si2016 Abstract AlgebralGroupTheyNermal subgroups ard Quoter groups - Wikibooks, pen books for an open woe Abstract Algebra/Group Theory/Normal subgroups and Quotient groups In the preliminary chapter we discussed equivalence classes on sets. If the reader has not yet mastered this notion, he/she is advised to do so before starting this Contents section = 1 Normal Subgroups Normal Subgroups = 1.1 Examples of Normal Subgroups 2. Equivalence Relations on Groups 3 Quotients with respect to Normal Subgroups 4 The Isomorphism Theorems 5 Simple Groups 6 Problems Recall the definition of kernel in the previous section. ‘We will exhibit an interesting feature it possesses. Namely, let ak, k € ker ¢ < G be in the coset aker ¢ . Then there exists ak’ € ker g such that k'a = ak for all a € G. This is easy to see because a coset of the kernel includes all elements in G that are mapped to a paticular element. The kernel inspires us to look for what are called normal subgroups, Definition 1: A subgroup N < G is called normal if gNg" NG to emphasize that N is normal in G. NV forall g € G. We may sometimes write Theorem 2: A subgroup N < G is normal if and only if gN = Ng forall g € G. 4 Proof: By the definition, a subgroup is normal if and only if gNg~ = N since conjugation is a bijection. The theorem follows by multiplying on the right by g. m We stated that the kernel is a normal subgroup in the introduction, so we had better well prove it! Theorem 3: Let ¢ : G + G" be any homomorphism. Then ker ¢ < G is normal. Proof: Let k € ker $ and.g € G. Then $(9kg™) = ¢(g)e’¢(g)"! =e’ , so gkg™ € ker ¢, proving the theorem. . Theorem 4: Let G,G’ be groups and ¢ : G — G' a group homomorphism. Then if H is a normal subgroup of im ¢, then $71(H) is normal in G. Proof: Let g € Gand h € $1(H). Then (ghg) = 6(g)¢(h)¢(g)"? € H since H is normal in im ¢, and so ghg” < ¢-1(H), proving the theorem. = corem 5: Let G, G" be groups and @ : G + G" a group homomorphism. Then if H is a normal subgroup of G , $(H) is normal in im g. hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups 182046 ‘Aosta AlgsralGraupThearyiNermalsubgrouns and utr gaps - Wikibooks, open books fran epen weld Proof. Let g € im@ And h € H. Then if g € G such that $(g) = g’, we have o $(h)g* = $(9)6(h)b(9)-? = d(ghg) = $(h') € $(H) for some h! € H since H is normal. Thus 9 (Hg = (H) for all € im and so His normal in im¢. Corollary 6: Let G,G’ be groups and ¢ : G —+ G! a surjective group homomorphism. Then if H is a normal subgroup of @, $(H) is normal in G’. Proof: Replace im @ with G" in the proof of Theorem 5. m Remark 7: If His a normal subgroup of G and K is a normal subgroup of H, it does not necessarily imply that, K is a normal subgroup of G. The reader is invited to display a counterexample of this. ‘Theorem 8: Let G be a group and H, K be subgroups. Then i) If H is normal, then HK = KH is a subgroup of G. ii) If both H and K are normal, then HK = KH is a normal subgroup of G. iii) If H and K are normal, then H 1K is a normal subgroup of G. Proof: i) Let H be normal. First, since for each k € K, there exists h,h! € H such that kh = h’k, so KH = HK . To show HK is a subgroup, let hk, h’k! € HK. Then h’K (hk)7! = hk = BRR RO © HK for some h” € H since H is normal, and so HK is a subgroup. ii) Let g € G and Ak € HK. Then since both H and K are normal, there exists h! € H, W € K such that ghkg™ = ghg tk! = gg th'W =h'k € HK | It follows that gH#Kg™ = HK and so HK is normal. iii) Let g € Gand h € HK. Then ghg™ € H since His normal, and similarly ghg"? € K. Thus ghg” € HONK and it follows that HK is normal. = Examples of Normal Subgroups In the following, let G be any group. Then G has associated with it the following normal subgroups. i) The center of G, denoted Z(G), is the subgroup of elements which commute with all others. Z(G) = {z€G | (Vg € G)zg = gz}. That Z(G) is a normal subgroup is easy to verify and is left to the reader. ii) The commutator subgroup of G, denoted G® or [G, G], is the subgroup generated by the subset {[9,h] | 9,4 € G} where [g, h] = gh gh for all g,h € G. For s € G, we introduce the shorthand gs"? = g’. Then we have s|g, h]s~? = [g’, h*], such that for any product of commutators [or halfge, ha]. -- [9n, tn] where all elements are in G, we have [gis hillga, ha]: [gus Anls* = [9f, AE]l93, h8]--- [gk AB], and so GO) is normal, hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups 29res0%6 Abstract AlgebralGroupTheyNermal subgroups ard Quoter groups - Wikibooks, pen books for an open woe Remark 9: We can iterate the commutator subgroup construction and define G® = @ and @®) = a"), GD) for all n € N. We will not use the commutator subgroup in future results in this book, so for us it is merely a curiosity. Equivalence Relations on Groups Why are normal subgroups important? In the preliminary chapter we discussed equialence relations and the associated set of equivalence classes. IfG is a group and ~ is an equivalence relation, when does G/ ~ admit a gToup structure? Of course we have to specify the multiplication on G/ ~. We will do so now. Definition 10: Let G be a group and ~ is an equivalence relation on G, we define multiplication on the equivalence classes in G/ ~ such that for all a,b € G, [elle] = [22] This is indeed the only natural way to do it. Take the two equivalence classes, choose representatives, compute their product and take its equivalence class. The alert reader will have only one thing on his/her mind: is this well defined? For a general equivalence relation, the answer is no. The reader is invited to come up with an example. What is more interesting is when is it well defined? By the definition above, we obviously need the projection map = : G+ G/~ defined by a+ [a] to be a homomorphism. We can in fact condense the requirements down to two, both having to do with cancellation laws. Theorem 11: Let G be a group and ~ an equivalence relation on @. Then @/ ~ is a group under the natural multiplication if and only if for all a,b, 9 € @ a~b @ag~bgh ga~ gb Proof. Assume G/ ~ is a group. Since a ~ b € [a] = [b], the property follows from the cancellation laws in G. ‘Assume now that the property holds. Then its multiplication rule is well defined, and must verify that G/ ~ is a group. Let a,b, ¢ € G, then associativity is inherited from G: ({a][6))fe] = [2e][e] = [(2b)¢] = [a(be)] = [alloc] The identity in @/ ~ is the equivalence class of € G, [e} fella] = [ea] = [a] = Finally, the inverse of [a] is (allo *] = log"*] = [el = [99] = [9 * Ils. So G/ ~ really defines a group structure, proving the theorem, m= lal((ellel) lae] = [alle] 1: We will call an equivalence relation ~ compatible with G if G/ ~ is a group. Then, @/ ~ is called the quotient group of G by ~. Also, as an immediate consequence, this makes * : G—+ G/ ~ into a homomorphism, but not hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups a9rasizor6 ‘Aestat AgeralGroup TheryNermal subgrains an Gustere gps - Wikbooks open Boks fran open weld just any homomorphism! It s isfies a universal property! Theorem 12: Let ~ be en equivalence relation compatible with G, and ¢ : G+ Ha group homomorphism such that a ~~ b > $(a) = (6). Then there exists a unique homomorphism 6 : G/ ~— H such that ¢ = $ om, Proof: In the preliminary chapter on set theory, we showed the corresponding statement for sets, so we know that g exists as a function between sets. We « . have to show that it is a homomorphism. This follows immediately: since Alo G({a]) = 4(a) by commutativity, we have G/~ 4 ([a})8([5)) = $(a)4(6) = 4(ab) = 5([ab]) = F((a}[b)). As stated already, 4({a]) = 4(a) shows uniqueness, proving the theorem. m Commutative diagram showing the universal property satisfied by the projection homomorphism, Lemma 13: Let ~ be an equivalence relation on a group G such that project m a~b 4 ga = gb. Then H = [e] is a subgroup of G and a~b abe H ¢ aH =H. Proof: First oft, H is nonempty since e € H. Let a,b € H. Thenb~ e 4 e ~ b™ by multiplying on the left by b-1. Then since € ~ a we have a~! ~ € by the same argument. Applying transitivity gives a“? ~ 67}. Finally, multiplying on the left by a gives e ~ ab“, giving ab“! € H and so H = [e] is a subgroup. Assume a ~ b for a,b € G. Then [a] = [6] implying [a8] = Then [a1] = [e] and so [a] = [b] and finally a ~ 6, le]. Thus a8 € [e]. Now assume a8 € [ Assume a~'b € H. Then since H is a subgroup, we have a~'6H = H and so aH = bH. Finally, assume aH = bH. Then a~'bH = H. Since in paticular e € H, this implies a~' € H, completing the proof. = The misror version using right cosets and the equivalence relation a ~ 6 ag = bg and a~b & ab) €H & Ha = Hbis completely analogous. Stating the theorem and writing out the proof is left to the reader as an exercise, We have showed how an equialence relation defines a subgroup of G. In fact the equivalence classes are all cosets of this subgroup. We will now go the other way, and show how a subgroup defines an equivalence relation on Lemma 14: Let H be a subgroup of a group G. Then, i) any b & a bE H & aH = 68 isan equivalence relation such that a ~z b < ga ~z, gb forall g€G. ii) ang b & ab CH & Ha= Hb is an equivalence relation such that a ~~g b 4 ag ~p bg forall ge. Proof: We will prove i). The proof for ii) is similar and is left as an exercise for the reader. hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups 4982046 ‘Aosta AlgsralGraupThearyiNermalsubgrouns and utr gaps - Wikibooks, open books fran epen weld The fact that ~ is an equivalence relation and that a~16 € H < aH = bH was proven in the section on subgroups. Assume a ~z, b. Then for all g € G, (ga)~"(gb) = ag! gb = a1b © H such that ga ~z, gb. Now assume ga ~z, gb, Then a-1b = a-1g71 gb = (ga)~1(gb) € H such that a ~z, b, completing the proof. = Theorem 15: For every equivalence relation ~z, on G such that a wz b > ga ~z, gb, there exists a unique subgroup H of G such that G/ ~ are precisely the left cosets of H. Proof: This follows from Lemma 13 and Lemma 14, Again, the mirror statement is completely analogous. Stating the theorem is left to the reader as an exercise. Quotients with respect to Normal Subgroups Lemma 16: Let ~z, be the equivalence relation given by a ~z, b :¢> aH = bH, where H is a subgroup of G. Then we know that ~z, is compatible if and only if H is a normal subgroup. Proof: Assume ~z, is compatible, g € G and a € H. Then a ~z, e, and compatibility gives us gag" ~1 gg! =e, and so gag”! € H. Since ais arbitrary, we obtain gHg™! = H for all g € G and so H is normal. Assume now that H is normal. Then aH = bH « a-'b © H, Ha = Hb ¢ ab“ € H andaH = Ha for all a,b € G. Using this, we obtain a ~z, 6 < ab! = ab-bg(bg)"! ~z, € > ab“ lbg = ag ~, bg and similarily for the right hand case, so ~z, is compatible with G, = Definition 17: When an equivalence relation is given by specifying a normal subgroup H, the quotient group with respect to this equivalence relation is denoted G/H. We then refer to G/H as the quotient of G with respect to H, or @ modulo H. Note that this complies with previous definitions of this notation. Multiplication in G/H is given as before as (aH)(6H) = (ab)H, with identity H and (aH)~! = a1 for all a,beG. Definition 18: Let H be a normal subgroup of G. Then we define the projection homomorphism m : G+ G/H by x(a) = aH foralla € G. ‘Theorem 19: A subgroup is normal if and only if it is the kernel of some homomorphism. Proof. We have already covered the left implication. For the right implication, assume H is normal. Then G/H is a group and we have the projection homomorphism a : G — G/H as defined above. Since for all h € H we have m(h) = AH = H, ker « = H and so H is the kernel of a homomorphism, \corem 20: Let GG! be groups, ¢ : @ — G" a homomorphism and H a normal subgroup of G such that H C ker ¢. Then there exists a unique homomorphism ¢ : G/H — G’ such that dor = ¢. Proof: This follows from Theorem 12 by lettinga ~ 6 ¢> aH =bH. w hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups 59res0%6 Abstract AlgebralGroupTheyNermal subgroups ard Quoter groups - Wikibooks, pen books for an open woe The Isomorphism Theorems Theorem 21 (First Isomorphism Theorem): Let G, G’ be groups and ¢ : GG! ahomomorphism. Then G/ker $ ~ im G tins Proof: From Theorem 20 we have that there exists a unique homomorphism a G : G/ker ¢ — G" such that 6 = $ om. We have to show that ¢ is an |: isomorphism when we corestrict to im g. This is immediate, since Zs (a) = o(b) + aker $ = bkerg by Lemma 13, so that ¢ is injective, G/ker @ and for any gf € imd there is ag € G such that $(g) = $(gker 4) = ‘Commutative diagram showing the so that itis surjective and therefore an isomorphism. m first isomorphism theorem. 3 is an isomorphism. Lemma 22: Let G be a group, Ha subgroup and K a normal subgroup of G. Then HK is a normal subgroup of H. Proof: Leth € Hand k € HK. Then hkh™ € H since h,k € H and H is a subgroup and hkh™ € K since k € K,h € G and K is normal in G. Thus hkh™ € HK and HO K is normal in Hw Theorem 23 (Second Isomorphism Theorem): Let G be a group, Ha subgroup and K a normal subgroup of G. A The en HK/K = Proof: Define ¢ : H + HK/K by $(h) = hK for all h € H. ¢ is surjective since any element in HK can be written as hk with h € H andk € K, so ¢(h) = 1(hk) = hkK = AK. We also have that ker $= {he H| hK = K}={he H|he K}=HNK andsoHK/K®& isomorphism theorem, m H by the first unk” Lemma 24: Let G be a group, and let H,, K be normal subgroups of G such that K C H C @. Then H/K is a normal subgroup of G/K. Proof. Leth € H and g € G. Then ghg™' =h' for some h! € H since H is normal. Thus (gK)(hK)(gK)~* = (ghg')K = h'K, showing that H/K is normal in G/K. Theorem 25 (Third Isomorphism Theorem) Let G be a group, and let H, K be normal subgroups of G such that G/K He nth=1¢H And thus: hekeré@h=n,K€ KET @hanneK went @heK(HND Therefore, ker ® = K(H 1). Thus, the first isomorphism theorem implies HI/KI = H/(K(H1) Mi Simple Groups Definition 30: A group is called simple is it has no non-trivial proper normal subgroups. Example 31: Every cyclic group Zp, where p is prime, is simple, Definition 32: Let G be a group and Ha normal subgroup. H is called a maximal normal subgroup if for any normal subgroup K of @, we have K C H. Theorem 33: Let G be a group and H a normal subgroup. Then HT is a maximal normal subgroup if and only if the quotient G/H is simple. Proof: By Theorem 26 and Theorem 28, @/H has a nontrivial normal subgroup if and only if there exists a proper normal subgroup K of G such that H < K < G. That is, H is not maximal if and only if @/H is not simple. The theorem follows. = Problems Problem 1: Recall the unitary and special unitary groups from the section about subgroups. Define the projective unitary group of order nas the group PU(n) = U(n)/Z(U(n)). Similarily, define the projective special unitary group of order nas PSU(n) = SU(n)/Z(SU(n)). i) Show that Z(SU(n)) = SU(n) M Z(U(n) © Zn ii) Using the second isomorphism theorem, show that PSU(n) = PU(n) Retrieved from "https://en.wikibooks.org/w/index.php? title=Abstract_Algebra/Group_Theory/Normal_subgroups_and_Quotient_groups&oldid=2992992" hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups a9res0%6 Abstract AlgebralGroupTheyNermal subgroups ard Quoter groups - Wikibooks, pen books for an open woe = This page was last modified on 15 September 2015, at 04:40. = Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. hpeilonwikibooks orghikiAbsract AlgsalGroup_ThecryNermal_subgraups_and Quotient eroups a9