The Jordan-H Older Theorem
The Jordan-H Older Theorem
are the factors of the series, and the length of the series is n.
Note that we do not require each subgroup in the subnormal series to be
normal in the whole group, only that it is normal in the previous subgroup
in the chain. A normal series is a series where Gi is a normal subgroup of G
for all i. Note also that the length n is also the number of factors occurring.
We will be interested in three different types of subnormal series in this
course, and for all three we will require special properties of the factors. The
first case is where the factors are all required to be simple groups.
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We know that A4 ! S4 and V4 ! A4 . Since V4 is an abelian group,
"(1 2)(3 4)# ! V4 . Certainly 1 ! "(1 2)(3 4)#. Hence (4.1) is a series of
subgroups, each normal in the previous one. We can calculate the order of
each subgroup, and hence calculate the order of the quotient groups:
|S4 /A4 | = 2
|A4 /V4 | = 3
|V4 /"(1 2)(3 4)#| = 2
|"(1 2)(3 4)#| = 2.
Thus the quotients are all of prime order. We now make use of the fact that
a group G of prime order p is both cyclic and simple (see Example 3.6), to
see that the factors for the series (4.1) are cyclic simple groups. Thus (4.1)
is composition series for S4 , with composition factors
C2 , C3 , C2 , C2 .
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Proof: Let G be a finite group. We know at least one subnormal series,
namely G " 1. Let
Gj+1 < N # Gj .
Then
G = G0 > G1 > · · · > Gj > N > Gj+1 > · · · > Gn = 1
is a subnormal series in G (note that Gj+1 ! N since Gj+1 ! Gj ) which is
longer than (4.2). This contradicts our assumption that (4.2) is the longest
such series. Hence (4.2) is indeed a composition series for G. !
and
G = H0 > H1 > H2 > · · · > Hm = 1
be composition series for G. Then n = m and there is a one-one correspon-
dence between the two sets of composition factors
and
{H0 /H1 , H1 /H2 , . . . , Hm−1 /Hm }
such that corresponding factors are isomorphic.
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Hence, once we have determined one composition series for a (say, finite)
group, then we have uniquely determined composition factors which can be
thought of as the ways of breaking our original group down into simple
groups. This is analogous to a ‘prime factorisation’ for groups.
To recognise when we have a composition series, we need to be able
to recognise simple groups. We have already observed (Example 3.6) that
cyclic groups of prime order are simple. It is not hard to show that these
are all the abelian simple groups. The following was proved in MT4003.
The groups of Lie type are essentially ‘matrix-like’ groups which preserve
geometric structures on vector spaces over finite fields. For example, the first
(and most easily described) family is
SLn (q)
PSLn (q) = .
Z(SLn (q))
To make it, first construct the group GLn (q) of invertible n × n matrices
with entries from the finite field F of order q. Next, take the subgroup of
matrices of determinant 1:
the special linear group. Now, factor by the centre of SLn (q), which consists
of all scalar matrices of determinant 1:
Z(SLn (q)) = { λI | λ ∈ F , λn = 1 }.
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The result is PSLn (q). It can be shown that PSLn (q) is simple if and only if
either n = 2 and q " 4, or n " 3. The construction of the other 15 families
of groups of Lie type is similar but harder.
The twenty-six sporadic groups are:
|M| = 808 017 424 794 512 875 886 459 904 961 710 757 005 754 368 000 000 000
Unsurprisingly, we omit the proof of Theorem 4.8.
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is a composition series, then the composition factors
are abelian simple groups. They are therefore cyclic of prime order. Now
This must be the prime factorisation of |G| = n, and hence the composition
factors of G are
Later in the course we shall characterise the finite groups whose compo-
sition factors are cyclic as being the soluble groups.
Our final example has a unique composition series:
Example 4.10 Let n " 5 and consider the symmetric group Sn of degree n.
We already know the following series:
which has factors C2 and An . Both of these are simple groups, so (4.3) is
a composition series for Sn . It can be shown that Sn has precisely three
normal subgroups (namely those occurring in the above series) and hence
(4.3) is the only composition series for Sn .
The Jordan–Hölder Theorem again raises the question of how we put the
composition factors back together. We have a unique decomposition, but
how complicated is the reverse process? The answer turns out to be rather
difficult, but in the next chapter we shall meet some ways of creating new
groups and this will give some ways of putting the composition factors back
together.
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