Algebra 1

Chapter 2 Subgroups

2.1 Introduction

Definition
A nonempty subset 𝐻 of a group (𝐺,∗) is called a subgroup of 𝐺 if (𝐻,∗) is a group itself,
that is, (𝐻,∗) satisfies the following conditions:
i. For all 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝐻,
𝑎 ∗ 𝑏 ∈ 𝐻.
ii. For all 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 ∈ 𝐻,
(𝑎 ∗ 𝑏) ∗ 𝑐 = 𝑎 ⋅ (𝑏 ∗ 𝑐).
iii. There exists 𝑒 ∈ 𝐻 such that for all 𝑎 ∈ 𝐺,
𝑎 ∗ 𝑒 = 𝑎 = 𝑒 ∗ 𝑎.
iv. For all 𝑎 ∈ 𝐻, there exists 𝑏 ∈ 𝐻 such that
𝑎 ∗ 𝑏 = 𝑒 = 𝑏 ∗ 𝑎.
Notation: 𝐻 ≤ 𝐺

Example
ℤ≤ℚ≤ℝ≤ℂ

ℚ× ≤ ℝ× ≤ ℂ×

Example
ℤ is not a subgroup of ℚ× .

Example
Let 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 2 𝑠⟩.
The set 𝐻 = {1, 𝑟, 𝑠} is not a subgroup of 𝐺.

Example
Let 𝐺 be a group.
Then {1} is called the trivial subgroup of 𝐺 and 𝐺 is called the improper subgroup of 𝐺.
Any subgroup of 𝐺 other than {1} and 𝐺 is nontrivial and proper.
Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺.
If 1𝐺 and 1𝐻 are the identities in 𝐺 and 𝐻, respectively, then 1𝐺 = 1𝐻 .

Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group, 𝐻 a subgroup of 𝐺 and 𝑎 ∈ 𝐻.
If 𝑎𝐺−1 and 𝑎𝐻
−1
are the inverses of 𝑎 in 𝐺 and 𝐻, respectively, then 𝑎𝐺−1 = 𝑎𝐻
−1
.
2.2 Subgroup Criterion

Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subset of 𝐺.
Then 𝐻 is a subgroup of 𝐺 if and only if
i. 𝐻 ≠ ∅,
ii. 𝑎𝑏 −1 ∈ 𝐻 for all 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝐻.
Example
Define
𝑆𝐿𝑛 (ℝ) = {𝐴 ∈ 𝐺𝐿𝑛 (ℝ) ∶ det(𝐴) = 1}.
Show that 𝑆𝐿𝑛 (ℝ) is a subgroup of 𝐺𝐿𝑛 (ℝ).
(This group is called the special linear group of degree 𝑛 over ℝ.)

Exercise
Let
𝕋 = {𝑧 ∈ ℂ: |𝑧| = 1}.
×
Show that 𝕋 is a subgroup of ℂ .
(This group is called the circle group.)
Example
Let 𝑛 be an integer.
Define
𝑛ℤ = {𝑛𝑧 ∶ 𝑧 ∈ ℤ}.
Show that 𝑛ℤ is a subgroup of ℤ.

Exercise
Let
𝑆 = {𝑓: ℝ → ℝ | 𝑓(0) = 0}.
Show that 𝑆 is a subgroup of ℱ(ℝ, ℝ).
Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a finite subset of 𝐺.
Then 𝐻 is a subgroup of 𝐺 if and only if
i. 𝐻 ≠ ∅,
ii. 𝑎𝑏 ∈ 𝐻 for all 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝐻.
Example
Let 𝐺 = 𝐷8 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 4 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 3 𝑠⟩.
Which of the following is a subgroup of 𝐺?
i. 𝐻 = {1, 𝑟 2 , 𝑠, 𝑟 2 𝑠}
ii. 𝐾 = {1, 𝑟, 𝑠, 𝑟𝑠}

Exercise
Let
𝑆 = {𝑧 ∈ ℤ ∶ 𝑧 ≥ 0}.
Determine whether 𝑆 is a subgroup of ℤ.
 Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻, 𝐾 be subgroups of 𝐺.
Then 𝐻 ∩ 𝐾 is a subgroup of 𝐺.

Remark:
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻, 𝐾 be subgroups of 𝐺.
In general, 𝐻 ∪ 𝐾 is not a subgroup of 𝐺.

Example
Consider the group 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩.
Let 𝐻 = {1, 𝑟𝑠} and 𝐾 = {1, 𝑠}.
Then 𝐻 and 𝐾 are subgroups of 𝐺 but 𝐻 ∪ 𝐾 is not a subgroup of 𝐺.
2.3 Cyclic Groups

Definition
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝑔 ∈ 𝐺.
The set
⟨𝑔⟩ = {𝑔𝑛 : 𝑛 ∈ ℤ}
is the cyclic subgroup of 𝐺 generated by 𝑔.

Example
Consider the group ℚ× .
⟨2⟩ = {2𝑛 : 𝑛 ∈ ℤ}

⟨−1⟩ = {(−1)𝑛 : 𝑛 ∈ ℤ}
= {1, −1}

⟨1⟩ = {1𝑛 : 𝑛 ∈ ℤ}
= {1}

Example
Consider the group ℤ.
⟨2⟩ = {2𝑛 ∶ 𝑛 ∈ ℤ} = 2ℤ

⟨1⟩ = {1𝑛 ∶ 𝑛 ∈ ℤ} = ℤ

Exercise
Consider the group 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟3 = 𝑠2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟−1 𝑠⟩.
Determine ⟨𝑔⟩ for each 𝑔 ∈ 𝐷6 .
 Definition
A group 𝐺 is said to be cyclic if 𝐺 = ⟨𝑥⟩ for some 𝑥 ∈ 𝐺.
In other words, every element of 𝐺 is a power of 𝑥.

Example
Consider the subset 𝐺 = {1, −1, 𝑖, −𝑖} of ℂ× .
Then 𝐺 is a group and
𝐺 = ⟨𝑖⟩.

Example
ℤ and ℤ𝑛 are cyclic groups.

Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝑔 ∈ 𝐺.
Then
⟨𝑔⟩ = ⟨𝑔−1 ⟩.
Let 𝐺 be a cyclic group generated by 𝑥.
i. If |𝑥| = ∞, then
𝐺 = {… , 𝑥 −2 , 𝑥 −1 , 1, 𝑥, 𝑥 2 , … }.
We can write
𝐺 = 𝐶∞ = ⟨𝑥⟩.
ii. If |𝑥| = 𝑛, then
𝐺 = {1, 𝑥, … , 𝑥 𝑛−1 }
We can write
𝐺 = 𝐶𝑛 = ⟨𝑥 ∶ 𝑥 𝑛 = 1⟩.

Example
Construct a Cayley table of
𝐶4 = ⟨𝑥 ∶ 𝑥 4 = 1⟩.

Remark:
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝑥 ∈ 𝐺.
Then
|⟨𝑥⟩| = |𝑥|.

Corollary
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝑔 ∈ 𝐺.
Then
|𝑔| = |𝑔−1 |.
2.3 Cosets of a Group

Definition
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺.
Then for each 𝑎 ∈ 𝐺,
i. 𝐻𝑎 = {ℎ𝑎 ∶ ℎ ∈ 𝐻} is called a right coset of 𝐻 in 𝐺.
ii. 𝑎𝐻 = {𝑎ℎ ∶ ℎ ∈ 𝐻} is called a left coset of 𝐻 in 𝐺.

Remark:
Let 𝐻 be a subgroup of a group 𝐺 and let 𝑎 ∈ 𝐺.
i. 𝐻𝑎 and 𝑎𝐻 are subsets of 𝐺 that contain 𝑎.
ii. 𝐻𝑎 and 𝑎𝐻 are not necessarily subgroups of 𝐺.
iii. In general, 𝐻𝑎 ≠ 𝑎𝐻.
iv. If
𝐻 = {ℎ1 , ℎ2 , … , ℎ𝑘 }
then
𝐻𝑎 = {ℎ1 𝑎, ℎ2 𝑎, … , ℎ𝑘 𝑎}
and
𝑎𝐻 = {𝑎ℎ1 , 𝑎ℎ2 , … , 𝑎ℎ𝑘 }.

Example
i. 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩ and 𝐻 = {1, 𝑠}.
ii. 𝐺 = ℤ6 and 𝐻 = {0,2,4}.
iii. 𝐺 = ℤ and 𝐻 = 3ℤ.
iv. 𝐺 = ℝ× and 𝐻 = {±1}.
Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group, 𝐻 a subgroup of 𝐺 and 𝑎, 𝑏 ∈ 𝐺.
Then 𝐻𝑎 = 𝐻𝑏 if and only if 𝑎𝑏 −1 ∈ 𝐻.

Corollary
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subgroup 𝐺.
Then 𝐻𝑎 = 𝐻 if and only if 𝑎 ∈ 𝐻.
Example
i. 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩ and 𝐻 = {1, 𝑠}.
ii. 𝐺 = ℤ6 and 𝐻 = {0,2,4}.
iii. 𝐺 = ℤ and 𝐻 = 3ℤ.
iv. 𝐺 = ℝ× and 𝐻 = {±1}.
 Definition
Let 𝑆 be a set.
A collection of nonempty subsets of 𝑋, say ℱ, is a partition of 𝑆 if all the following
conditions hold:
i. ℱ does not contain empty set.
ii. The union of the sets in ℱ is equal to 𝑋.
iii. Any two sets in ℱ are equal or disjoint.

Example
Consider
𝑆 = {1,2,3,4,5,6}.
Then
ℱ = {{1}, {2,3,4}, {5,6}}
is a partition of 𝑆.

Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺.
Then the right cosets of 𝐻 in 𝐺 form a partition of 𝐺.
Example
i. 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩ and 𝐻 = {1, 𝑠}.
ii. 𝐺 = ℤ6 and 𝐻 = {0,2,4}.
iii. 𝐺 = ℤ and 𝐻 = 3ℤ.
iv. 𝐺 = ℝ× and 𝐻 = {±1}.
 Definition
Let 𝐴 and 𝐵 be two sets.
Then 𝐴 and 𝐵 have the same size if there exists a bijection between 𝐴 and 𝐵.

Theorem
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺.
Then |𝐻𝑔| = |𝐻| for all 𝑔 ∈ 𝐺.

Example
i. 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩ and 𝐻 = {1, 𝑠}.
ii. 𝐺 = ℤ6 and 𝐻 = {0,2,4}.
iii. 𝐺 = ℤ and 𝐻 = 3ℤ.
iv. 𝐺 = ℝ× and 𝐻 = {±1}.
 Theorem (Lagrange’s Theorem)
Let 𝐺 be a finite group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺.
Then |𝐻| divides |𝐺|.

Example
a. Let 𝐺 be a group of order 12. List the possible orders of a subgroup of 𝐺.
b. Consider the group
𝐷12 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 6 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩
and
𝐻 = {1, 𝑟, 𝑟 2 , 𝑟 3 , 𝑟 4 , 𝑟 5 , 𝑠, 𝑟𝑠}.
Is 𝐻 a subgroup of 𝐺?
 Corollary
Let 𝐺 be a finite group and 𝑔 ∈ 𝐺.
Then |𝑔| divides |𝐺|.

Example (Fermat’s Little Theorem)

Let 𝑝 be a prime number. Show that for any integer 𝑎,
𝑎𝑝 ≡ 𝑎 (mod 𝑝).
 Definition
Let 𝐺 be a group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺.
Then the index of 𝐻 in 𝐺, denoted by [𝐺: 𝐻], is defined to be the number of distinct right
cosets for 𝐻 in 𝐺.

Example
Consider 𝐺 = ℤ and 𝐻 = 𝑛ℤ (𝑛 a positive integer).
Then
[𝐺: 𝐻] = 𝑛.

Example
Consider 𝐺 = ℝ× and 𝐻 = {±1}.
Then
[𝐺: 𝐻] = ∞.
 Corollary
Let 𝐺 be a finite group and 𝐻 be a subgroup of 𝐺. Then
|𝐺|
[𝐺: 𝐻] = .
|𝐻|

Example
Let 𝐺 = 𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 −1 𝑠⟩ and 𝐻 = {1, 𝑠}.
Then
|𝐺|
[𝐺: 𝐻] = = 3.
|𝐻|

Example
Let 𝐺 = ℤ6 and 𝐻 = {0,2,4}.
Then
|𝐺|
[𝐺: 𝐻] = = 2.
|𝐻|
Exercise
Consider
𝐷6 = ⟨𝑟, 𝑠 ∶ 𝑟 3 = 𝑠 2 = 1, 𝑠𝑟 = 𝑟 2 𝑠⟩.
Let 𝐻 = {1, 𝑟, 𝑟 2 }.
i. Show that 𝐻 is a subgroup of 𝐺.
ii. List the distinct left and right cosets of 𝐻 in 𝐺.
iii. Find the index of 𝐻 in 𝐺.

Exercise
Consider
𝐺 = 𝐶12 = ⟨𝑥 ∶ 𝑥12 = 1⟩.
Let 𝐻 = {1, 𝑥 4 , 𝑥 8 }.
i. Show that 𝐻 is a subgroup of 𝐺.
ii. List the distinct right cosets of 𝐻 in 𝐺.
iii. Find the index of 𝐻 in 𝐺.