Permutations

MATH 433
Applied Algebra
Lecture 11:
Order and sign of a permutation.
Permutations
Let X be a finite set. A permutation of X is a bijection

from X to itself.
a b c ...
Two-row notation. π = ,
π(a) π(b) π(c) . . .
where a, b, c, . . . is a list of all elements in the domain of π.
The set of all permutations of a finite set X is called the

symmetric group on X . Notation: SX , ΣX , Sym(X ).
The set of all permutations of {1, 2, . . . , n} is called the
symmetric group on n symbols and denoted S(n) or Sn .
Given two permutations π and σ, the composition πσ is called

the product of these permutations. In general, πσ 6= σπ,
i.e., multiplication of permutations is not commutative.
Cycles
A permutation π of a set X is called a cycle (or cyclic) of

length r if there exist r distinct elements x1 , x2 , . . . , xr ∈ X
such that
π(x1 ) = x2 , π(x2 ) = x3 , . . . , π(xr −1 ) = xr , π(xr ) = x1 ,
and π(x) = x for any other x ∈ X .
Notation. π = (x1 x2 . . . xn ).
The identity function is (the only) cycle of length 1.

Any cycle of length 2 is called a transposition.
An adjacent transposition is a transposition of the form
(k k+1).
The inverse of a cycle is also a cycle of the same length.

Indeed, if π = (x1 x2 . . . xn ), then π −1 = (xn xn−1 . . . x2 x1 ).
Cycle decomposition
Let π be a permutation of X . We say that π moves an

element x ∈ X if π(x) 6= x. Otherwise π fixes x.
Two permutations π and σ are called disjoint if the set of
elements moved by π is disjoint from the set of elements
moved by σ.
Theorem Any permutation can be expressed as a product of

disjoint cycles. This cycle decomposition is unique up to
rearrangement of the cycles involved.
Examples. • (1 2)(2 3)(3 4)(4 5)(5 6) = (1 2 3 4 5 6).

• (1 2)(1 3)(1 4)(1 5) = (1 5 4 3 2).
• (2 4 3)(1 2)(2 3 4) = (1 4).
Powers of a permutation
Let π be a permutation. The positive powers of π are
defined inductively:
π 1 = π and π k+1 = π · π k for every integer k ≥ 1.
The negative powers of π are defined as the positive powers of
its inverse: π −k = (π −1 )k for every positive integer k.
Finally, we set π 0 = id.
Theorem Let π be a permutation and r , s ∈ Z. Then
(i) π r π s = π r +s ,
(ii) (π r )s = π rs ,
(iii) (π r )−1 = π −r .
Idea of the proof: First one proves the theorem for positive
r , s by induction (induction on r for (i) and (iii), induction on
s for (ii) ). Then the general case is reduced to the case of
positive r , s.
Order of a permutation
Theorem Let π be a permutation. Then there is a positive
integer m such that π m = id.
Proof: Consider the list of powers: π, π 2 , π 3 , . . . . Since there
are only finitely many permutations of any finite set, there
must be repetitions within the list. Assume that π r = π s for
some 0 < r < s. Then π s−r = π s π −r = π s (π r )−1 = id.
The order of a permutation π, denoted o(π), is defined as the

smallest positive integer m such that π m = id.
Theorem Let π be a permutation of order m. Then

π r = π s if and only if r ≡ s mod m. In particular, π r = id if
and only if the order m divides r .
Theorem Let π be a cyclic permutation. Then the order

o(π) is the length of the cycle π.
Examples. • π = (1 2 3 4 5).
π 2 = (1 3 5 2 4), π 3 = (1 4 2 5 3),
π 4 = (1 5 4 3 2), π 5 = id.
=⇒ o(π) = 5.
• σ = (1 2 3 4 5 6).
σ 2 = (1 3 5)(2 4 6), σ 3 = (1 4)(2 5)(3 6),
σ 4 = (1 5 3)(2 6 4), σ 5 = (1 6 5 4 3 2), σ 6 = id.
=⇒ o(σ) = 6.
• τ = (1 2 3)(4 5).
τ 2 = (1 3 2), τ 3 = (4 5), τ 4 = (1 2 3),
τ 5 = (1 3 2)(4 5), τ 6 = id.
=⇒ o(τ ) = 6.
Lemma 1 Let π and σ be two commuting permutations:
πσ = σπ. Then
(i) the powers π r and σ s commute for all r , s ∈ Z,
(ii) (πσ)r = π r σ r for all r ∈ Z,
Lemma 2 Let π and σ be disjoint permutations in S(n).
Then (i) they commute: πσ = σπ,
(ii) (πσ)r = id if and only if π r = σ r = id,
(iii) o(πσ) = lcm o(π), o(σ) .
Idea of the proof: The set {1, 2, . . . , n} splits into 3 subsets:
elements moved by π, elements moved by σ, and elements
fixed by both π and σ. All three sets are invariant under π
and σ.
Theorem Let π ∈ S(n) and suppose that π = σ1 σ2 . . . σk is

a decomposition of π as a product of disjoint cycles. Then
the order of π is the least common multiple of the lengths of
cycles σ1 , . . . , σk .
Sign of a permutation
Theorem 1 Given an integer n ≥ 1, there exists a unique
function sgn : S(n) → {−1, 1} such that
• sgn(πσ) = sgn(π) sgn(σ) for all π, σ ∈ S(n),
• sgn(τ ) = −1 for any transposition τ ∈ S(n).
The value of the function sgn on a particular permutation
π ∈ S(n) is called the sign of π.
If sgn(π) = 1, then π is said to be an even permutation.
If sgn(π) = −1, then π is an odd permutation.
Theorem 2 (i) Any permutation is a product of transpositions.
(ii) If π = τ1 τ2 . . . τn = τ1′ τ2′ . . . τm′ , where τi , τj′ are
transpositions, then the numbers n and m are of the same parity.
Remark. Theorem 1 follows from Theorem 2. Indeed, we let
sgn(π) = 1 if π is a product of an even number of
transpositions and sgn(π) = −1 if π is a product of an odd
number of transpositions.
Definition of determinant
a b
Definition. det (a) = a, = ad − bc,
c d
a11 a12 a13
a21 a22 a23 = a11 a22 a33 + a12 a23 a31 + a13 a21 a32 −
a31 a32 a33 −a13 a22 a31 − a12 a21 a33 − a11 a23 a32 .
If A = (aij ) is an n×n matrix then

X
det A = sgn(π) a1,π(1) a2,π(2) . . . an,π(n) ,
π∈S(n)
where π runs over all permutations of {1, 2, . . . , n}.

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MATH 433

Let X be a finite set. A permutation of X is a bijection

The set of all permutations of a finite set X is called the

Given two permutations π and σ, the composition πσ is called

A permutation π of a set X is called a cycle (or cyclic) of

The identity function is (the only) cycle of length 1.

The inverse of a cycle is also a cycle of the same length.

Let π be a permutation of X . We say that π moves an

Theorem Any permutation can be expressed as a product of

Examples. • (1 2)(2 3)(3 4)(4 5)(5 6) = (1 2 3 4 5 6).

The order of a permutation π, denoted o(π), is defined as the

Theorem Let π be a permutation of order m. Then

Theorem Let π be a cyclic permutation. Then the order

Theorem Let π ∈ S(n) and suppose that π = σ1 σ2 . . . σk is

If A = (aij ) is an n×n matrix then

where π runs over all permutations of {1, 2, . . . , n}.

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