Subgroup

This article is about the mathematical concept. For the galaxy-related concept, see galaxy group.

In mathematics, given a group G under a binary operation ∗, a subset H of G is called a subgroup of G if H also forms a group under the operation ∗. More precisely, H is a subgroup of G if the restriction of ∗ to H × H is a group operation on H. This is usually denoted H ≤ G, read as "H is a subgroup of G".

The trivial subgroup of any group is the subgroup {e} consisting of just the identity element.

A proper subgroup of a group G is a subgroup H which is a proper subset of G (i.e. H ≠ G). This is usually represented notationally by H < G, read as "H is a proper subgroup of G". Some authors also exclude the trivial group from being proper (i.e. {e} ≠ H ≠ G).

If H is a subgroup of G, then G is sometimes called an overgroup of H.

The same definitions apply more generally when G is an arbitrary semigroup, but this article will only deal with subgroups of groups. The group G is sometimes denoted by the ordered pair (G, ∗), usually to emphasize the operation ∗ when G carries multiple algebraic or other structures.

This article will write ab for a ∗ b, as is usual.

Basic properties of subgroups

• A subset H of the group G is a subgroup of G if and only if it is nonempty and closed under products and inverses. (The closure conditions mean the following: whenever a and b are in H, then ab and a⁻¹ are also in H. These two conditions can be combined into one equivalent condition: whenever a and b are in H, then ab⁻¹ is also in H.) In the case that H is finite, then H is a subgroup if and only if H is closed under products. (In this case, every element a of H generates a finite cyclic subgroup of H, and the inverse of a is then a⁻¹ = a^{n − 1}, where n is the order of a.)
• The above condition can be stated in terms of a homomorphism; that is, H is a subgroup of a group G if and only if H is a subset of G and there is an inclusion homomorphism (i.e., i(a) = a for every a) from H to G.
• The identity of a subgroup is the identity of the group: if G is a group with identity e_G, and H is a subgroup of G with identity e_H, then e_H = e_G.
• The inverse of an element in a subgroup is the inverse of the element in the group: if H is a subgroup of a group G, and a and b are elements of H such that ab = ba = e_H, then ab = ba = e_G.
• The intersection of subgroups A and B is again a subgroup. The union of subgroups A and B is a subgroup if and only if either A or B contains the other, since for example 2 and 3 are in the union of 2Z and 3Z but their sum 5 is not. Another example is the union of the x-axis and the y-axis in the plane (with the addition operation); each of these objects is a subgroup but their union is not. This also serves as an example of two subgroups, whose intersection is precisely the identity.
• If S is a subset of G, then there exists a minimum subgroup containing S, which can be found by taking the intersection of all of subgroups containing S; it is denoted by <S> and is said to be the subgroup generated by S. An element of G is in <S> if and only if it is a finite product of elements of S and their inverses.
• Every element a of a group G generates the cyclic subgroup <a>. If <a> is isomorphic to Z/nZ for some positive integer n, then n is the smallest positive integer for which aⁿ = e, and n is called the order of a. If <a> is isomorphic to Z, then a is said to have infinite order.
• The subgroups of any given group form a complete lattice under inclusion, called the lattice of subgroups. (While the infimum here is the usual set-theoretic intersection, the supremum of a set of subgroups is the subgroup generated by the set-theoretic union of the subgroups, not the set-theoretic union itself.) If e is the identity of G, then the trivial group {e} is the minimum subgroup of G, while the maximum subgroup is the group G itself.

G is the group $\mathbb{Z}/8\mathbb{Z}$, the integers mod 8 under addition. The subgroup H contains only 0 and 4, and is isomorphic to $\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}$. There are four left cosets of H: H itself, 1+H, 2+H, and 3+H (written using additive notation since this is an additive group). Together they partition the entire group G into equal-size, non-overlapping sets. The index [G : H] is 4.

Cosets and Lagrange's theorem

Given a subgroup H and some a in G, we define the left coset aH = {ah : h in H}. Because a is invertible, the map φ : H → aH given by φ(h) = ah is a bijection. Furthermore, every element of G is contained in precisely one left coset of H; the left cosets are the equivalence classes corresponding to the equivalence relation a₁ ~ a₂ if and only if a₁⁻¹a₂ is in H. The number of left cosets of H is called the index of H in G and is denoted by [G : H].

Lagrange's theorem states that for a finite group G and a subgroup H,

$[ G : H ] = { |G| \over |H| }$

where |G| and |H| denote the orders of G and H, respectively. In particular, the order of every subgroup of G (and the order of every element of G) must be a divisor of |G|.

Right cosets are defined analogously: Ha = {ha : h in H}. They are also the equivalence classes for a suitable equivalence relation and their number is equal to [G : H].

If aH = Ha for every a in G, then H is said to be a normal subgroup. Every subgroup of index 2 is normal: the left cosets, and also the right cosets, are simply the subgroup and its complement. More generally, if p is the lowest prime dividing the order of a finite group G, then any subgroup of index p (if such exists) is normal.

Example: Subgroups of Z₈

Let G be the cyclic group Z₈ whose elements are

$G=\left\{0,2,4,6,1,3,5,7\right\}$

and whose group operation is addition modulo eight. Its Cayley table is

+	0	2	4	6	1	3	5	7
0	0	2	4	6	1	3	5	7
2	2	4	6	0	3	5	7	1
4	4	6	0	2	5	7	1	3
6	6	0	2	4	7	1	3	5
1	1	3	5	7	2	4	6	0
3	3	5	7	1	4	6	0	2
5	5	7	1	3	6	0	2	4
7	7	1	3	5	0	2	4	6

This group has two nontrivial subgroups: J={0,4} and H={0,2,4,6}, where J is also a subgroup of H. The Cayley table for H is the top-left quadrant of the Cayley table for G. The group G is cyclic, and so are its subgroups. In general, subgroups of cyclic groups are also cyclic.

Example: Subgroups of S₄ (the symmetric group on 4 elements)

Every group has as many small subgroups as neutral elements on the main diagonal:

The trivial group and two-element groups Z₂. These small subgroups are not counted in the following list.

File:Symmetric group 4; Cayley table; numbers.svg The symmetric group S4 showing all permutations of 4 elements

File:Symmetric group 4; Lattice of subgroups Hasse diagram.svg Hasse diagram of the lattice of subgroups of S4

12 elements

File:Alternating group 4; Cayley table; numbers.svg

The alternating group A₄ showing only the even permutations

Subgroups:
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60px60px 60px 60px

8 elements

File:Dihedral group of order 8; Cayley table (element orders 1,2,2,2,2,4,4,2); subgroup of S4.svg Dihedral group of order 8 Subgroups: 70px70px70px

File:Dihedral group of order 8; Cayley table (element orders 1,2,2,4,2,2,4,2); subgroup of S4.svg Dihedral group of order 8 Subgroups: 70px70px70px

File:Dihedral group of order 8; Cayley table (element orders 1,2,2,4,4,2,2,2); subgroup of S4.svg Dihedral group of order 8 Subgroups: 70px70px70px

6 elements

File:Symmetric group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,1,2,3,4,5).svg Symmetric group S3 Subgroup:60px

File:Symmetric group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,5,6,11,19,21).svg Symmetric group S3 Subgroup:60px

File:Symmetric group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,1,14,15,20,21).svg Symmetric group S3 Subgroup:60px

Symmetric group S3 Subgroup:60px

4 elements

File:Klein four-group; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,1,6,7).svg Klein four-group

File:Klein four-group; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,5,14,16).svg Klein four-group

File:Klein four-group; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,2,21,23).svg Klein four-group

File:Klein four-group; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,7,16,23).svg Klein four-group

File:Cyclic group 4; Cayley table (element orders 1,2,4,4); subgroup of S4.svg Cyclic group Z4

File:Cyclic group 4; Cayley table (element orders 1,4,2,4); subgroup of S4.svg Cyclic group Z4

File:Cyclic group 4; Cayley table (element orders 1,4,4,2); subgroup of S4.svg Cyclic group Z4

3 elements

File:Cyclic group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,3,4).svg Cyclic group Z3

File:Cyclic group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,11,19).svg Cyclic group Z3

File:Cyclic group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,15,20).svg Cyclic group Z3

File:Cyclic group 3; Cayley table; subgroup of S4 (elements 0,8,12).svg Cyclic group Z3

Other examples

• An ideal in a ring $R$ is a subgroup of the additive group of $R$.
• Let $A$ be an abelian group; the elements of $A$ that have finite period form a subgroup of $A$ called the torsion subgroup of $A$.

See also

• Cartan subgroup
• Fitting subgroup
• Stable subgroup
• Fixed-point subgroup

References

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