IIT-JAM MATHEMATICAL SCIENCE: ONLINE COURSE

SUBJECT: GROUP THEORY - TOPIC: Cyclic and Abelian Groups

Let G be a group, G is said to be a cyclic group if there exist an element a ∈ G such that the subgroup
generated by a is G.
i.e., < a >= G
Such an element a is called a generator of G.
Result:
1. Let G be a finite group, then G is cyclic if and only if there exist an element a ∈ G such that o(a) = o(G)
2. The group (Z, +) is cyclic.
< 1 >= {1 · n : n ∈ Z} = Z
< −1 >= {−1 · n : n ∈ Z} = Z.
∴ 1 and -1 are generators of Z.
3. The groups (C, +), (R, +), (Q, +) are not cyclic.
The group (R∗ , ·) is not cyclic. But it has a finite cyclic subgroup ({1, −1} , ·).The group (C∗ , ·)is not
cyclic. But it has infinite number of finite cyclic subgroups.
Moreover any finite subgroup of (C∗ , ·) is cyclic (precisely they are group of nth roots of unity).
4. The group (Zn , +n ) is cyclic. The generators of these groups are those elements which are relatively
prime to n.
5. The group Un (nth roots of unity) is cyclic. The primitive nth roots of unity are its generators.
Theorem: Every cyclic group is abelian. The converse need not be true.
Theorem: Every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic.
Result:
• Every infinite cyclic group is isomorphic to (Z, +).
• Every finite cyclic group of order n is isomorphic to (Zn , +n ).
The cyclic
 group (Zn , +n ):
Zn = 0̄, 1̄, 2̄, · · · , n − 1
Properties:
1. Zn is abelian.
2. Zn is cyclic.
3. U (n) = {k ∈ Zn : gcd(k, n) = 1}.
Elements of U (n) are called units of Zn and are the generators of the same. And they form an abelian
group under multiplication modulo n.
4. Number of generators of Zn = φ(n).
5. Number of subgroups of Zn = d(n).
6. If d|n then ∃ a unique subgroup of Zn of order d given by < nd >
7. If d | n, then there are φ(d) elements of order d.
8. a−1 = −a = n − a, a ∈ Zn
9. If a ∈ Zn then o(a) = gcd(a,n)n
.
10. If a ∈ Zn with o(a) = k then
k
o(am ) = gcd(k,m) (Here am = m · a).
11. If a is a generator of Zn then ak is also a generator of Zn if and only if gcd(k, n) = 1.
12. o(a) = o(n − a) = o(a−1 ).
Center of a group: Let G be a group. The center of G is the set of all elements of G which commutes with
every element of G, denoted by Z(G)
Thus Z(G) = {x ∈ G : ax = xa, ∀ a ∈ G}
• Z(G) is a subgroup of G
• If G is abelian then Z(G) = G
Result: If o(G) = pk , k ∈ N and if G is non abelian then it has nontrivial center.
• Z(Sn ) = {ρ0} , n ≥ 3
{ρ0 } , if n is odd
• Z(Dn ) =
{ρ0 , ρ180 } , if n is even
Centralizer of an element: Let G be a group and let a ∈ G, the centralizer of a is the set of all elements
of G that commute with a, denoted by C(a).
i.e.,C(a) = {x ∈ G : ax = xa}
• C(a) is a subgroup of G ∀ a ∈ G.
• If
T G is abelian then C(a) = G.
• a∈G C(a) = Z(G).
Theorem: Let G be a group and let Z(G) be its center.Let G/Z(G) is cyclic, then G is abelian.
Fundamental theorem of cyclic groups: Every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic. Moreover if a cyclic
group G is of order n and let a ∈ G such that < a >= G, then the order of any subgroup G is a divisor of n.
And for each positive divisor d of n , G has exactly one subgroup of order d given by < nd >
Results related to order of a finite group:
1. Let G be a finite group. If o(G) ≤ 3 then G is cyclic.
2. If o(G) = 4 then G is either isomorphic to Z4 or K4 .
i.e., there exist exactly two distinct groups of order 4 up to isomorphism..
3. If o(G) ≤ 5 then G is abelian.
4. If o(G) = 6 then ther exist two groups of order 6 ,Z6 and D3 = S3 , up to isomorphism.
5. If o(G) = p, p a prime, then G is cyclic. i.e.,up to isomorphism there exist only one group of order p,
which is Zp
6. If o(G) = p2 , p is a prime, then G is abelian.
Up to isomorphism, the groups of order p2 are Zp2 and Zp × Zp
7. If o(G) = p3 , p a prime, then there exist 5 groups up to isomorphism, 3 of them are abelian (Zp3 , Zp2 ×Z
or Zp × Zp × Zp ) and two of them are non abelian.
8. If o(G) = pq where p and q are distinct primes such that p < q and p - q − 1 , then G is cyclic and
isomorphic to Zpq
9. If o(G) = pq where p and q are distinct primes such that p < q and p | q − 1 then up to isomorphism
ther are two such groups. One is cyclic and isomorphic to Zpq and the other is non-abelian.
10. If o(G) = 2p, where p is an odd prime, then up to isomorphism there are two such groups ,Z2p and Dp
where Dp is non abelian.
11. Let o(G) = n, where n is a square free integer(p2 - n for any prime p).If G is abelian then G is cyclic.
12. Let G be a finite group and let G has exactly one proper nontrivial subgroup. Then G is cyclic and
o(G) = p2 for some prime p.
13. Let G be a finite group that has exactly two proper nontrivial subgroups, then G is cyclic and o(G) is
either p3 or pq.
Results related to abelian groups: Let G be a group.
1. If a2 = e ∀ a ∈ G then G is abelian.
2. If (ab)2 = a2 b2 ∀ a, b ∈ G then G is abelian.
3. If (ab)3 = a3 b3 and (ab)5 = a5 b5 ∀ a, b ∈ G then G is abelian.
4. If (ab)m = am bm holds for any three consecutive positive integer m then G is abelian.
5. If G is an abelian group then (ab)m = am bm , ∀ m ∈ Z T
Theorem: Let G be a group and let H1 and H2 be two subgroups of G. Then H1 H2 is also a subgroup
of G. S
Remark: H1 H2 need not be a subgroup of G.
Example: G = (Z, +)
H1 T = (2Z, +) , H2 = (3Z, +)
H1 S H2 = (6Z, +) is a subgroup of G. S S S
H1 H2 = {−6, −4, −3, −2, 0, 2, 3, 6, · · · } 2, 3 ∈ H1 H2 , but 2 + 3 ∈ / H1 H2 . Thus H1 H2 is not a sub-
group.
External direct product of groups: Let (G1 , ∗1 ) and (G2 , ∗2 ) be two groups. Define G1 × G2 =
{(a1 , a2 ) : a1 ∈ G1 , a2 ∈ G2 }. Then (G1 × G2 , ∗) form a group where ∗ is defined by
(a1 , a2 ) ∗ (b1 , b2 ) = (a1 ∗1 b1 , a2 ∗2 b2 )
Result: If G1 andG2 are finite then G1 × G2 is also finite and
o(G1 × G2 ) = o(G1 )o(G2 )
Order of an element (a1 , a2 ) ∈ G1 × G2 is given by lcm(o(a1 )in G1 , o(a2 )in G2 )
Theorem: Let G be a finite abelian group, then G is isomorphic to a direct product of finite cyclic groups.
Result:
• Zm × Zn ∼ = Zmn if and only if gcd(m, n) = 1.
• Zm1 × Zm2 × · · · × Zmr ∼ = Zm1 m2 ···mr if and only if gcd(mi , mj ) = 1 ∀ i 6= j
The group of units in Zn , U (n) : U (n) = {k ∈ Zn : gcd(k, n) = 1}
(U (n), ·n ) is a group, which is abelian also.
1. U (2) ∼ = {0} = Z1
2 ∼
2. U (2 ) = Z2
3. U (2n ) ∼ = Z2 × Z2n−2 , n > 2
n ∼
4. U p = Zpn −pn−1 , p > 2
5. U (mn) ∼ = U (m) × U (n) if gcd(m, n) = 1
6. For n = pn1 1 pn2 2 · · · pnr r ,
U (n) ∼= U (pn1 1 ) × U (pn2 2 ) × · · · × U (pnr r )