal vessels
15.4 In the arts
Clay pots thrown on a pottery wheel acquire rotational symmetry.

The ceiling of Lotfollah mosque, Isfahan, Iran has 8-fold symmetries.
Since the earliest uses of pottery wheels to help shape clay
94
vessels, pottery has had a strong relationship to symmetry. Pottery created using a wheel acquires full rotational
symmetry in its cross-section, while allowing substantial
freedom of shape in the vertical direction. Upon this inherently symmetrical starting point, potters from ancient
times onwards have added patterns that modify the rotational symmetry to achieve visual objectives.
dians used bold diagonals and rectangular motifs. Many

Oriental rugs have intricate reected centers and borders that translate a pattern. Not surprisingly, rectangular
rugs typically use quadrilateral symmetrythat is, motifs
that are reected across both the horizontal and vertical
axes.[30][31]
Cast metal vessels lacked the inherent rotational symmetry of wheel-made pottery, but otherwise provided a similar opportunity to decorate their surfaces with patterns
pleasing to those who used them. The ancient Chinese,
for example, used symmetrical patterns in their bronze
castings as early as the 17th century BC. Bronze vessels exhibited both a bilateral main motif and a repetitive
translated border design.[28]
15.4.5 In music
15.4.3
In quilts
Major and minor triads on the white piano keys are

symmetrical to the D. (compare article) (le)
Symmetry is not restricted to the visual arts. Its role in
the history of music touches many aspects of the creation
and perception of music.
Musical form
Symmetry has been used as a formal constraint by many
composers, such as the arch (swell) form (ABCBA) used
by Steve Reich, Bla Bartk, and James Tenney. In classical music, Bach used the symmetry concepts of permutation and invariance.[32]
Pitch structures
Symmetry is also an important consideration in the

formation of scales and chords, traditional or tonal
music being made up of non-symmetrical groups of
pitches, such as the diatonic scale or the major chord.
Symmetrical scales or chords, such as the whole tone
scale, augmented chord, or diminished seventh chord
(diminished-diminished seventh), are said to lack direction or a sense of forward motion, are ambiguous as to
the key or tonal center, and have a less specic diatonic
functionality. However, composers such as Alban Berg,
Kitchen Kaleidoscope Block
Bla Bartk, and George Perle have used axes of symmetry and/or interval cycles in an analogous way to keys or
As quilts are made from square blocks (usually 9, 16, or non-tonal tonal centers.
25 pieces to a block) with each smaller piece usually conPerle (1992)[33] explains CE, DF, [and] EbG, are
sisting of fabric triangles, the craft lends itself readily to
dierent instances of the same interval the other kind
the application of symmetry.[29]
of identity. has to do with axes of symmetry. CE
belongs to a family of symmetrically related dyads as follows:"
15.4.4 In carpets and rugs
Thus in addition to being part of the interval-4 family,
CE is also a part of the sum-4 family (with C equal to
0).
Interval cycles are symmetrical and thus non-diatonic.
However, a seven pitch segment of C5 (the cycle of fths,
which are enharmonic with the cycle of fourths) will produce the diatonic major scale. Cyclic tonal progressions
in the works of Romantic composers such as Gustav
Persian rug with quadrilateral symmetry
Mahler and Richard Wagner form a link with the cyclic
A long tradition of the use of symmetry in carpet and rug pitch successions in the atonal music of Modernists such
patterns spans a variety of cultures. American Navajo In- as Bartk, Alexander Scriabin, Edgard Varse, and the
15.5. SEE ALSO
95
Vienna school. At the same time, these progressions signal the end of tonality.
15.5 See also
The rst extended composition consistently based on

symmetrical pitch relations was probably Alban Bergs
Quartet, Op. 3 (1910).[34]
Burnsides lemma
Chirality
Even and odd functions
Equivalency
Tone rows or pitch class sets which are invariant under
retrograde are horizontally symmetrical, under inversion
vertically. See also Asymmetric rhythm.
15.4.6
In other arts and crafts
Fixed points of isometry groups in Euclidean space

center of symmetry
Isotropy
Spacetime symmetries
Spontaneous symmetry breaking
Symmetry-breaking constraints
Symmetric relation
Symmetries of polyiamonds
Symmetries of polyominoes
Symmetry group
Time symmetry
Wallpaper group
Celtic knotwork
Symmetries appear in the design of objects of all kinds.

Examples include beadwork, furniture, sand paintings,
knotwork, masks, and musical instruments. Symmetries
are central to the art of M.C. Escher and the many applications of tessellation in art and craft forms such as
wallpaper, ceramic tilework, batik, ikat, carpet-making,
and many kinds of textile and embroidery patterns.[35]
15.4.7
In aesthetics
15.6 Notes
[1] For example, Aristotle ascribed spherical shape to the
heavenly bodies, attributing this formally dened geometric measure of symmetry to the natural order and perfection of the cosmos.
[2] Symmetric objects can be material, such as a person,
crystal, quilt, oor tiles, or molecule, or it can be an
abstract structure such as a mathematical equation or a
series of tones (music).
Main article: Symmetry (physical attractiveness)
15.7 References
The relationship of symmetry to aesthetics is complex. Humans nd bilateral symmetry in faces physically
attractive;[36] it indicates health and genetic tness.[37][38]
Opposed to this is the tendency for excessive symmetry
to be perceived as boring or uninteresting. People prefer
shapes that have some symmetry, but enough complexity
to make them interesting.[39]
15.4.8
In literature
Symmetry can be found in various forms in literature,

a simple example being the palindrome where a brief
text reads the same forwards or backwards. Stories may
have a symmetrical structure, as in the rise:fall pattern of
Beowulf.
[1] symmetry. Online Etymology Dictionary.

[2] Zee, A. (2007). Fearful Symmetry. Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13482-6.
[3] Mainzer, Klaus (2005). Symmetry And Complexity: The
Spirit and Beauty of Nonlinear Science. World Scientic.
ISBN 981-256-192-7.
[4] E. H. Lockwood, R. H. Macmillan, Geometric Symmetry,
London: Cambridge Press, 1978
[5] Weyl, Hermann (1982) [1952]. Symmetry. Princeton:
Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02374-3.
[6] Singer, David A. (1998). Geometry: Plane and Fancy.
Springer Science & Business Media.
96
[7] Stenger, Victor J. (2000) and Mahou Shiro (2007). Timeless Reality. Prometheus Books. Especially chapter 12.
Nontechnical.
[26] Derry, Gregory N. (2002). What Science Is and How It

Works. Princeton University Press. pp. 269. ISBN 9781-4008-2311-6.
[8] Bottema, O, and B. Roth, Theoretical Kinematics, Dover

Publications (September 1990)
[27] Dunlap, David W. (31 July 2009). Behind the Scenes:

Edgar Martins Speaks. New York Times. Retrieved 11
November 2014. My starting point for this construction
was a simple statement which I once read (and which does
not necessarily reect my personal views): Only a bad architect relies on symmetry; instead of symmetrical layout
of blocks, masses and structures, Modernist architecture
relies on wings and balance of masses.
[9] Tian Yu Cao Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Field

Theory Cambridge University Press p.154-155
[10] Gouyet, Jean-Franois (1996). Physics and fractal structures. Paris/New York: Masson Springer. ISBN 978-0387-94153-0.
[11] Josiah Royce, Ignas K. Skrupskelis (2005) The Basic
Writings of Josiah Royce: Logic, loyalty, and community
(Google eBook) Fordham Univ Press, p. 790
[12] Christopher G. Morris (1992) Academic Press Dictionary
of Science and Technology Gulf Professional Publishing
[13] Costa, Giovanni; Fogli, Gianluigi (2012). Symmetries
and Group Theory in Particle Physics: An Introduction to
Space-Time and Internal Symmetries. Springer Science &
Business Media. p. 112.
[14] Anderson, P.W. (1972).
More is Different (PDF). Science 177 (4047):
393
396.
Bibcode:1972Sci...177..393A.
doi:10.1126/science.177.4047.393. PMID 17796623.
[15] Kosmann-Schwarzbach, Yvette (2010). The Noether theorems: Invariance and conservation laws in the twentieth
century. Sources and Studies in the History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Springer-Verlag. ISBN 978-0387-87867-6.
[16] Wigner, E. P. (1939), On unitary representations of
the inhomogeneous Lorentz group, Annals of Mathematics 40 (1): 149204, Bibcode:1939AnMat..40..149W,
doi:10.2307/1968551, MR 1503456.
[28] The Art of Chinese Bronzes. Chinavoc (2007-11-19).

Retrieved on 2013-04-16.
[29] Quate:
Exploring Geometry Through Quilts.
Its.guilford.k12.nc.us. Retrieved on 2013-04-16.
[30] Marla Mallett Textiles & Tribal Oriental Rugs.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The
[31] Dilucchio: Navajo Rugs. Navajocentral.org (2003-1026). Retrieved on 2013-04-16.

[32] see (Fugue No. 21, pdf or Shockwave)
[33] Perle, George (1992). Symmetry, the twelve-tone scale,
and tonality. Contemporary Music Review 6 (2): 8196.
doi:10.1080/07494469200640151.
[34] Perle, George (1990). The Listening Composer. University of California Press.
[35] Cucker, Felix (2013). Manifold Mirrors: The Crossing
Paths of the Arts and Mathematics. Cambridge University
Press. pp. 7778, 83, 89, 103. ISBN 978-0-521-728768.
[17] Valentine, James W. Bilateria. AccessScience. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
[36] Grammer, K.; Thornhill, R. (1994). Human (Homo

sapiens) facial attractiveness and sexual selection: the role
of symmetry and averageness. Journal of Comparative
Psychology (Washington, D.C.) 108 (3): 23342.
[18] Hickman, Cleveland P.; Roberts, Larry S.; Larson, Allan (2002). Animal Diversity (Third Edition)" (PDF).
Chapter 8: Acoelomate Bilateral Animals. McGraw-Hill.
p. 139. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
[37] Rhodes, Gillian; Zebrowitz, Leslie, A. (2002). Facial Attractiveness - Evolutionary, Cognitive, and Social Perspectives. Ablex. ISBN 1-56750-636-4.
[20] Lowe, John P; Peterson, Kirk (2005). Quantum Chemistry

(Third ed.). Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-457551-X.
[38] Jones, B. C., Little, A. C., Tiddeman, B. P., Burt, D. M.,

& Perrett, D. I. (2001). Facial symmetry and judgements
of apparent health Support for a good genes explanation of the attractiveness symmetry relationship, 22,
417429.
[21] Daniels, Norman (2003-04-28). Reective Equilibrium. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
[39] Arnheim, Rudolf (1969). Visual Thinking. University of

California Press.
[19] Stewart, Ian (2001). What Shape is a Snowake? Magical

Numbers in Nature. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. pp. 6465.
[22] Emotional Competency: Symmetry

[23] Lutus, P. (2008). The Symmetry Principle. Retrieved
28 September 2015.
[24] Williams:
Symmetry in Architecture.
Members.tripod.com (1998-12-31). Retrieved on 2013-04-16.
[25] Aslaksen:
Mathematics in Art and Architecture.
Math.nus.edu.sg. Retrieved on 2013-04-16.

The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved: How Mathematical Genius Discovered the Language of Symmetry, Mario Livio, Souvenir Press 2006, ISBN 0-28563743-6
15.9 External links

Dutch: Symmetry Around a Point in the Plane
Chapman: Aesthetics of Symmetry
ISIS Symmetry
97
Chapter 16
Symmetry group
Not to be confused with Symmetric group.
16.1 Introduction
This article is about the abstract algebraic structures. For
other uses, see Symmetry group (disambiguation).
In abstract algebra, the symmetry group of an object The objects may be geometric gures, images, and patterns, such as a wallpaper pattern. The denition can be
made more precise by specifying what is meant by image or pattern, e.g., a function of position with values in a
set of colors. For symmetry of physical objects, one may
also want to take their physical composition into account.
The group of isometries of space induces a group action
on objects in it.
180
180
180
180
The symmetry group is sometimes also called full symmetry group in order to emphasize that it includes the
orientation-reversing isometries (like reections, glide reections and improper rotations) under which the gure is
invariant. The subgroup of orientation-preserving isometries (i.e. translations, rotations, and compositions of
these) that leave the gure invariant is called its proper
symmetry group. The proper symmetry group of an object is equal to its full symmetry group if and only if
the object is chiral (and thus there are no orientationreversing isometries under which it is invariant).
180
180
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
120
Any symmetry group whose elements have a common

xed point, which is true for all nite symmetry groups
and also for the symmetry groups of bounded gures, can
be represented as a subgroup of the orthogonal group
O(n) by choosing the origin to be a xed point. The
proper symmetry group is then a subgroup of the special orthogonal group SO(n), and is therefore also called
rotation group of the gure.
120
120
120
A tetrahedron is invariant under 12 distinct rotations, reections

excluded. These are illustrated here in the cycle graph format,
along with the 180 edge (blue arrows) and 120 vertex (reddish
arrows) rotations that permute the tetrahedron through the positions. The 12 rotations form the rotation (symmetry) group of
the gure.
(image, signal, etc.) is the group of all transformations

under which the object is invariant with composition as
the group operation. For a space with a metric, it is a
subgroup of the isometry group of the space concerned.
If not stated otherwise, this article considers symmetry
groups in Euclidean geometry, but the concept may also
be studied in more general contexts as expanded below.
A discrete symmetry group is a symmetry group such

that for every point of the space the set of images of the
point under the isometries in the symmetry group is a
discrete set.
Discrete symmetry groups come in three types: (1) nite point groups, which include only rotations, reections, inversion and rotoinversion they are just the nite subgroups of O(n), (2) innite lattice groups, which
include only translations, and (3) innite space groups
which combines elements of both previous types, and
may also include extra transformations like screw axis
and glide reection. There are also continuous symmetry
groups, which contain rotations of arbitrarily small angles
or translations of arbitrarily small distances. The group of
98
16.3. TWO DIMENSIONS
99
all symmetries of a sphere O(3) is an example of this, and

the group generated by all translations and rein general such continuous symmetry groups are studied
ections in points; they are isomorphic with the
as Lie groups. With a categorization of subgroups of the
generalized dihedral group of R, Dih(R).
Euclidean group corresponds a categorization of symmetry groups.
See also symmetry groups in one dimension.
Two geometric gures are considered to be of the same
symmetry type if their symmetry groups are conjugate
subgroups of the Euclidean group E(n) (the isometry 16.3 Two dimensions
group of Rn ), where two subgroups H 1 , H 2 of a group G
are conjugate, if there exists g G such that H 1 = g1 H 2 g.
Up to conjugacy the discrete point groups in twoFor example:
dimensional space are the following classes:
two 3D gures have mirror symmetry, but with respect to dierent mirror planes.
two 3D gures have 3-fold rotational symmetry, but
with respect to dierent axes.
two 2D patterns have translational symmetry, each
in one direction; the two translation vectors have the
same length but a dierent direction.
When considering isometry groups, one may restrict oneself to those where for all points the set of images under
the isometries is topologically closed. This includes all
discrete isometry groups and also those involved in continuous symmetries, but excludes for example in 1D the
group of translations by a rational number. A gure
with this symmetry group is non-drawable and up to arbitrarily ne detail homogeneous, without being really homogeneous.
cyclic groups C1 , C2 , C3 , C4 , ... where Cn consists

of all rotations about a xed point by multiples of
the angle 360/n
dihedral groups D1 , D2 , D3 , D4 , ..., where Dn (of
order 2n) consists of the rotations in Cn together
with reections in n axes that pass through the xed
point.
C1 is the trivial group containing only the identity operation, which occurs when the gure has no symmetry at all,
for example the letter F. C2 is the symmetry group of the
letter Z, C3 that of a triskelion, C4 of a swastika, and C5 ,
C6 , etc. are the symmetry groups of similar swastika-like
gures with ve, six, etc. arms instead of four.
D1 is the 2-element group containing the identity operation and a single reection, which occurs when the gure
has only a single axis of bilateral symmetry, for example
the letter A.
16.2 One dimension
D2 , which is isomorphic to the Klein four-group, is the

symmetry group of a non-equilateral rectangle. This gThe isometry groups in one dimension where for ure has four symmetry operations: the identity operation,
all points the set of images under the isometries is one twofold axis of rotation, and two nonequivalent mirror planes.
topologically closed are:
the trivial group C1
D3 , D4 etc. are the symmetry groups of the regular polygons.
the groups of two elements generated by a reection The actual symmetry groups in each of these cases have
in a point; they are isomorphic with C2
two degrees of freedom for the center of rotation, and in
the case of the dihedral groups, one more for the positions
the innite discrete groups generated by a translaof the mirrors.
tion; they are isomorphic with Z, the additive group
The remaining isometry groups in two dimensions with a
of the integers
xed point, where for all points the set of images under
the innite discrete groups generated by a transla- the isometries is topologically closed are:
tion and a reection in a point; they are isomorphic
with the generalized dihedral group of Z, Dih(Z),
the special orthogonal group SO(2) consisting of all
also denoted by D (which is a semidirect product
rotations about a xed point; it is also called the
of Z and C2 ).
circle group S1 , the multiplicative group of complex
the group generated by all translations (isomorphic
numbers of absolute value 1. It is the proper symwith the additive group of the real numbers R); this
metry group of a circle and the continuous equivagroup cannot be the symmetry group of a pattern":
lent of Cn. There is no geometric gure that has as
it would be homogeneous, hence could also be refull symmetry group the circle group, but for a vecected. However, a uniform one-dimensional vector
tor eld it may apply (see the three-dimensional case
eld has this symmetry group.
below).
100
CHAPTER 16. SYMMETRY GROUP
the orthogonal group O(2) consisting of all rotations 16.5 Symmetry groups in general
about a xed point and reections in any axis through
that xed point. This is the symmetry group of a See also: Automorphism
circle. It is also called Dih(S1 ) as it is the generalized
dihedral group of S1 .
In wider contexts, a symmetry group may be any kind of
For non-bounded gures, the additional isometry groups transformation group, or automorphism group. Once
we know what kind of mathematical structure we are concan include translations; the closed ones are:
cerned with, we should be able to pinpoint what mappings
preserve the structure. Conversely, specifying the sym the 7 frieze groups
metry can dene the structure, or at least clarify what
the 17 wallpaper groups
we mean by an invariant, geometric language in which
for each of the symmetry groups in one dimension, to discuss it; this is one way of looking at the Erlangen
the combination of all symmetries in that group in programme.
one direction, and the group of all translations in the For example, automorphism groups of certain models of
perpendicular direction
nite geometries are not symmetry groups in the usual
ditto with also reections in a line in the rst direc- sense, although they preserve symmetry. They do this by
preserving families of point-sets rather than point-sets (or
tion
objects) themselves.
16.4 Three dimensions

See also: Point groups in three dimensions
Like above, the group of automorphisms of space induces

a group action on objects in it.
For a given geometric gure in a given geometric space,
consider the following equivalence relation: two automorphisms of space are equivalent if and only if the two
images of the gure are the same (here the same does
not mean something like e.g. the same up to translation
and rotation, but it means exactly the same). Then the
equivalence class of the identity is the symmetry group
of the gure, and every equivalence class corresponds to
one isomorphic version of the gure.
Up to conjugacy the set of three-dimensional point

groups consists of 7 innite series, and 7 separate ones.
In crystallography they are restricted to be compatible
with the discrete translation symmetries of a crystal lattice. This crystallographic restriction of the innite families of general point groups results in 32 crystallographic
point groups (27 from the 7 innite series, and 5 of the 7 There is a bijection between every pair of equivalence
others).
classes: the inverse of a representative of the rst equivThe continuous symmetry groups with a xed point in- alence class, composed with a representative of the second.
clude those of:
In the case of a nite automorphism group of the whole
cylindrical symmetry without a symmetry plane per- space, its order is the order of the symmetry group of the
pendicular to the axis, this applies for example often gure multiplied by the number of isomorphic versions
for a bottle
of the gure.
cylindrical symmetry with a symmetry plane per- Examples:
pendicular to the axis
spherical symmetry
For objects and scalar elds the cylindrical symmetry implies vertical planes of reection. However, for vector
elds it does not: in cylindrical coordinates with respect
+ Az z has cylindrical
to some axis, A = A + A
symmetry with respect to the axis if and only if A , A ,
and Az have this symmetry, i.e., they do not depend on
. Additionally there is reectional symmetry if and only
if A = 0 .
For spherical symmetry there is no such distinction, it implies planes of reection.
Isometries of the Euclidean plane, the gure is

a rectangle: there are innitely many equivalence
classes; each contains 4 isometries.
The space is a cube with Euclidean metric; the gures include cubes of the same size as the space, with
colors or patterns on the faces; the automorphisms
of the space are the 48 isometries; the gure is a
cube of which one face has a dierent color; the gure has a symmetry group of 8 isometries, there are
6 equivalence classes of 8 isometries, for 6 isomorphic versions of the gure.
The continuous symmetry groups without a xed point

include those with a screw axis, such as an innite helix. Compare Lagranges theorem (group theory) and its
See also subgroups of the Euclidean group.
proof.
101
16.6 See also

Crystallography
Crystallographic point group
Crystal system
Euclidean plane isometry
Fixed points of isometry groups in Euclidean space
Group action
Molecular symmetry
Permutation group
Point group
Space group
Symmetric group
Symmetry
Symmetry in quantum mechanics

Burns, G.; Glazer, A. M. (1990). Space Groups for
Scientists and Engineers (2nd ed.). Boston: Academic Press, Inc. ISBN 0-12-145761-3.
Clegg, W (1998). Crystal Structure Determination
(Oxford Chemistry Primer). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-855901-1.
O'Keee, M.; Hyde, B. G. (1996). Crystal Structures; I. Patterns and Symmetry. Washington, DC:
Mineralogical Society of America, Monograph Series. ISBN 0-939950-40-5.
Miller, Willard Jr. (1972). Symmetry Groups and
Their Applications. New York: Academic Press.
OCLC 589081. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
16.8 External links

Weisstein, Eric
MathWorld.
W.,
Symmetry
Group,
Weisstein, Eric
MathWorld.
W.,
Tetrahedral
Group,
Overview of the 32 crystallographic point groups form the rst parts (apart from skipping n=5) of the
7 innite series and 5 of the 7 separate 3D point
groups
Chapter 17
Vector eld
tion of a vector eld depends on the coordinate system,
and there is a well-dened transformation law in passing
from one coordinate system to the other. Vector elds
are often discussed on open subsets of Euclidean space,
but also make sense on other subsets such as surfaces,
where they associate an arrow tangent to the surface at
each point (a tangent vector).
More generally, vector elds are dened on dierentiable
manifolds, which are spaces that look like Euclidean
space on small scales, but may have more complicated
structure on larger scales. In this setting, a vector eld
gives a tangent vector at each point of the manifold (that
is, a section of the tangent bundle to the manifold). Vector elds are one kind of tensor eld.
17.1 Denition
A portion of the vector eld (sin y, sin x)
17.1.1 Vector elds on subsets of Euclidean space

In vector calculus, a vector eld is an assignment of a
vector to each point in a subset of space.[1] A vector eld
in the plane (for instance), can be visualised as: a collection of arrows with a given magnitude and direction, each
attached to a point in the plane. Vector elds are often
used to model, for example, the speed and direction of a
moving uid throughout space, or the strength and direction of some force, such as the magnetic or gravitational
force, as it changes from point to point.
The elements of dierential and integral calculus extend
naturally to vector elds. When a vector eld represents
force, the line integral of a vector eld represents the
work done by a force moving along a path, and under
this interpretation conservation of energy is exhibited as
a special case of the fundamental theorem of calculus.
Vector elds can usefully be thought of as representing
the velocity of a moving ow in space, and this physical
intuition leads to notions such as the divergence (which
represents the rate of change of volume of a ow) and
curl (which represents the rotation of a ow).
Two
representations of the same vector eld: v(x, y) = r.
The arrows depict the eld at discrete points, however,
the eld exists everywhere.
Given a subset S in Rn , a vector eld is represented by
a vector-valued function V: S Rn in standard Cartesian coordinates (x1 , ..., xn). If each component of V is
continuous, then V is a continuous vector eld, and more
generally V is a Ck vector eld if each component of V is
k times continuously dierentiable.
In coordinates, a vector eld on a domain in nto

dimensional Euclidean space can be represented as a A vector eld can be visualized as assigning a vector
[1]
individual
points
within
an
n-dimensional
space.
vector-valued function that associates an n-tuple of real
numbers to each point of the domain. This representa- Given two Ck -vector elds V, W dened on S and a real
102
17.2. EXAMPLES
103
valued Ck -function f dened on S, the two operations

scalar multiplication and vector addition
(f V )(p) := f (p)V (p)

(V + W )(p) := V (p) + W (p)
dene the module of Ck -vector elds over the ring of Ck functions.
17.1.2
Coordinate transformation law
In physics, a vector is additionally distinguished by how

its coordinates change when one measures the same vector with respect to a dierent background coordinate system. The transformation properties of vectors distinguish A vector eld on a sphere
a vector as a geometrically distinct entity from a simple
list of scalars, or from a covector.
can make sense of the notion of smooth (analytic) vecThus, suppose that (x1 ,...,xn) is a choice of Cartesian co- tor elds. The collection of all smooth vector elds on
ordinates, in terms of which the components of the vector a smooth manifold M is often denoted by (TM) or
V are
C (M,TM) (especially when thinking of vector elds as
sections); the collection of all smooth vector elds is also
denoted by X(M ) (a fraktur X).
Vx = (V1,x , . . . , Vn,x )
and suppose that (y1 ,...,yn) are n functions of the xi dening a dierent coordinate system. Then the components
of the vector V in the new coordinates are required to
satisfy the transformation law
17.2 Examples
Such a transformation law is called contravariant. A

similar transformation law characterizes vector elds in
physics: specically, a vector eld is a specication of n
functions in each coordinate system subject to the transformation law (1) relating the dierent coordinate systems.
Vector elds are thus contrasted with scalar elds, which The ow eld around an airplane is a vector eld in R3 , here viassociate a number or scalar to every point in space, and sualized by bubbles that follow the streamlines showing a wingtip
are also contrasted with simple lists of scalar elds, which vortex.
do not transform under coordinate changes.
Given a dierentiable manifold M, a vector eld on M is

an assignment of a tangent vector to each point in M.[2]
More precisely, a vector eld F is a mapping from M into
the tangent bundle TM so that p F is the identity mapping where p denotes the projection from TM to M. In
other words, a vector eld is a section of the tangent bundle.
A vector eld for the movement of air on Earth will

associate for every point on the surface of the Earth
a vector with the wind speed and direction for that
point. This can be drawn using arrows to represent
the wind; the length (magnitude) of the arrow will
be an indication of the wind speed. A high on the
usual barometric pressure map would then act as a
source (arrows pointing away), and a low would be
a sink (arrows pointing towards), since air tends to
move from high pressure areas to low pressure areas.
If the manifold M is smooth or analyticthat is, the

change of coordinates is smooth (analytic)then one
Velocity eld of a moving uid. In this case, a

velocity vector is associated to each point in the
17.1.3
Vector elds on manifolds
104
CHAPTER 17. VECTOR FIELD

uid.
Streamlines, Streaklines and Pathlines are 3 types of V = f =

lines that can be made from vector elds. They are :
streaklines as revealed in wind
tunnels using smoke.
streamlines (or eldlines) as a
line depicting the instantaneous
eld at a given time.
pathlines showing the path that a
given particle (of zero mass) would
follow.
)
f f f
f
,
,
,...,
.
x1 x2 x3
xn
The associated ow is called the gradient ow, and is

used in the method of gradient descent.
The path integral along any closed curve ((0) = (1))
in a conservative eld is zero:
I
I
V (x), dx =
f (x), dx = f ((1)) f ((0)).
where the angular brackets and comma: , denotes the

Magnetic elds. The eldlines can be revealed using inner product of two vectors (strictly speaking the integrand V(x) is a 1-form rather than a vector in the elesmall iron lings.
mentary sense).[4]
Maxwells equations allow us to use a given set
of initial conditions to deduce, for every point
in Euclidean space, a magnitude and direction 17.2.2 Central eld
for the force experienced by a charged test particle at that point; the resulting vector eld is the A C -vector eld over Rn \ {0} is called a central eld
if
electromagnetic eld.
A gravitational eld generated by any massive object
is also a vector eld. For example, the gravitational
eld vectors for a spherically symmetric body would
all point towards the spheres center with the magnitude of the vectors reducing as radial distance from
the body increases.
V (T (p)) = T (V (p))
(T O(n, R))
where O(n, R) is the orthogonal group. We say central elds are invariant under orthogonal transformations
around 0.
The point 0 is called the center of the eld.
17.2.1
Gradient eld
Since orthogonal transformations are actually rotations

and reections, the invariance conditions mean that vectors of a central eld are always directed towards, or away
from, 0; this is an alternate (and simpler) denition. A
central eld is always a gradient eld, since dening it on
one semiaxis and integrating gives an antigradient.
17.3 Operations on vector elds

17.3.1 Line integral
Main article: Line integral
A vector eld that has circulation about a point cannot be written

as the gradient of a function.
A common technique in physics is to integrate a vector

eld along a curve, i.e. to determine its line integral.
Given a particle in a gravitational vector eld, where each
vector represents the force acting on the particle at a given
point in space, the line integral is the work done on the
particle when it travels along a certain path.
Vector elds can be constructed out of scalar elds using The line integral is constructed analogously to the
Riemann integral and it exists if the curve is rectiable
the gradient operator (denoted by the del: ).[3]
A vector eld V dened on a set S is called a gradient (has nite length) and the vector eld is continuous.
eld or a conservative eld if there exists a real-valued Given a vector eld V and a curve parametrized by [a,
function (a scalar eld) f on S such that
b] (where a and b are real) the line integral is dened as
17.4. HISTORY
105
V (x), dx =
17.3.2
from this sphere to a unit sphere of dimensions n 1 can

be constructed by dividing each vector on this sphere by
its length to form a unit length vector, which is a point on
the unit sphere Sn-1 . This denes a continuous map from
S to Sn-1 . The index of the vector eld at the point is the
degree of this map. It can be shown that this integer does
not depend on the choice of S, and therefore depends only
on the vector eld itself.
V ((t)), (t) dt.
Divergence
Main article: Divergence
The index of the vector eld as a whole is dened when

it has just a nite number of zeroes. In this case, all zeroes
The divergence of a vector eld on Euclidean space is a are isolated, and the index of the vector eld is dened to
function (or scalar eld). In three-dimensions, the diver- be the sum of the indices at all zeroes.
gence is dened by
The index is not dened at any non-singular point (i.e.,
a point where the vector is non-zero). it is equal to
+1 around a source, and more generally equal to (1)k
F1
F2
F3
div F = F =
+
+
,
around a saddle that has k contracting dimensions and n-k
x
y
z
expanding dimensions. For an ordinary (2-dimensional)
with the obvious generalization to arbitrary dimensions. sphere in three-dimensional space, it can be shown that
The divergence at a point represents the degree to which the index of any vector eld on the sphere must be 2.
a small volume around the point is a source or a sink This shows that every such vector eld must have a zero.
for the vector ow, a result which is made precise by the This implies the hairy ball theorem, which states that if a
divergence theorem.
vector in R3 is assigned to each point of the unit sphere
2
The divergence can also be dened on a Riemannian S in a continuous manner, then it is impossible to comb
manifold, that is, a manifold with a Riemannian metric the hairs at, i.e., to choose the vectors in a continuous
way such that they are all non-zero and tangent to S2 .
that measures the length of vectors.
17.3.3
For a vector eld on a compact manifold with a nite

number of zeroes, the Poincar-Hopf theorem states that
the index of the vector eld is equal to the Euler characteristic of the manifold.
Curl
Main article: Curl (mathematics)

The curl is an operation which takes a vector eld and
produces another vector eld. The curl is dened only in
three-dimensions, but some properties of the curl can be
captured in higher dimensions with the exterior derivative. In three-dimensions, it is dened by
(
curl F = F =
F3
F2
y
z
F3
F1
e1
x
z
17.4 History
(
)
F2
F1
e2 +
e3 .
x
y
The curl measures the density of the angular momentum

of the vector ow at a point, that is, the amount to which
the ow circulates around a xed axis. This intuitive description is made precise by Stokes theorem.
17.3.4
Index of a vector eld
The index of a vector eld is an integer that helps to describe the behaviour of a vector eld around an isolated
zero (i.e., an isolated singularity of the eld). In the plane,
the index takes the value 1 at a saddle singularity but +1
at a source or sink singularity.
Magnetic eld lines of an iron bar (magnetic dipole)
Vector elds arose originally in classical eld theory in

19th century physics, specically in magnetism. They
were formalized by Michael Faraday, in his concept of
lines of force, who emphasized that the eld itself should
be an object of study, which it has become throughout
Let the dimension of the manifold on which the vector physics in the form of eld theory.
eld is dened be n. Take a small sphere S around the In addition to the magnetic eld, other phenomena that
zero so that no other zeros lie in the interior of S. A map were modeled as vector elds by Faraday include the elec-
106
CHAPTER 17. VECTOR FIELD
trical eld and light eld.
unique solution x(t) = 1/(x0 - t) if x0 0 (and x(t) = 0 for

all t if x0 = 0). Hence for x0 0, x(t) is undened at t =
x0 so cannot be dened for all values of t.
17.5 Flow curves

Main article: Integral curve
17.6 Dierence between scalar and

vector eld
Consider the ow of a uid through a region of space.

At any given time, any point of the uid has a particular velocity associated with it; thus there is a vector eld
associated to any ow. The converse is also true: it is
possible to associate a ow to a vector eld having that
vector eld as its velocity.
The dierence between a scalar and vector eld is not

that a scalar is just one number while a vector is several
numbers. The dierence is in: how their coordinates respond to coordinate transformations. A scalar is a coordinate whereas a vector can be described by coordinates,
Given a vector eld V dened on S, one denes curves but it is not the collection of its coordinates.
(t) on S such that for each t in an interval I
17.6.1 Example 1
(t) = V ((t)) .
This example is about 2-dimensional Euclidean space

2
By the PicardLindelf theorem, if V is Lipschitz con- (R ) where we examine Euclidean (x, y) and polar (r, )
tinuous there is a unique C 1 -curve x for each point x in coordinates (which are undened at the origin). Thus x
= r cos and y = r sin and also r2 = x2 + y2 , cos
S so that, for some > 0,
= x/(x2 + y2 )1/2 and sin = y/(x2 + y2 )1/2 . Suppose we
have a scalar eld which is given by the constant function 1, and a vector eld which attaches a vector in the
x (0) = x
r-direction with length 1 to each point. More precisely,
they are given by the functions
(t) = V ( (t))
(t (, +) R).
x
The curves x are called integral curves or trajectories

(or less commonly, ow lines) of the vector eld V and
partition S into equivalence classes. It is not always possible to extend the interval (, +) to the whole real number line. The ow may for example reach the edge of S in
a nite time. In two or three dimensions one can visualize
the vector eld as giving rise to a ow on S. If we drop a
particle into this ow at a point p it will move along the
curve p in the ow depending on the initial point p. If
p is a stationary point of V (i.e., the vector eld is equal
to the zero vector at the point p), then the particle will
remain at p.
spolar : (r, ) 7 1,
vpolar : (r, ) 7 (1, 0).
Let us convert these elds to Euclidean coordinates. The

vector of length 1 in the r-direction has the x coordinate
cos and the y coordinate sin . Thus in Euclidean coordinates the same elds are described by the functions
sEuclidean : (x, y) 7 1,
(
Typical applications are streamline in uid, geodesic ow, vEuclidean : (x, y) 7 (cos , sin ) =
,
x2 + y 2
x2 + y 2
and one-parameter subgroups and the exponential map in
Lie groups.
We see that while the scalar eld remains the same, the
vector eld now looks dierent. The same holds even in
the 1-dimensional case, as illustrated by the next example.
17.5.1 Complete vector elds
By denition, a vector eld is called complete if every
one of its ow curves exist for all time.[5] In particular,
compactly supported vector elds on a manifold are complete. If X is a complete vector eld on M, then the oneparameter group of dieomorphisms generated by the
ow along X exists for all time. On a compact manifold
without boundary, every smooth vector eld is complete.
An example of an incomplete vector eld V on the real
line R is given by V(x) = x2 . For, the dierential equation dx/dt = x2 , with initial condition x(0) = x0 , has as its
17.6.2 Example 2
Consider the 1-dimensional Euclidean space R with its
standard Euclidean coordinate x. Suppose we have a
scalar eld and a vector eld which are both given in the
x coordinate by the constant function 1,
sEuclidean : x 7 1,
vEuclidean : x 7 1.
)
.
17.10. REFERENCES
Thus, we have a scalar eld which has the value 1 everywhere and a vector eld which attaches a vector in the
x-direction with magnitude 1 unit of x to each point.
Now consider the coordinate := 2x. If x changes one
unit then changes 2 units. But since we wish the integral of v along a path to be independent of coordinate,
this means v*dx=v'*d. So from x increase by 1 unit,
increases by 1/2 unit, so v' must be 2. Thus this vector
eld has a magnitude of 2 in units of . Therefore, in
the coordinate the scalar eld and the vector eld are
described by the functions
sunusual : 7 1,
vunusual : 7 2
which are dierent.
17.7 f-relatedness
Given a smooth function between manifolds, f: M N,
the derivative is an induced map on tangent bundles, f*:
TM TN. Given vector elds V: M TM and W: N
TN, we say that W is f-related to V if the equation W
f * = f* V holds.
If V is f-related to W, i = 1, 2, then the Lie bracket [V 1 ,
V 2 ] is f-related to [W 1 , W 2 ].
Replacing vectors by p-vectors (pth exterior power of
vectors) yields p-vector elds; taking the dual space and
exterior powers yields dierential k-forms, and combining these yields general tensor elds.
Algebraically, vector elds can be characterized as
derivations of the algebra of smooth functions on the
manifold, which leads to dening a vector eld on a commutative algebra as a derivation on the algebra, which is
developed in the theory of dierential calculus over commutative algebras.
107
17.10 References
[1] Galbis, Antonio & Maestre, Manuel (2012). Vector Analysis Versus Vector Calculus. Springer. p. 12. ISBN 9781-4614-2199-3.
[2] Tu, Loring W. (2010). Vector elds. An Introduction to
Manifolds. Springer. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-4419-7399-3.
[3] Dawber, P.G. (1987). Vectors and Vector Operators. CRC
Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-85274-585-4.
[4] T. Frankel (2012), The Geometry of Physics (3rd ed.),
Cambridge University Press, p. xxxviii, ISBN 978-1107602601
[5] Sharpe, R. (1997). Dierential geometry.
Verlag. ISBN 0-387-94732-9.
Springer-
17.11 Bibliography
Hubbard, J. H.; Hubbard, B. B. (1999). Vector calculus, linear algebra, and dierential forms. A unied approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall. ISBN 0-13-657446-7.
Warner, Frank (1983) [1971]. Foundations of differentiable manifolds and Lie groups. New YorkBerlin: Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-90894-3.
Boothby, William (1986). An introduction to dierentiable manifolds and Riemannian geometry. Pure
and Applied Mathematics, volume 120 (second ed.).
Orlando, FL: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-116053X.
17.12 External links

Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), Vector eld,
Vector eld Mathworld
Vector eld PlanetMath
17.9 See also
3D Magnetic eld viewer
EisenbudLevineKhimshiashvili signature formula
Vector elds and eld lines
Field line
Vector eld simulation An interactive application to

show the eects of vector elds
Field strength
Lie derivative
Scalar eld
Time-dependent vector eld
Vector elds in cylindrical and spherical coordinates
Tensor elds
Chapter 18
Vector space
This article is about linear (vector) spaces. For the struc- ally endowed with additional structure, which may be a
ture in incidence geometry, see Linear space (geometry). topology, allowing the consideration of issues of proximA vector space (also called a linear space) is a col- ity and continuity. Among these topologies, those that are
dened by a norm or inner product are more commonly
used, as having a notion of distance between two vectors.
v+w
This is particularly the case of Banach spaces and Hilbert
v
spaces, which are fundamental in mathematical analysis.
Historically, the rst ideas leading to vector spaces can be

traced back as far as the 17th centurys analytic geometry, matrices, systems of linear equations, and Euclidean
v
v+2w vectors. The modern, more abstract treatment, rst formulated by Giuseppe Peano in 1888, encompasses more
general objects than Euclidean space, but much of the
2w
theory can be seen as an extension of classical geometVector addition and scalar multiplication: a vector v (blue) is ric ideas like lines, planes and their higher-dimensional
added to another vector w (red, upper illustration). Below, w is analogs.
stretched by a factor of 2, yielding the sum v + 2w.
lection of objects called vectors, which may be added

together and multiplied (scaled) by numbers, called
scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be
real numbers, but there are also vector spaces with scalar
multiplication by complex numbers, rational numbers, or
generally any eld. The operations of vector addition and
scalar multiplication must satisfy certain requirements,
called axioms, listed below.
Today, vector spaces are applied throughout mathematics, science and engineering. They are the appropriate linear-algebraic notion to deal with systems of linear equations; oer a framework for Fourier expansion,
which is employed in image compression routines; or provide an environment that can be used for solution techniques for partial dierential equations. Furthermore,
vector spaces furnish an abstract, coordinate-free way
of dealing with geometrical and physical objects such
as tensors. This in turn allows the examination of local
properties of manifolds by linearization techniques. Vector spaces may be generalized in several ways, leading to
more advanced notions in geometry and abstract algebra.
Euclidean vectors are an example of a vector space. They

represent physical quantities such as forces: any two
forces (of the same type) can be added to yield a third, and
the multiplication of a force vector by a real multiplier is
another force vector. In the same vein, but in a more
geometric sense, vectors representing displacements in 18.1 Introduction and denition
the plane or in three-dimensional space also form vector
spaces. Vectors in vector spaces do not necessarily have
The concept of vector space will rst be explained by deto be arrow-like objects as they appear in the mentioned
scribing two particular examples:
examples: vectors are regarded as abstract mathematical
objects with particular properties, which in some cases
can be visualized as arrows.
18.1.1 First example: arrows in the plane
Vector spaces are the subject of linear algebra and are

well characterized by their dimension, which, roughly
speaking, species the number of independent directions
in the space. Innite-dimensional vector spaces arise naturally in mathematical analysis, as function spaces, whose
vectors are functions. These vector spaces are gener-
The rst example of a vector space consists of arrows in

a xed plane, starting at one xed point. This is used in
physics to describe forces or velocities. Given any two
such arrows, v and w, the parallelogram spanned by these
two arrows contains one diagonal arrow that starts at the
108
18.1. INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITION

origin, too. This new arrow is called the sum of the two
arrows and is denoted v + w. In the special case of two
arrows on the same line, their sum is the arrow on this line
whose length is the sum or the dierence of the lengths,
depending on whether the arrows have the same direction. Another operation that can be done with arrows is
scaling: given any positive real number a, the arrow that
has the same direction as v, but is dilated or shrunk by
multiplying its length by a, is called multiplication of v by
a. It is denoted av. When a is negative, av is dened as
the arrow pointing in the opposite direction, instead.
109
To qualify as a vector space, the set V and the operations
of addition and multiplication must adhere to a number
of requirements called axioms.[1] In the list below, let u,
v and w be arbitrary vectors in V, and a and b scalars in
F.
These axioms generalize properties of the vectors introduced in the above examples. Indeed, the result of addition of two ordered pairs (as in the second example above)
does not depend on the order of the summands:
(x, y) + (x , y ) = (x , y ) + (x, y).
The following shows a few examples: if a = 2, the resulting vector aw has the same direction as w, but is stretched
to the double length of w (right image below). Equivalently 2w is the sum w + w. Moreover, (1)v = v has
the opposite direction and the same length as v (blue vector pointing down in the right image).
18.1.2
Likewise, in the geometric example of vectors as arrows,

v + w = w + v since the parallelogram dening the sum
of the vectors is independent of the order of the vectors.
All other axioms can be checked in a similar manner in
both examples. Thus, by disregarding the concrete nature
of the particular type of vectors, the denition incorpoSecond example: ordered pairs of rates these two and many more examples in one notion of
vector space.
numbers
Subtraction of two vectors and division by a (non-zero)

A second key example of a vector space is provided by scalar can be dened as
pairs of real numbers x and y. (The order of the compov w = v + (w),
nents x and y is signicant, so such a pair is also called an
ordered pair.) Such a pair is written as (x, y). The sum of
v/a = (1/a)v.
two such pairs and multiplication of a pair with a number
is dened as follows:
When the scalar eld F is the real numbers R, the vector space is called a real vector space. When the scalar
eld is the complex numbers, it is called a complex vector space. These two cases are the ones used most often
in engineering. The general denition of a vector space
and
allows scalars to be elements of any xed eld F. The
notion is then known as an F-vector spaces or a vector
a (x, y) = (ax, ay).
space over F. A eld is, essentially, a set of numbers possessing addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
The rst example above reduces to this one if the arrows
operations.[nb 3] For example, rational numbers also form
are represented by the pair of Cartesian coordinates of
a eld.
their end points.
In contrast to the intuition stemming from vectors in the
plane and higher-dimensional cases, there is, in general
18.1.3 Denition
vector spaces, no notion of nearness, angles or distances.
To deal with such matters, particular types of vector
A vector space over a eld F is a set V together with two spaces are introduced; see below.
operations that satisfy the eight axioms listed below. Elements of V are commonly called vectors. Elements of F
are commonly called scalars. The rst operation, called 18.1.4 Alternative formulations and elevector addition or simply addition, takes any two vectors
mentary consequences
v and w and assigns to them a third vector which is commonly written as v + w, and called the sum of these two Vector addition and scalar multiplication are operations,
vectors. The second operation, called scalar multiplica- satisfying the closure property: u + v and av are in V for
tion takes any scalar a and any vector v and gives another all a in F, and u, v in V. Some older sources mention these
vector av.
properties as separate axioms.[2]
(x1 , y1 ) + (x2 , y2 ) = (x1 + x2 , y1 + y2 )
In this article, vectors are distinguished from scalars by

boldface.[nb 1] In the two examples above, the eld is the
eld of the real numbers and the set of the vectors consists
of the planar arrows with xed starting point and of pairs
of real numbers, respectively.
In the parlance of abstract algebra, the rst four axioms

can be subsumed by requiring the set of vectors to be
an abelian group under addition. The remaining axioms
give this group an F-module structure. In other words,
there is a ring homomorphism f from the eld F into the
110
endomorphism ring of the group of vectors. Then scalar
multiplication av is dened as (f(a))(v).[3]
CHAPTER 18. VECTOR SPACE
18.3 Examples
There are a number of direct consequences of the vec- Main article: Examples of vector spaces
tor space axioms. Some of them derive from elementary
group theory, applied to the additive group of vectors: for
example the zero vector 0 of V and the additive inverse
v of any vector v are unique. Other properties follow 18.3.1 Coordinate spaces
from the distributive law, for example av equals 0 if and
Main article: Coordinate space
only if a equals 0 or v equals 0.
The most simple example of a vector space over a eld
F is the eld itself, equipped with its standard addition
18.2 History
and multiplication. More generally, a vector space can be
composed of n-tuples (sequences of length n) of elements
Vector spaces stem from ane geometry via the intro- of F, such as
duction of coordinates in the plane or three-dimensional
(a1 , a2 , ..., an), where each ai is an element of
space. Around 1636, Descartes and Fermat founded
F.[13]
analytic geometry by equating solutions to an equation
[4]
of two variables with points on a plane curve. In 1804,
to achieve geometric solutions without using coordinates, A vector space composed of all the n-tuples of a eld F
n
Bolzano introduced certain operations on points, lines is known as a coordinate space, usually denoted F . The
and planes, which are predecessors of vectors.[5] His work case n = 1 is the above-mentioned simplest example, in
was then used in the conception of barycentric coordi- which the eld F is also regarded as a vector space over
nates by Mbius in 1827.[6] In 1828 C. V. Mourey sug- itself. The case F = R and n = 2 was discussed in the
gested the existence of an algebra surpassing not only or- introduction above.
dinary algebra but also two-dimensional algebra created
by him searching a geometrical interpretation of complex
18.3.2 Complex numbers and other eld
numbers.[7]
The denition of vectors was founded on Bellavitis' notion of the bipoint, an oriented segment of which one end
is the origin and the other a target, then further elaborated
with the presentation of complex numbers by Argand
and Hamilton and the introduction of quaternions and
biquaternions by the latter.[8] They are elements in R2 ,
R4 , and R8 ; their treatment as linear combinations can
be traced back to Laguerre in 1867, who also dened
systems of linear equations.
In 1857, Cayley introduced matrix notation, which allows
for a harmonization and simplication of linear maps.
Around the same time, Grassmann studied the barycentric calculus initiated by Mbius. He envisaged sets of
abstract objects endowed with operations.[9] In his work,
the concepts of linear independence and dimension, as
well as scalar products, are present. In fact, Grassmanns
1844 work exceeds the framework of vector spaces, since
his consideration of multiplication led him to what are today called algebras. Peano was the rst to give the modern
denition of vector spaces and linear maps in 1888.[10]
extensions
The set of complex numbers C, i.e., numbers that can be

written in the form x + iy for real numbers x and y where
i is the imaginary unit, form a vector space over the reals
with the usual addition and multiplication: (x + iy) + (a +
ib) = (x + a) + i(y + b) and c (x + iy) = (c x) + i(c y)
for real numbers x, y, a, b and c. The various axioms of a
vector space follow from the fact that the same rules hold
for complex number arithmetic.
In fact, the example of complex numbers is essentially the
same (i.e., it is isomorphic) to the vector space of ordered
pairs of real numbers mentioned above: if we think of the
complex number x + i y as representing the ordered pair
(x, y) in the complex plane then we see that the rules for
sum and scalar product correspond exactly to those in the
earlier example.
More generally, eld extensions provide another class of

examples of vector spaces, particularly in algebra and
algebraic number theory: a eld F containing a smaller
eld E is an E-vector space, by the given multiplication
An important development of vector spaces is due to the and addition operations of F.[14] For example, the comconstruction of function spaces by Lebesgue. This was plex numbers are a vector space over R, and the eld exlater formalized by Banach and Hilbert, around 1920.[11] tension Q(i5) is a vector space over Q.
At that time, algebra and the new eld of functional analysis began to interact, notably with key concepts such as
spaces of p-integrable functions and Hilbert spaces.[12] 18.3.3 Function spaces
Vector spaces, including innite-dimensional ones, then
became a rmly established notion, and many mathemat- Functions from any xed set to a eld F also form vecical branches started making use of this concept.
tor spaces, by performing addition and scalar multiplica-
18.4. BASIS AND DIMENSION
111
tion pointwise. That is, the sum of two functions f and g

is the function (f + g) given by
(f + g)(w) = f(w) + g(w),
and similarly for multiplication. Such function spaces
occur in many geometric situations, when is the real
line or an interval, or other subsets of R. Many notions
in topology and analysis, such as continuity, integrability
or dierentiability are well-behaved with respect to linearity: sums and scalar multiples of functions possessing
such a property still have that property.[15] Therefore, the
set of such functions are vector spaces. They are studied
in greater detail using the methods of functional analysis,
see below. Algebraic constraints also yield vector spaces:
the vector space F[x] is given by polynomial functions:
f(x) = r0 + r1 x + ... + rnxn1 + rnxn , where
the coecients r0 , ..., rn are in F.[16]
18.3.4
A vector v in R2 (blue) expressed in terms of dierent bases: using

the standard basis of R2 v = xe1 + ye2 (black), and using a
dierent, non-orthogonal basis: v = f1 + f2 (red).
Linear equations
called coordinates or components. A basis is a (nite or

Main articles: Linear equation, Linear dierential
innite) set B = {bi}i I of vectors bi, for convenience
equation, and Systems of linear equations
often indexed by some index set I, that spans the whole
space and is linearly independent. Spanning the whole
Systems of homogeneous linear equations are closely tied space means that any vector v can be expressed as a nite
to vector spaces.[17] For example, the solutions of
sum (called a linear combination) of the basis elements:
are given by triples with arbitrary a, b = a/2, and c =

5a/2. They form a vector space: sums and scalar multiples of such triples still satisfy the same ratios of the
three variables; thus they are solutions, too. Matrices can
be used to condense multiple linear equations as above
into one vector equation, namely
where the ak are scalars, called the coordinates (or the

components) of the vector v with respect to the basis B,
and bik (k = 1, ..., n) elements of B. Linear independence
means that the coordinates ak are uniquely determined
for any vector in the vector space.
For example, the coordinate vectors e1 = (1, 0, ..., 0), e2

=
(0, 1, 0, ..., 0), to en = (0, 0, ..., 0, 1), form a basis of
Ax = 0,
F n , called the standard basis, since any vector (x1 , x2 , ...,
[
]
xn) can be uniquely expressed as a linear combination of
1 3 1
where A =
is the matrix containing the coef- these vectors:
4 2 2
cients of the given equations, x is the vector (a, b, c), Ax
denotes the matrix product, and 0 = (0, 0) is the zero vec(x1 , x2 , ..., xn) = x1 (1, 0, ..., 0) + x2 (0, 1, 0, ...,
tor. In a similar vein, the solutions of homogeneous linear
0) + ... + xn(0, ..., 0, 1) = x1 e1 + x2 e2 + ... +
dierential equations form vector spaces. For example,
xnen.
f(x) + 2f(x) + f(x) = 0
The corresponding coordinates x1 , x2 , ..., xn are just the

Cartesian coordinates of the vector.
yields f(x) = a ex + bx ex , where a and b are arbitrary

Every vector space has a basis. This follows from
constants, and ex is the natural exponential function.
Zorns lemma, an equivalent formulation of the Axiom of
Choice.[18] Given the other axioms of ZermeloFraenkel
set theory, the existence of bases is equivalent to the ax18.4 Basis and dimension
iom of choice.[19] The ultralter lemma, which is weaker
than the axiom of choice, implies that all bases of a
Main articles: Basis and Dimension
given vector space have the same number of elements, or
Bases allow to represent vectors by a sequence of scalars cardinality (cf. Dimension theorem for vector spaces).[20]
112
It is called the dimension of the vector space, denoted

dim V. If the space is spanned by nitely many vectors,
the above statements can be proven without such fundamental input from set theory.[21]
and g f : V V are identity maps. Equivalently, f

is both one-to-one (injective) and onto (surjective).[26] If
there exists an isomorphism between V and W, the two
spaces are said to be isomorphic; they are then essentially
identical
as vector spaces, since all identities holding in V
n
The dimension of the coordinate space F is n, by the
are,
via
f,
transported to similar ones in W, and vice versa
basis exhibited above. The dimension of the polynomial
via
g.
ring F[x] introduced above is countably innite, a basis
is given by 1, x, x2 , ... A fortiori, the dimension of more
general function spaces, such as the space of functions
on some (bounded or unbounded) interval, is innite.[nb 4]
Under suitable regularity assumptions on the coecients
involved, the dimension of the solution space of a homogeneous ordinary dierential equation equals the degree
of the equation.[22] For example, the solution space for
the above equation is generated by ex and xex . These
two functions are linearly independent over R, so the dimension of this space is two, as is the degree of the equation.
A eld extension over the rationals Q can be thought of

as a vector space over Q (by dening vector addition as
eld addition, dening scalar multiplication as eld multiplication by elements of Q, and otherwise ignoring the
eld multiplication). The dimension (or degree) of the Describing an arrow vector v by its coordinates x and y yields an
eld extension Q() over Q depends on . If satises isomorphism of vector spaces.
some polynomial equation
For example, the arrows in the plane and ordered pairs
of numbers vector spaces in the introduction are isomorn
n1
qn + qn + ... + q0 = 0, with rational
phic: a planar arrow v departing at the origin of some
coecients qn, ..., q0 .
(xed) coordinate system can be expressed as an ordered
pair by considering the x- and y-component of the arrow,
(" is algebraic"), the dimension is nite. More precisely,
as shown in the image at the right. Conversely, given a
it equals the degree of the minimal polynomial having
pair (x, y), the arrow going by x to the right (or to the left,
[23]
as a root. For example, the complex numbers C are a
if x is negative), and y up (down, if y is negative) turns
two-dimensional real vector space, generated by 1 and the
back the arrow v.
2
imaginary unit i. The latter satises i + 1 = 0, an equation
of degree two. Thus, C is a two-dimensional R-vector Linear maps V W between two vector spaces form a
space (and, as any eld, one-dimensional as a vector space vector space HomF(V, W), also denoted L(V, W).[27] The
over itself, C). If is not algebraic, the dimension of Q() space of linear maps from V to F is called the dual vector
over Q is innite. For instance, for = there is no such space, denoted V .[28] Via the injective natural map V
V , any vector space can be embedded into its bidual; the
equation, in other words is transcendental.[24]
map is an isomorphism if and only if the space is nitedimensional.[29]
18.5 Linear maps and matrices

Main article: Linear map
The relation of two vector spaces can be expressed by
linear map or linear transformation. They are functions
that reect the vector space structurei.e., they preserve
sums and scalar multiplication:
f(x + y) = f(x) + f(y) and f(a x) = a f(x)
for all x and y in V, all a in F.[25]
An isomorphism is a linear map f : V W such that
there exists an inverse map g : W V, which is a map
such that the two possible compositions f g : W W
Once a basis of V is chosen, linear maps f : V W

are completely determined by specifying the images of
the basis vectors, because any element of V is expressed
uniquely as a linear combination of them.[30] If dim V =
dim W, a 1-to-1 correspondence between xed bases of
V and W gives rise to a linear map that maps any basis element of V to the corresponding basis element of
W. It is an isomorphism, by its very denition.[31] Therefore, two vector spaces are isomorphic if their dimensions
agree and vice versa. Another way to express this is that
any vector space is completely classied (up to isomorphism) by its dimension, a single number. In particular,
any n-dimensional F-vector space V is isomorphic to F n .
There is, however, no canonical or preferred isomorphism; actually an isomorphism : F n V is equivalent to the choice of a basis of V, by mapping the stan-
18.6. BASIC CONSTRUCTIONS
113
dard basis of F n to V, via . The freedom of choosing

a convenient basis is particularly useful in the innitedimensional context, see below.
18.5.1
Matrices
Main articles: Matrix and Determinant

Matrices are a useful notion to encode linear maps.[32]
a1,2
a1,3
a2,1
a2,2
a2,3
a3,1
a3,2
a3,3
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The volume of this parallelepiped is the absolute value of the

determinant of the 3-by-3 matrix formed by the vectors r1 , r2 ,
and r3 .
.
.
.
.
.
.
a1,1
i
c
h
a
n
g
e
s
.
.
.
j changes
n columns
m
rows
..
ai,j
A typical matrix
They are written as a rectangular array of scalars as in

the image at the right. Any m-by-n matrix A gives rise to
a linear map from F n to F m , by the following
=
(x1 , x2 , , xn )
7 )
n
n
a1j xj , j=1 a2j xj , , j=1 amj xj
, where
denotes summation,
x
(
n
j=1
or, using the matrix multiplication of the matrix A with

the coordinate vector x:
x Ax.
Moreover, after choosing bases of V and W, any linear
map f : V W is uniquely represented by a matrix via
this assignment.[33]
The determinant det (A) of a square matrix A is a scalar
that tells whether the associated map is an isomorphism
or not: to be so it is sucient and necessary that the determinant is nonzero.[34] The linear transformation of Rn
corresponding to a real n-by-n matrix is orientation preserving if and only if its determinant is positive.
with their image under f, f(v). Any nonzero vector v satisfying v = f(v), where is a scalar, is called an eigenvector of f with eigenvalue .[nb 5][35] Equivalently, v is an
element of the kernel of the dierence f Id (where
Id is the identity map V V). If V is nite-dimensional,
this can be rephrased using determinants: f having eigenvalue is equivalent to
det(f Id) = 0.
By spelling out the denition of the determinant, the expression on the left hand side can be seen to be a polynomial function in , called the characteristic polynomial of f.[36] If the eld F is large enough to contain
a zero of this polynomial (which automatically happens
for F algebraically closed, such as F = C) any linear
map has at least one eigenvector. The vector space V
may or may not possess an eigenbasis, a basis consisting of eigenvectors. This phenomenon is governed by
the Jordan canonical form of the map.[nb 6] The set of
all eigenvectors corresponding to a particular eigenvalue
of f forms a vector space known as the eigenspace corresponding to the eigenvalue (and f) in question. To
achieve the spectral theorem, the corresponding statement in the innite-dimensional case, the machinery of
functional analysis is needed, see below.
18.6 Basic constructions
In addition to the above concrete examples, there are a

number of standard linear algebraic constructions that
yield vector spaces related to given ones. In addition to
Main article: Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
the denitions given below, they are also characterized
by universal properties, which determine an object X by
Endomorphisms, linear maps f : V V, are particularly specifying the linear maps from X to any other vector
important since in this case vectors v can be compared space.
18.5.2
Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
114
18.6.1
Subspaces and quotient spaces
Main articles: Linear subspace and Quotient vector space

A nonempty subset W of a vector space V that is closed
statements such as the rst isomorphism theorem (also

called ranknullity theorem in matrix-related terms)
V / ker(f) im(f).
and the second and third isomorphism theorem can be
formulated and proven in a way very similar to the corresponding statements for groups.
An important example is the kernel of a linear map x
Ax for some xed matrix A, as above. The kernel of this
map is the subspace of vectors x such that Ax = 0, which
is precisely the set of solutions to the system of homogeneous linear equations belonging to A. This concept also
extends to linear dierential equations
2
df
a0 f +a1 dx
+a2 ddxf2 + +an ddxnf = 0 , where
the coecients ai are functions in x, too.
A line passing through the origin (blue, thick) in R3 is a linear

subspace. It is the intersection of two planes (green and yellow).
under addition and scalar multiplication (and therefore

contains the 0-vector of V) is called a linear subspace of
V, or simply a subspace of V, when the ambient space
is unambiguously a vector space.[37][nb 7] Subspaces of V
are vector spaces (over the same eld) in their own right.
The intersection of all subspaces containing a given set S
of vectors is called its span, and it is the smallest subspace
of V containing the set S. Expressed in terms of elements,
the span is the subspace consisting of all the linear combinations of elements of S.[38]
In the corresponding map
f 7 D(f ) =
i=0
ai
di f
dxi
the derivatives of the function f appear linearly (as opposed to f(x)2 , for example). Since dierentiation is a
linear procedure (i.e., (f + g) = f + g and (cf) = cf
for a constant c) this assignment is linear, called a linear
dierential operator. In particular, the solutions to the
dierential equation D(f) = 0 form a vector space (over
R or C).
A linear subspace of dimension 1 is a vector line. A linear subspace of dimension 2 is a vector plane. A linear
subspace that contains all elements but one of a basis of 18.6.2 Direct product and direct sum
the ambient space is a vector hyperplane. In a vector
space of nite dimension n, a vector hyperplane is thus a Main articles: Direct product and Direct sum of modules
subspace of dimension n 1.
The direct product of vector spaces and the direct sum of
vector spaces are two ways of combining an indexed family of vector spaces into a new vector space.
The direct product iI Vi of a family of vector spaces

Vi consists of the set of all tuples (vi)i I, which specify
for each index i in some index set I an element vi of Vi.[43]
Addition and scalar multiplication is performed componentwise. A variant of this construction is the
direct sum
iI Vi (also called coproduct and denoted iI Vi ),
where only tuples with nitely many nonzero vectors are
allowed. If the index set I is nite, the two constructions
The kernel ker(f) of a linear map f : V W consists agree, but in general they are dierent.
of vectors v that are mapped to 0 in W.[40] Both kernel
and image im(f) = {f(v) : v V} are subspaces of V
and W, respectively.[41] The existence of kernels and im- 18.6.3 Tensor product
ages is part of the statement that the category of vector
spaces (over a xed eld F) is an abelian category, i.e. a Main article: Tensor product of vector spaces
corpus of mathematical objects and structure-preserving
maps between them (a category) that behaves much like The tensor product V F W, or simply V W, of two
the category of abelian groups.[42] Because of this, many vector spaces V and W is one of the central notions of
The counterpart to subspaces are quotient vector

spaces.[39] Given any subspace W V, the quotient space
V/W ("V modulo W") is dened as follows: as a set, it
consists of v + W = {v + w : w W}, where v is an
arbitrary vector in V. The sum of two such elements v1 +
W and v2 + W is (v1 + v2 ) + W, and scalar multiplication
is given by a (v + W) = (a v) + W. The key point in
this denition is that v1 + W = v2 + W if and only if
the dierence of v1 and v2 lies in W.[nb 8] This way, the
quotient space forgets information that is contained in
the subspace W.
18.7. VECTOR SPACES WITH ADDITIONAL STRUCTURE

multilinear algebra which deals with extending notions
such as linear maps to several variables. A map g : V
W X is called bilinear if g is linear in both variables
v and w. That is to say, for xed w the map v g(v, w)
is linear in the sense above and likewise for xed v.
115
terms to be added. Therefore, the needs of functional

analysis require considering additional structures.
A vector space may be given a partial order , under

which some vectors can be compared.[46] For example,
n-dimensional real space Rn can be ordered by comparThe tensor product is a particular vector space that is a ing its vectors componentwise. Ordered vector spaces,
universal recipient of bilinear maps g, as follows. It is for example Riesz spaces, are fundamental to Lebesgue
dened as the vector space consisting of nite (formal) integration, which relies on the ability to express a funcsums of symbols called tensors
tion as a dierence of two positive functions
v1 w1 + v2 w2 + ... + vn wn,
subject to the rules
a (v w) = (a v) w = v (a w), where a
is a scalar,
(v1 + v2 ) w = v1 w + v2 w, and
v (w1 + w2 ) = v w1 + v w2 .[44]
f = f + f ,
where f + denotes the positive part of f and f the negative
part.[47]
18.7.1 Normed vector spaces and inner

product spaces
Main articles: Normed vector space and Inner product
space
Commutative diagram depicting the universal property of the tensor product.
These rules ensure that the map f from the V W to

V W that maps a tuple (v, w) to v w is bilinear.
The universality states that given any vector space X and
any bilinear map g : V W X, there exists a unique
map u, shown in the diagram with a dotted arrow, whose
composition with f equals g: u(v w) = g(v, w).[45] This
is called the universal property of the tensor product, an
instance of the methodmuch used in advanced abstract
algebrato indirectly dene objects by specifying maps
from or to this object.
18.7 Vector spaces with additional

structure
From the point of view of linear algebra, vector spaces are
completely understood insofar as any vector space is characterized, up to isomorphism, by its dimension. However, vector spaces per se do not oer a framework to deal
with the questioncrucial to analysiswhether a sequence of functions converges to another function. Likewise, linear algebra is not adapted to deal with innite series, since the addition operation allows only nitely many
Measuring vectors is done by specifying a norm, a datum which measures lengths of vectors, or by an inner
product, which measures angles between vectors. Norms
and inner products are denoted |v| and v, w , respectively. The datum of an inner product entails that lengths
of vectors can
be dened too, by dening the associated
norm |v| := v, v . Vector spaces endowed with such
data are known as normed vector spaces and inner product
spaces, respectively.[48]
Coordinate space F n can be equipped with the standard
dot product:
x, y = x y = x1 y1 + + xn yn .
In R2 , this reects the common notion of the angle between two vectors x and y, by the law of cosines:
x y = cos ((x, y)) |x| |y|.

Because of this, two vectors satisfying x, y = 0 are
called orthogonal. An important variant of the standard
dot product is used in Minkowski space: R4 endowed
with the Lorentz product
x|y = x1 y1 + x2 y2 + x3 y3 x4 y4 . [49]
In contrast to the standard dot product, it is not positive
denite: x|x also takes negative values, for example for x = (0, 0, 0, 1) . Singling out the fourth
coordinatecorresponding to time, as opposed to three
space-dimensionsmakes it useful for the mathematical
treatment of special relativity.
116
18.7.2
Topological vector spaces
Main article: Topological vector space
vector space of polynomials on the unit interval [0,1],

equipped with the topology of uniform convergence is
not complete because any continuous function on [0,1]
can be uniformly approximated by a sequence of polynomials, by the Weierstrass approximation theorem.[52] In
contrast, the space of all continuous functions on [0,1]
with the same topology is complete.[53] A norm gives rise
to a topology by dening that a sequence of vectors vn
converges to v if and only if
Convergence questions are treated by considering vector spaces V carrying a compatible topology, a structure that allows one to talk about elements being close
to each other.[50][51] Compatible here means that addition and scalar multiplication have to be continuous maps.
Roughly, if x and y in V, and a in F vary by a bounded
amount, then so do x + y and ax.[nb 9] To make sense of
limn |vn v| = 0.
specifying the amount a scalar changes, the eld F also
has to carry a topology in this context; a common choice Banach and Hilbert spaces are complete topological vector spaces whose topologies are given, respectively, by a
are the reals or the complex numbers.
norm and an inner product. Their studya key piece
In such topological vector spaces one can consider series
of functional analysisfocusses on innite-dimensional
of vectors. The innite sum
vector spaces, since all norms on nite-dimensional topological vector spaces give rise to the same notion of
convergence.[54] The image at the right shows the equiv

alence of the 1-norm and -norm on R2 : as the unit
fi
balls enclose each other, a sequence converges to zero
i=0
denotes the limit of the corresponding nite partial sums in one norm if and only if it so does in the other norm. In
of the sequence (fi)iN of elements of V. For exam- the innite-dimensional case, however, there will generple, the fi could be (real or complex) functions belonging ally be inequivalent topologies, which makes the study of
to some function space V, in which case the series is a topological vector spaces richer than that of vector spaces
function series. The mode of convergence of the series without additional data.
depends on the topology imposed on the function space. From a conceptual point of view, all notions related to
In such cases, pointwise convergence and uniform con- topological vector spaces should match the topology. For
vergence are two prominent examples.
example, instead of considering all linear maps (also
called functionals) V W, maps between topological
vector spaces are required to be continuous.[55] In particular, the (topological) dual space V consists of continuous functionals V R (or to C). The fundamental
HahnBanach theorem is concerned with separating subspaces of appropriate topological vector spaces by continuous functionals.[56]
Banach spaces
Main article: Banach space
Banach spaces, introduced by Stefan Banach, are complete normed vector spaces.[57] A rst example is the vector space p consisting of innite vectors with real entries
x = (x1 , x2 , ...) whose p-norm (1 p ) given by
|x|p := (
supi |xi |
Unit spheres in R2 consist of plane vectors of norm 1. Depicted

are the unit spheres in dierent p-norms, for p = 1,
2, and . The
bigger diamond depicts points of 1-norm equal to 2 .
|xi |p )
1/p
for p < and |x| :=
is nite. The topologies on the innite-dimensional space

p are inequivalent for dierent p. E.g. the sequence of
vectors xn = (2n , 2n , ..., 2n , 0, 0, ...), i.e. the rst 2n
A way to ensure the existence of limits of certain in- components are 2n , the following ones are 0, converges
nite series is to restrict attention to spaces where any to the zero vector for p = , but does not for p = 1:
Cauchy sequence has a limit; such a vector space is called
|xn | = sup(2n , 0) = 2n 0 , but
complete. Roughly, a vector space is complete provided
2n
that it contains all necessary limits. For example, the
|xn |1 = i=1 2n = 2n 2n = 1.
18.7. VECTOR SPACES WITH ADDITIONAL STRUCTURE
117
More generally than sequences of real numbers, functions analysis, in the guise of the Taylor approximation, estabf: R are endowed with a norm that replaces the lished an approximation of dierentiable functions f by
above sum by the Lebesgue integral
polynomials.[62] By the StoneWeierstrass theorem, every continuous function on [a, b] can be approximated
as closely as desired by a polynomial.[63] A similar ap(
)1/p
proximation technique by trigonometric functions is com|f |p :=
|f (x)|p dx
.
monly
called Fourier expansion, and is much applied in
engineering, see below. More generally, and more conThe space of integrable functions on a given domain ceptually, the theorem yields a simple description of what
(for example an interval) satisfying | f |p < , and basic functions, or, in abstract Hilbert spaces, what baequipped with this norm are called Lebesgue spaces, de- sic vectors suce to generate a Hilbert space H, in the
noted Lp ().[nb 10] These spaces are complete.[58] (If one sense that the closure of their span (i.e., nite linear comuses the Riemann integral instead, the space is not combinations and limits of those) is the whole space. Such
plete, which may be seen as a justication for Lebesgues a set of functions is called a basis of H, its cardinalintegration theory.[nb 11] ) Concretely this means that for ity is known as the Hilbert space dimension.[nb 13] Not
any sequence of Lebesgue-integrable functions f 1 , f 2 , ... only does the theorem exhibit suitable basis functions as
with | fn |p < , satisfying the condition
sucient for approximation purposes, but together with
the Gram-Schmidt process, it enables one to construct a
basis of orthogonal vectors.[64] Such orthogonal bases are
p
the Hilbert space generalization of the coordinate axes in
lim
|fk (x) fn (x)| dx = 0
k, n
nite-dimensional Euclidean space.
there exists a function f(x) belonging to the vector space The solutions to various dierential equations can be
Lp () such that
interpreted in terms of Hilbert spaces. For example,
a great many elds in physics and engineering lead to
such equations and frequently solutions with particular
physical properties are used as basis functions, often

lim
|f (x) fk (x)|p dx = 0.
k
orthogonal.[65] As an example from physics, the timeImposing boundedness conditions not only on the func- dependent Schrdinger equation in quantum mechanics
tion, but also on its derivatives leads to Sobolev spaces.[59] describes the change of physical properties in time by
means of a partial dierential equation, whose solutions
are called wavefunctions.[66] Denite values for physical
Hilbert spaces
properties such as energy, or momentum, correspond to
eigenvalues of a certain (linear) dierential operator and
Main article: Hilbert space
the associated wavefunctions are called eigenstates. The
Complete inner product spaces are known as Hilbert spectral theorem decomposes a linear compact operator
acting on functions in terms of these eigenfunctions and
their eigenvalues.[67]
18.7.3 Algebras over elds

Main articles: Algebra over a eld and Lie algebra
General vector spaces do not possess a multiplication
between vectors. A vector space equipped with an additional bilinear operator dening the multiplication of
[68]
Many alge[60]
spaces, in honor of David Hilbert.
The Hilbert space two vectors is an algebra over a eld.
bras
stem
from
functions
on
some
geometrical
object:
2
L (), with inner product given by
since functions with values in a given eld can be multiplied pointwise, these entities form algebras. The Stone
Weierstrass theorem mentioned above, for example, ref , g =

f (x)g(x) dx,
lies on Banach algebras which are both Banach spaces
and algebras.
where g(x) denotes the complex conjugate of Commutative algebra makes great use of rings of polyg(x),[61][nb 12] is a key case.
nomials in one or several variables, introduced above.
The succeeding snapshots show summation of 1 to 5 terms in
approximating a periodic function (blue) by nite sum of sine
functions (red).
By denition, in a Hilbert space any Cauchy sequence

converges to a limit. Conversely, nding a sequence
of functions fn with desirable properties that approximates a given limit function, is equally crucial. Early
Their multiplication is both commutative and associative.

These rings and their quotients form the basis of algebraic
geometry, because they are rings of functions of algebraic
geometric objects.[69]
118
18.8 Applications
Vector spaces have manifold applications as they occur
in many circumstances, namely wherever functions with
values in some eld are involved. They provide a framework to deal with analytical and geometrical problems,
or are used in the Fourier transform. This list is not
exhaustive: many more applications exist, for example
in optimization. The minimax theorem of game theory
stating the existence of a unique payo when all players play optimally can be formulated and proven using
vector spaces methods.[73] Representation theory fruitfully transfers the good understanding of linear algebra
and vector spaces to other mathematical domains such as
group theory.[74]
18.8.1 Distributions
A hyperbola, given by the equation x y = 1. The coordinate
ring of functions on this hyperbola is given by R[x, y] / (x y
1), an innite-dimensional vector space over R.
Main article: Distribution
A distribution (or generalized function) is a linear map

assigning a number to each test function, typically a
Another crucial example are Lie algebras, which are nei- smooth function with compact support, in a continuous
ther commutative nor associative, but the failure to be so way: in the above terminology the space of distributions
is limited by the constraints ([x, y] denotes the product of is the (continuous) dual of the test function space.[75] The
x and y):
latter space is endowed with a topology that takes into account not only f itself, but also all its higher derivatives.
A standard example is the result of integrating a test func [x, y] = [y, x] (anticommutativity), and
tion f over some domain :
[x, [y, z]] + [y, [z, x]] + [z, [x, y]] = 0 (Jacobi iden
tity).[70]
I(f ) =
f (x) dx.
Examples include the vector space of n-by-n matrices, When = {p}, the set consisting of a single point, this
with [x, y] = xy yx, the commutator of two matrices, reduces to the Dirac distribution, denoted by , which associates to a test function f its value at the p: (f) = f(p).
and R3 , endowed with the cross product.
Distributions are a powerful instrument to solve dierenThe tensor algebra T(V) is a formal way of adding prod- tial equations. Since all standard analytic notions such as
ucts to any vector space V to obtain an algebra.[71] As derivatives are linear, they extend naturally to the space
a vector space, it is spanned by symbols, called simple of distributions. Therefore, the equation in question can
tensors
be transferred to a distribution space, which is bigger than
the underlying function space, so that more exible methods are available for solving the equation. For example,
v1 v2 ... vn, where the degree n varies.
Greens functions and fundamental solutions are usually
distributions rather than proper functions, and can then
The multiplication is given by concatenating such sym- be used to nd solutions of the equation with prescribed
bols, imposing the distributive law under addition, and boundary conditions. The found solution can then in
requiring that scalar multiplication commute with the ten- some cases be proven to be actually a true function, and
sor product , much the same way as with the tensor a solution to the original equation (e.g., using the Lax
a consequence of the Riesz represenproduct of two vector spaces introduced above. In gen- Milgram theorem,
[76]
tation
theorem).
eral, there are no relations between v v and v
1
v1 . Forcing two such elements to be equal leads to the

symmetric algebra, whereas forcing v1 v2 = v2 v1
18.8.2
yields the exterior algebra.[72]
When a eld, F is explicitly stated, a common term used
is F-algebra.
Fourier analysis
Main article: Fourier analysis

Resolving a periodic function into a sum of trigonometric
18.9. GENERALIZATIONS
119
speech encoding, image compression.[86] The JPEG image format is an application of the closely related discrete
cosine transform.[87]
The fast Fourier transform is an algorithm for rapidly
computing the discrete Fourier transform.[88] It is used
not only for calculating the Fourier coecients but, using the convolution theorem, also for computing the
convolution of two nite sequences.[89] They in turn are
applied in digital lters[90] and as a rapid multiplication
algorithm for polynomials and large integers (SchnhageStrassen algorithm).[91][92]
The heat equation describes the dissipation of physical properties over time, such as the decline of the temperature of a hot
body placed in a colder environment (yellow depicts colder regions than red).
functions forms a Fourier series, a technique much used

in physics and engineering.[nb 14][77] The underlying vector space is usually the Hilbert space L2 (0, 2), for which
the functions sin mx and cos mx (m an integer) form an
orthogonal basis.[78] The Fourier expansion of an L2 function f is
18.8.3 Dierential geometry

Main article: Tangent space
The tangent plane to a surface at a point is naturally a
a0
+
[am cos (mx) + bm sin (mx)] .
2
m=1
The coecients am and bm are called Fourier coecients

of f, and are calculated by the formulas[79]
2
am = 1 0 f (t) cos(mt) dt , bm
1 2
0 f (t) sin(mt) dt.
In physical terms the function is represented as a

superposition of sine waves and the coecients give information about the functions frequency spectrum.[80]
A complex-number form of Fourier series is also commonly used.[79] The concrete formulae above are consequences of a more general mathematical duality called
Pontryagin duality.[81] Applied to the group R, it yields
the classical Fourier transform; an application in physics
are reciprocal lattices, where the underlying group is a
nite-dimensional real vector space endowed with the additional datum of a lattice encoding positions of atoms in
crystals.[82]
Fourier series are used to solve boundary value problems
in partial dierential equations.[83] In 1822, Fourier rst
used this technique to solve the heat equation.[84] A discrete version of the Fourier series can be used in sampling
applications where the function value is known only at a
nite number of equally spaced points. In this case the
Fourier series is nite and its value is equal to the sampled
values at all points.[85] The set of coecients is known as
the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) of the given sample
sequence. The DFT is one of the key tools of digital signal processing, a eld whose applications include radar,
The tangent space to the 2-sphere at some point is the innite

plane touching the sphere in this point.
vector space whose origin is identied with the point of

contact. The tangent plane is the best linear approximation, or linearization, of a surface at a point.[nb 15] Even in
a three-dimensional Euclidean space, there is typically no
natural way to prescribe a basis of the tangent plane, and
so it is conceived of as an abstract vector space rather than
a real coordinate space. The tangent space is the generalization to higher-dimensional dierentiable manifolds.[93]
Riemannian manifolds are manifolds whose tangent
spaces are endowed with a suitable inner product.[94] Derived therefrom, the Riemann curvature tensor encodes
all curvatures of a manifold in one object, which nds
applications in general relativity, for example, where the
Einstein curvature tensor describes the matter and energy
content of space-time.[95][96] The tangent space of a Lie
group can be given naturally the structure of a Lie algebra
and can be used to classify compact Lie groups.[97]
120
18.9.1
Vector bundles
and geometrical insight, it has purely algebraic consequences, such as the classication of nite-dimensional
Main articles: Vector bundle and Tangent bundle
real division algebras: R, C, the quaternions H and the
A vector bundle is a family of vector spaces parametrized octonions O.
The cotangent bundle of a dierentiable manifold consists, at every point of the manifold, of the dual of the
tangent space, the cotangent space. Sections of that bundle are known as dierential one-forms.
1
18.9.2 Modules
U
Main article: Module
Modules are to rings what vector spaces are to elds: the

same axioms, applied to a ring R instead of a eld F,
yield modules.[101] The theory of modules, compared to
1
UxR
that of vector spaces, is complicated by the presence of
ring elements that do not have multiplicative inverses.
U
For example, modules need not have bases, as the Zmodule (i.e., abelian group) Z/2Z shows; those modules that do (including all vector spaces) are known as
A Mbius strip. Locally, it looks like U R.
free modules. Nevertheless, a vector space can be comcontinuously by a topological space X.[93] More precisely, pactly dened as a module over a ring which is a eld
a vector bundle over X is a topological space E equipped with the elements being called vectors. Some authors use
the term vector space to mean modules over a division
with a continuous map
ring.[102] The algebro-geometric interpretation of commutative rings via their spectrum allows the development
: EX
of concepts such as locally free modules, the algebraic
1
counterpart
to vector bundles.
such that for every x in X, the ber (x) is a vector
space. The case dim V = 1 is called a line bundle. For
any vector space V, the projection X V X makes
the product X V into a trivial vector bundle. Vec- 18.9.3 Ane and projective spaces
tor bundles over X are required to be locally a product
of X and some (xed) vector space V: for every x in X, Main articles: Ane space and Projective space
there is a neighborhood U of x such that the restriction of Roughly, ane spaces are vector spaces whose origins
to 1 (U) is isomorphic[nb 16] to the trivial bundle U
V U. Despite their locally trivial character, vector bundles may (depending on the shape of the underlying space
X) be twisted in the large (i.e., the bundle need not be
(globally isomorphic to) the trivial bundle X V). For
example, the Mbius strip can be seen as a line bundle
over the circle S 1 (by identifying open intervals with the
real line). It is, however, dierent from the cylinder S 1
R, because the latter is orientable whereas the former is
not.[98]
Properties of certain vector bundles provide information
about the underlying topological space. For example, the
tangent bundle consists of the collection of tangent spaces
parametrized by the points of a dierentiable manifold.
The tangent bundle of the circle S 1 is globally isomorphic to S 1 R, since there is a global nonzero vector
eld on S 1 .[nb 17] In contrast, by the hairy ball theorem,
there is no (tangent) vector eld on the 2-sphere S 2 which
is everywhere nonzero.[99] K-theory studies the isomorphism classes of all vector bundles over some topological space.[100] In addition to deepening topological
An ane plane (light blue) in R3 . It is a two-dimensional subspace shifted by a vector x (red).
are not specied.[103] More precisely, an ane space is a

set with a free transitive vector space action. In particular,
a vector space is an ane space over itself, by the map
18.12. FOOTNOTES
V V V, (v, a) a + v.
121
[8] Some authors (such as Roman 2005) choose to start with

this equivalence relation and derive the concrete shape of
V/W from this.
If W is a vector space, then an ane subspace is a subset

of W obtained by translating a linear subspace V by a [9] This requirement implies that the topology gives rise to a
xed vector x W; this space is denoted by x + V (it is
uniform structure, Bourbaki 1989, ch. II
a coset of V in W) and consists of all vectors of the form
x + v for v V. An important example is the space of [10] The triangle inequality for ||p is provided by the
Minkowski inequality. For technical reasons, in the
solutions of a system of inhomogeneous linear equations
Ax = b
generalizing the homogeneous case b = 0 above.[104] The
space of solutions is the ane subspace x + V where x is
a particular solution of the equation, and V is the space
of solutions of the homogeneous equation (the nullspace
of A).
context of functions one has to identify functions that

agree almost everywhere to get a norm, and not only a
seminorm.
[11] Many functions in L2 of Lebesgue measure, being unbounded, cannot be integrated with the classical Riemann
integral. So spaces of Riemann integrable functions would
not be complete in the L2 norm, and the orthogonal decomposition would not apply to them. This shows one of
the advantages of Lebesgue integration., Dudley 1989,
5.3, p. 125
The set of one-dimensional subspaces of a xed nitedimensional vector space V is known as projective space; [12] For p 2, Lp () is not a Hilbert space.
it may be used to formalize the idea of parallel lines intersecting at innity.[105] Grassmannians and ag manifolds [13] A basis of a Hilbert space is not the same thing as a basis
in the sense of linear algebra above. For distinction, the
generalize this by parametrizing linear subspaces of xed
latter is then called a Hamel basis.
dimension k and ags of subspaces, respectively.
18.10 See also

Vector (mathematics and physics), for a list of various kinds of vectors
18.11 Notes
[1] It is also common, especially in physics, to denote vectors
with an arrow on top: v .
[2] This axiom refers to two dierent operations: scalar multiplication: bv; and eld multiplication: ab. It does not assert the associativity of either operation. More formally,
scalar multiplication is the semigroup action of the scalars
on the vector space. Combined with the axiom of the
identity element of scalar multiplication, it is a monoid
action.
[14] Although the Fourier series is periodic, the technique can

be applied to any L2 function on an interval by considering the function to be continued periodically outside the
interval. See Kreyszig 1988, p. 601
[15] That is to say (BSE-3 2001), the plane passing through the
point of contact P such that the distance from a point P 1 on
the surface to the plane is innitesimally small compared
to the distance from P 1 to P in the limit as P 1 approaches
P along the surface.
[16] That is, there is a homeomorphism from 1 (U) to V U
which restricts to linear isomorphisms between bers.
[17] A line bundle, such as the tangent bundle of S 1 is trivial if and only if there is a section that vanishes nowhere,
see Husemoller 1994, Corollary 8.3. The sections of the
tangent bundle are just vector elds.
18.12 Footnotes
[3] Some authors (such as Brown 1991) restrict attention to

the elds R or C, but most of the theory is unchanged for
an arbitrary eld.
[1] Roman 2005, ch. 1, p. 27
[4] The indicator functions of intervals (of which there are

innitely many) are linearly independent, for example.
[3] Bourbaki 1998, II.1.1. Bourbaki calls the group homomorphisms f(a) homotheties.
[5] The nomenclature derives from German "eigen", which

means own or proper.
[4] Bourbaki 1969, ch. Algbre linaire et algbre multilinaire, pp. 7891
[6] Roman 2005, ch. 8, p. 140. See also JordanChevalley

decomposition.
[5] Bolzano 1804
[7] This is typically the case when a vector space is also considered as an ane space. In this case, a linear subspace
contains the zero vector, while an ane subspace does not
necessarily contain it.
[2] van der Waerden 1993, Ch. 19
[6] Mbius 1827

[7] Crowe, Michel J. (1994), A History of Vector Analysis:
The Evolution of the Idea of a Vectorial System, Dover, p.
11 and 16, ISBN 0-486-67910-1
122
[8] Hamilton 1853
[46] Schaefer & Wol 1999, pp. 204205
[9] Grassmann 2000
[47] Bourbaki 2004, ch. 2, p. 48
[10] Peano 1888, ch. IX
[48] Roman 2005, ch. 9
[11] Banach 1922
[49] Naber 2003, ch. 1.2
[12] Dorier 1995, Moore 1995
[50] Treves 1967
[13] Lang 1987, ch. I.1
[51] Bourbaki 1987
[14] Lang 2002, ch. V.1
[52] Kreyszig 1989, 4.11-5
[15] e.g. Lang 1993, ch. XII.3., p. 335
[53] Kreyszig 1989, 1.5-5
[16] Lang 1987, ch. IX.1
[54] Choquet 1966, Proposition III.7.2
[17] Lang 1987, ch. VI.3.
[55] Treves 1967, p. 3436
[18] Roman 2005, Theorem 1.9, p. 43
[56] Lang 1983, Cor. 4.1.2, p. 69
[19] Blass 1984
[57] Treves 1967, ch. 11
[20] Halpern 1966, pp. 670673
[58] Treves 1967, Theorem 11.2, p. 102
[21] Artin 1991, Theorem 3.3.13
[59] Evans 1998, ch. 5
[22] Braun 1993, Th. 3.4.5, p. 291
[60] Treves 1967, ch. 12
[23] Stewart 1975, Proposition 4.3, p. 52
[61] Dennery 1996, p.190
[24] Stewart 1975, Theorem 6.5, p. 74
[62] Lang 1993, Th. XIII.6, p. 349
[25] Roman 2005, ch. 2, p. 45
[63] Lang 1993, Th. III.1.1
[26] Lang 1987, ch. IV.4, Corollary, p. 106
[64] Choquet 1966, Lemma III.16.11
[27] Lang 1987, Example IV.2.6
[65] Kreyszig 1999, Chapter 11
[28] Lang 1987, ch. VI.6
[66] Griths 1995, Chapter 1
[29] Halmos 1974, p. 28, Ex. 9
[67] Lang 1993, ch. XVII.3
[30] Lang 1987, Theorem IV.2.1, p. 95
[68] Lang 2002, ch. III.1, p. 121
[31] Roman 2005, Th. 2.5 and 2.6, p. 49
[69] Eisenbud 1995, ch. 1.6
[32] Lang 1987, ch. V.1
[70] Varadarajan 1974
[33] Lang 1987, ch. V.3., Corollary, p. 106
[71] Lang 2002, ch. XVI.7
[34] Lang 1987, Theorem VII.9.8, p. 198
[72] Lang 2002, ch. XVI.8
[35] Roman 2005, ch. 8, p. 135156
[73] Luenberger 1997, 7.13
[36] Lang 1987, ch. IX.4
[74] See representation theory and group representation.
[37] Roman 2005, ch. 1, p. 29
[75] Lang 1993, Ch. XI.1
[38] Roman 2005, ch. 1, p. 35
[76] Evans 1998, Th. 6.2.1
[39] Roman 2005, ch. 3, p. 64
[77] Folland 1992, p. 349
[40] Lang 1987, ch. IV.3.
[78] Gasquet & Witomski 1999, p. 150
[41] Roman 2005, ch. 2, p. 48
[79] Gasquet & Witomski 1999, 4.5
[42] Mac Lane 1998
[43] Roman 2005, ch. 1, pp. 3132
[81] Loomis 1953, Ch. VII
[44] Lang 2002, ch. XVI.1
[82] Ashcroft & Mermin 1976, Ch. 5
[45] Roman 2005, Th. 14.3. See also Yoneda lemma.
[83] Kreyszig 1988, p. 667
18.13. REFERENCES
[84] Fourier 1822

[86] Ifeachor & Jervis 2002, pp. 34, 11
[87] Wallace Feb 1992
[88] Ifeachor & Jervis 2002, p. 132
[90] Ifeachor & Jervis 2002, pp. 307310
[92] Schnhage & Strassen 1971
[93] Spivak 1999, ch. 3
[94] Jost 2005. See also Lorentzian manifold.
[95] Misner, Thorne & Wheeler 1973, ch. 1.8.7, p. 222 and
ch. 2.13.5, p. 325
[96] Jost 2005, ch. 3.1
[97] Varadarajan 1974, ch. 4.3, Theorem 4.3.27
123
1878556
Mac Lane, Saunders (1999), Algebra (3rd ed.), pp.
193222, ISBN 0-8218-1646-2
Meyer, Carl D. (2000), Matrix Analysis and Applied
Linear Algebra, SIAM, ISBN 978-0-89871-454-8
Roman, Steven (2005), Advanced Linear Algebra,
Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0387-24766-3
Spindler, Karlheinz (1993), Abstract Algebra with
Applications: Volume 1: Vector spaces and groups,
CRC, ISBN 978-0-8247-9144-5
van der Waerden, Bartel Leendert (1993), Algebra
(in German) (9th ed.), Berlin, New York: SpringerVerlag, ISBN 978-3-540-56799-8
18.13.2 Analysis
[98] Kreyszig 1991, 34, p. 108

[99] Eisenberg & Guy 1979
[100] Atiyah 1989
[101] Artin 1991, ch. 12
[102] Grillet, Pierre Antoine. Abstract algebra. Vol. 242.
Springer Science & Business Media, 2007.
[103] Meyer 2000, Example 5.13.5, p. 436
[104] Meyer 2000, Exercise 5.13.1517, p. 442
[105] Coxeter 1987
Bourbaki, Nicolas (1987), Topological vector

spaces, Elements of mathematics, Berlin, New
York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-540-13627-9
Bourbaki, Nicolas (2004), Integration I, Berlin, New
Braun, Martin (1993), Dierential equations and
their applications: an introduction to applied mathematics, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN
978-0-387-97894-9
BSE-3 (2001), Tangent plane, in Hazewinkel,
ISBN 978-1-55608-010-4
18.13 References
Choquet, Gustave (1966), Topology, Boston, MA:

Academic Press
18.13.1
Dennery, Philippe; Krzywicki, Andre (1996),

Mathematics for Physicists, Courier Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-69193-0
Algebra
Artin, Michael (1991), Algebra, Prentice Hall, ISBN

978-0-89871-510-1
Blass, Andreas (1984), Existence of bases implies
the axiom of choice, Axiomatic set theory (Boulder, Colorado, 1983), Contemporary Mathematics
31, Providence, R.I.: American Mathematical Society, pp. 3133, MR 763890
Brown, William A. (1991), Matrices and vector
spaces, New York: M. Dekker, ISBN 978-0-82478419-5
Lang, Serge (1987), Linear algebra, Berlin, New
Dudley, Richard M. (1989),

probability, The Wadsworth &
ematics Series, Pacic Grove,
Brooks/Cole Advanced Books
978-0-534-10050-6
Real analysis and

Brooks/Cole MathCA: Wadsworth &
& Software, ISBN
Dunham, William (2005), The Calculus Gallery,

Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-69109565-3
Evans, Lawrence C. (1998), Partial dierential
equations, Providence, R.I.: American Mathematical Society, ISBN 978-0-8218-0772-9
124
Folland, Gerald B. (1992), Fourier Analysis and

Its Applications, Brooks-Cole, ISBN 978-0-53417094-3
Bourbaki, Nicolas (1969), lments d'histoire des

mathmatiques (Elements of history of mathematics)
(in French), Paris: Hermann
Gasquet, Claude; Witomski, Patrick (1999), Fourier

Analysis and Applications: Filtering, Numerical
Computation, Wavelets, Texts in Applied Mathematics, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN 0-38798485-2
Dorier, Jean-Luc (1995), A general outline of the

genesis of vector space theory, Historia Mathematica 22 (3): 227261, doi:10.1006/hmat.1995.1024,
MR 1347828
Ifeachor, Emmanuel C.; Jervis, Barrie W. (2001),

Digital Signal Processing: A Practical Approach (2nd
ed.), Harlow, Essex, England: Prentice-Hall (published 2002), ISBN 0-201-59619-9
Krantz, Steven G. (1999), A Panorama of Harmonic
Analysis, Carus Mathematical Monographs, Washington, DC: Mathematical Association of America,
ISBN 0-88385-031-1
Kreyszig, Erwin (1988), Advanced Engineering
Mathematics (6th ed.), New York: John Wiley &
Sons, ISBN 0-471-85824-2
Kreyszig, Erwin (1989), Introductory functional
analysis with applications, Wiley Classics Library,
New York: John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 978-0-47150459-7, MR 992618
Lang, Serge (1983), Real analysis, Addison-Wesley,
ISBN 978-0-201-14179-5
Lang, Serge (1993), Real and functional analysis,
Loomis, Lynn H. (1953), An introduction to abstract
harmonic analysis, Toronto-New YorkLondon: D.
Van Nostrand Company, Inc., pp. x+190
Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph (1822), Thorie analytique de la chaleur (in French), Chez Firmin Didot,
pre et ls
Grassmann, Hermann (1844), Die Lineale Ausdehnungslehre - Ein neuer Zweig der Mathematik
(in German), O. Wigand, reprint: Hermann Grassmann. Translated by Lloyd C. Kannenberg. (2000),
Kannenberg, L.C., ed., Extension Theory, Providence, R.I.: American Mathematical Society, ISBN
978-0-8218-2031-5
Hamilton, William Rowan (1853), Lectures on
Quaternions, Royal Irish Academy
Mbius, August Ferdinand (1827), Der Barycentrische Calcul : ein neues Hlfsmittel zur analytischen
Behandlung der Geometrie (Barycentric calculus: a
new utility for an analytic treatment of geometry) (in
German)
Moore, Gregory H. (1995), The axiomatization of
linear algebra: 18751940, Historia Mathematica
22 (3): 262303, doi:10.1006/hmat.1995.1025
Peano, Giuseppe (1888), Calcolo Geometrico secondo l'Ausdehnungslehre di H. Grassmann preceduto
dalle Operazioni della Logica Deduttiva (in Italian),
Turin
Schaefer, Helmut H.; Wol, M.P. (1999), Topological vector spaces (2nd ed.), Berlin, New York: 18.13.4 Further references
Springer-Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-98726-2
Ashcroft, Neil; Mermin, N. David (1976), Solid
Treves, Franois (1967), Topological vector spaces,
State Physics, Toronto: Thomson Learning, ISBN
distributions and kernels, Boston, MA: Academic
978-0-03-083993-1
Press
Atiyah, Michael Francis (1989), K-theory, Advanced Book Classics (2nd ed.), Addison-Wesley,
18.13.3 Historical references
ISBN 978-0-201-09394-0, MR 1043170
Banach, Stefan (1922), Sur les oprations dans les
ensembles abstraits et leur application aux quations intgrales (On operations in abstract sets and
their application to integral equations)" (PDF),
Fundamenta Mathematicae (in French) 3, ISSN
0016-2736
Bolzano, Bernard (1804), Betrachtungen ber einige
Gegenstnde der Elementargeometrie (Considerations of some aspects of elementary geometry) (in
German)
Bourbaki, Nicolas (1998), Elements of Mathematics : Algebra I Chapters 1-3, Berlin, New York:
Bourbaki, Nicolas (1989), General Topology. Chapters 1-4, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN
978-3-540-64241-1
Coxeter, Harold Scott MacDonald (1987), Projective Geometry (2nd ed.), Berlin, New York:
125
Eisenberg, Murray; Guy, Robert (1979), A proof

of the hairy ball theorem, The American Mathematical Monthly (Mathematical Association of
America) 86 (7): 572574, doi:10.2307/2320587,
JSTOR 2320587
Schnhage, A.; Strassen, Volker (1971), Schnelle

Multiplikation groer Zahlen (Fast multiplication
of big numbers)" (PDF), Computing (in German)
7: 281292, doi:10.1007/bf02242355, ISSN 0010485X
Eisenbud, David (1995), Commutative algebra,

Graduate Texts in Mathematics 150, Berlin, New
MR 1322960
Spivak, Michael (1999), A Comprehensive Introduction to Dierential Geometry (Volume Two), Houston, TX: Publish or Perish
Goldrei, Derek (1996), Classic Set Theory: A guided

independent study (1st ed.), London: Chapman and
Hall, ISBN 0-412-60610-0
Griths, David J. (1995), Introduction to Quantum
Mechanics, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall,
ISBN 0-13-124405-1
Halmos, Paul R. (1974), Finite-dimensional vector
spaces, Berlin, New York: Springer-Verlag, ISBN
978-0-387-90093-3
Halpern, James D. (Jun 1966), Bases in Vector Spaces and the Axiom of Choice, Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society (American Mathematical Society) 17 (3): 670673,
doi:10.2307/2035388, JSTOR 2035388
Husemoller, Dale (1994), Fibre Bundles (3rd ed.),
Jost, Jrgen (2005), Riemannian Geometry and
Geometric Analysis (4th ed.), Berlin, New York:
Kreyszig, Erwin (1991), Dierential geometry, New
York: Dover Publications, pp. xiv+352, ISBN 9780-486-66721-8
Kreyszig, Erwin (1999), Advanced Engineering
Mathematics (8th ed.), New York: John Wiley &
Sons, ISBN 0-471-15496-2
Luenberger, David (1997), Optimization by vector
space methods, New York: John Wiley & Sons,
ISBN 978-0-471-18117-0
Mac Lane, Saunders (1998), Categories for the
Working Mathematician (2nd ed.), Berlin, New
Misner, Charles W.; Thorne, Kip; Wheeler, John
Archibald (1973), Gravitation, W. H. Freeman,
ISBN 978-0-7167-0344-0
Naber, Gregory L. (2003), The geometry of
Minkowski spacetime, New York: Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-486-43235-9, MR 2044239
Stewart, Ian (1975), Galois Theory, Chapman and

Hall Mathematics Series, London: Chapman and
Hall, ISBN 0-412-10800-3
Varadarajan, V. S. (1974), Lie groups, Lie algebras,
and their representations, Prentice Hall, ISBN 9780-13-535732-3
Wallace, G.K. (Feb 1992), The JPEG still picture compression standard, IEEE Transactions
on Consumer Electronics 38 (1): xviiixxxiv,
doi:10.1109/30.125072, ISSN 0098-3063
Weibel, Charles A. (1994), An introduction to homological algebra, Cambridge Studies in Advanced
Mathematics 38, Cambridge University Press,
ISBN 978-0-521-55987-4, OCLC 36131259, MR
1269324
18.14 External links

Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), Vector space,
A lecture about fundamental concepts related to
vector spaces (given at MIT)
A graphical simulator for the concepts of span, linear dependency, base and dimension
Chapter 19
Zero divisor
In abstract algebra, an element a of a ring R is called a 19.1.1 One-sided zero-divisor
left zero divisor if there exists a nonzero x such that ax
(
)
= 0,[1] or equivalently if the map from R to R that sends x
x y
Consider
the
ring
of
(formal)
matrices
to ax is not injective.[2] Similarly, an element a of a ring is
0 z
called a right zero divisor if there exists a nonzero y such
with
x,
z
Z
and
y
Z/2Z
.
(
)(
)
(
) Then
that ya = 0. This is a partial case of divisibility in rings.
x y
a b
xa xb + yc
=
and
An element that is a left or a right zero divisor is simply
0 z)( 0 c)
0
zc )
(
(
called a zero divisor.[3] An element a that is both a left
a b x y
xa ya + zb
=
.
If
and a right zero divisor is called a two-sided zero divisor
0 c
0 z
zc
(
)0
(the nonzero x such that ax = 0 may be dierent from the
x y
x =
0 = y , then
is a left zero divisor
nonzero y such that ya = 0). If the ring is commutative,
z
( 0 )(
) (
)
then the left and right zero divisors are the same.
x y
0 1
0 x
i x is even, since
=
;
0 z
0 0
0 0
An element of a ring that is not a zero divisor is called
and it is a right zero divisor i z is even for similar
regular, or a non-zero-divisor. A zero divisor that is
reasons. If either of x, z is 0 , then it is a two-sided
nonzero is called a nonzero zero divisor or a nontrivial
zero-divisor.
zero divisor. If there are no nontrivial zero divisors in R,
then R is a division ring
Here is another example of a ring with an element
that is a zero divisor on one side only. Let S be
the set of all sequences of integers (a1, a2, a3, ...)
19.1 Examples
. Take for the ring all additive maps from S to S
, with pointwise addition and composition as the
In the ring Z/4Z , the residue class 2 is a zero divisor
ring operations. (That is, our ring is End(S) ,
since 2 2 = 4 = 0 .
the endomorphism ring of the additive group S
.) Three examples of elements of this ring are the
The only zero divisor of the ring Z of integers is 0.
right shift R(a1, a2, a3, ...) = (0, a1, a2, ...) ,
the left shift L(a1, a2, a3, ...) = (a2, a3, a4, ...)
A nilpotent element of a nonzero ring is always a
, and the projection map onto the rst factor
two-sided zero divisor.
P (a1, a2, a3, ...) = (a1, 0, 0, ...) . All three of
An idempotent element e = 1 of a ring is always a
these additive maps are not zero, and the compostwo-sided zero divisor, since e(1 e) = 0 = (1
ites LP and P R are both zero, so L is a left zero
e)e .
divisor and R is a right zero divisor in the ring of
additive maps from S to S . However, L is not a
Examples of zero divisors in the ring of 2 2 maright zero divisor and R is not a left zero divisor: the
trices (over any nonzero ring) are shown here:
composite LR is the identity. Note also that RL is
(
)(
) (
)(
) (
)
a two-sided zero-divisor since RLP = 0 = P RL ,
1 1
1
1
2 1 1 1
0 0
=
=
,
while LR = 1 is not in any direction.
2 2 1 1
2 1 2 2
0 0
(
)(
) (
)(
1 0 0 0
0 0 1
=
0 0 0 1
0 1 0
0
0
(
=
0 0
0 0
19.2 Non-examples
A direct product of two or more nonzero rings always has nonzero zero divisors. For example, in R1
R2 with each Ri nonzero, (1,0)(0,1) = (0,0), so
(1,0) is a zero divisor.
126
The ring of integers modulo a prime number has no

zero divisors other than 0. Since every nonzero element is a unit, this ring is a eld.
19.6. SEE ALSO
127
More generally, a division ring has no zero divisors is a zero divisor on M otherwise.[4] The set of M-regular
except 0.
elements is a multiplicative set in R.[5]
A nonzero commutative ring whose only zero divisor Specializing the denitions of M-regular and zero divisor on M to the case M = R recovers the denitions of
is 0 is called an integral domain.
regular and zero divisor given earlier in this article.
19.3 Properties
In the ring of n-by-n matrices over a eld, the left
and right zero divisors coincide; they are precisely
the singular matrices. In the ring of n-by-n matrices
over an integral domain, the zero divisors are precisely the matrices with determinant zero.
Left or right zero divisors can never be units, because if a is invertible and ax = 0, then 0 = a1 0 =
a1 ax = x, whereas x must be nonzero.
19.6 See also

Zero-product property
Glossary of commutative algebra (Exact zero divisor)
19.7 Notes
[1] See Bourbaki, p. 98.
19.4 Zero as a zero divisor

There is no need for a separate convention regarding the
case a = 0, because the denition applies also in this case:
If R is a ring other than the zero ring, then 0 is a
(two-sided) zero divisor, because 0 1 = 0 and 1 0
= 0.
If R is the zero ring, in which 0 = 1, then 0 is not
a zero divisor, because there is no nonzero element
that when multiplied by 0 yields 0.
Such properties are needed in order to make the following
general statements true:
In a nonzero commutative ring R, the set of nonzero-divisors is a multiplicative set in R. (This, in
turn, is important for the denition of the total quotient ring.) The same is true of the set of non-leftzero-divisors and the set of non-right-zero-divisors
in an arbitrary ring, commutative or not.
In a commutative Noetherian ring R, the set of zero
divisors is the union of the associated prime ideals
of R.
Some references choose to exclude 0 as a zero divisor by
convention, but then they must introduce exceptions in
the two general statements just made.
19.5 Zero divisor on a module

Let R be a commutative ring, let M be an R-module, and
let a be an element of R. One says that a is M-regular if
a
the multiplication by a map M M is injective, and that a
[2] Since the map is not injective, we have ax = ay, in which

x diers from y, and thus a(x-y) = 0.
[3] See Lanski (2005).
[4] Matsumura, p. 12
[5] Matsumura, p. 12
19.8 References
N. Bourbaki (1989), Algebra I, Chapters 13,
Springer-Verlag.
Hazewinkel, Michiel, ed. (2001), Zero divisor,
Michiel Hazewinkel; Nadiya Gubareni; Nadezhda
Mikhalovna Gubareni; Vladimir V. Kirichenko.
(2004), Algebras, rings and modules, Vol. 1,
Springer, ISBN 1-4020-2690-0
Charles Lanski (2005), Concepts in Abstract Algebra, American Mathematical Soc., p. 342
Hideyuki Matsumura (1980), Commutative algebra,
2nd edition, The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing
Company, Inc.
Weisstein, Eric W., Zero Divisor, MathWorld.
128
CHAPTER 19. ZERO DIVISOR
19.9 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

19.9.1
Text
Abelian group Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelian_group?oldid=728503191 Contributors: AxelBoldt, Bryan Derksen, Zundark, Stevertigo, Patrick, Chas zzz brown, Michael Hardy, Tango, TakuyaMurata, Karada, Theresa knott, Jdforrester, Poor Yorick, Andres,
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Gandalf61, DHN, Nikitadanilov, Tea2min, Giftlite, Lethe, Fropu, Brona, Dratman, Jorend, Waltpohl, Leonard G., Chowbok, Zzo38,
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19.9. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
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130
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131
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Anonymous: 191
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TheGoldenParadox, Lily pu and Anonymous: 391
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brown, Michael Hardy, Tim Starling, Wshun, TakuyaMurata, Cyp, Stevenj, Andres, Charles Matthews, Reddi, Sbwoodside, Dysprosia, Jitse
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Fmadd and Anonymous: 77
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Algebraic Structures

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Algebraic Structures

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Algebraic Structures

Compiled from Wikipedia-EJH2013

Finite abelian groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Torsion-free and mixed groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Invariants and classication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Additive groups of rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Relation to other mathematical topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A note on the typography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.10 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1.13 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Innite abelian groups

Categories, objects, and morphisms

Categories, objects, and morphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Universal constructions, limits, and colimits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Further concepts and results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.12 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2.13 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Denition and illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

First example: rational numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Second example: a eld with four elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Related algebraic structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Rationals and algebraic numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reals, complex numbers, and p-adic numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Local and global elds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Some rst theorems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Subelds and eld extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.10 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3.14 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Denition and illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

First example: the integers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Second example: a symmetry group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Elementary consequences of the group axioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Uniqueness of identity element and inverses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Examples and applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

General linear group and representation theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Classication of nite simple groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Groups with additional structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.12.1 General references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.12.2 Special references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5.12.3 Historical references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Main classes of groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Topological and algebraic groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Branches of group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Finite group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Combinatorial and geometric group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Connection of groups and symmetry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Applications of group theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Algebraic geometry and cryptography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Algebraic number theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chemistry and materials science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6.4.10 Statistical Mechanics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Denition and illustration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Formal language theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ideal generated by a set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8.10 Ideals and congruence relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8.11 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Divisibility, prime elements, and irreducible elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Characteristic and homomorphisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.2 Formal denitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.4 Linear isometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .