c







 


!"#"#$%&"!#
 !#!! 

Examples and applications of groups abound. A starting point is the group ' of integers with
addition as group operation, introduced above. If instead of addition multiplication is considered,
one obtains multiplicative groups. These groups are predecessors of important constructions in
abstract algebra.

Groups are also applied in many other mathematical areas. Mathematical objects are often
examined by associating groups to them and studying the properties of the corresponding groups.
For example, Henri Poincaré founded what is now called algebraic topology by introducing the
fundamental group. By means of this connection, topological properties such as proximity and
continuity translate into properties of groups.For example, elements of the fundamental group are
represented by loops. The second image at the right shows some loops in a plane minus a point.
The blue loop is considered null-homotopic (and thus irrelevant), because it can be continuously
shrunk to a point.
The presence of the hole prevents the orange loop from being shrunk to a point. The fundamental
group of the plane with a point deleted turns out to be infinite cyclic, generated by the orange
loop (or any other loop winding once around the hole). This way, the fundamental group detects
the hole.

In more recent applications, the influence has also been reversed to motivate geometric
constructions by a group-theoretical background. In a similar vein, geometric group theory
employs geometric concepts, for example in the study of hyperbolic groups.Further branches
crucially applying groups include algebraic geometry and number theory.

In addition to the above theoretical applications, many practical applications of groups exist.
Cryptography relies on the combination of the abstract group theory approach together with
algorithmical knowledge obtained in computational group theory, in particular when
implemented for finite groups.Applications of group theory are not restricted to mathematics;
sciences such as physics, chemistry and computer science benefit from the concept.

#%

Many number systems, such as the integers and the rationals enjoy a naturally given group
structure. In some cases, such as with the rationals, both addition and multiplication operations
give rise to group structures. Such number systems are predecessors to more general algebraic
structures known as rings and fields. Further abstract algebraic concepts such as modules, vector
spaces and algebras also form groups.



The group of integers ' under addition, denoted (', +), has been described above. The integers,
with the operation of multiplication instead of addition, (', ·) do not form a group. The closure,
associativity and identity axioms are satisfied, but inverses do not exist: for example, a = 2 is an
integer, but the only solution to the equation a · b = 1 in this case is b = 1/2, which is a rational
number, but not an integer. Hence not every element of ' has a (multiplicative) inverse.
 

The desire for the existence of multiplicative inverses suggests considering fractions

Fractions of integers (with b nonzero) are known as rational numbers.The set of all such fractions
is commonly denoted . There is still a minor obstacle for (, ·), the rationals with
multiplication, being a group: because the rational number 0 does not have a multiplicative
inverse (i.e., there is no ð such that ð · 0 = 1), (, ·) is still not a group.

However, the set of all nonzero rational numbers  \ {0} = {¯ • , ¯  0} does form an abelian
group under multiplication, denoted ( \ {0}, ·).Associativity and identity element axioms
follow from the properties of integers. The closure requirement still holds true after removing
zero, because the product of two nonzero rationals is never zero. Finally, the inverse of a/b is
b/a, therefore the axiom of the inverse element is satisfied.

The rational numbers (including 0) also form a group under addition. Intertwining addition and
multiplication operations yields more complicated structures called rings and²if division is
possible, such as in ²fields, which occupy a central position in abstract algebra. Group
theoretic arguments therefore underlie parts of the theory of those entities.

(##

For any prime number , modular arithmetic furnishes the multiplicative group of integers
modulo .[38] Its elements are integers not divisible by , considered modulo , i.e. two numbers
are considered equivalent if their difference is divisible by . For example, if  = 5, there are
exactly four group elements 1, 2, 3, 4: multiples of 5 are excluded and 6 and í4 are both
equivalent to 1 etc. The group operation is given by multiplication. Therefore, 4 · 4 = 1, because
the usual product 16 is equivalent to 1, for 5 divides 16 í 1 = 15, denoted

16 Ł 1 (mod 5).
The primality of  ensures that the product of two integers neither of which is divisible by  is
not divisible by  either, hence the indicated set of classes is closed under multiplication.The
identity element is 1, as usual for a multiplicative group, and the associativity follows from the
corresponding property of integers. Finally, the inverse element axiom requires that given an
integer a not divisible by , there exists an integer b such that

a · b Ł 1 (mod ), i.e.  divides the difference a · b í 1.

The inverse b can be found by using Bézout's identity and the fact that the greatest common
divisor gcd(a, ) equals 1.In the case  = 5 above, the inverse of 4 is 4, and the inverse of 3 is 2,
as 3 · 2 = 6 Ł 1 (mod 5). Hence all group axioms are fulfilled. Actually, this example is similar to
(\{0}, ·) above, because it turns out to be the multiplicative group of nonzero elements in the
finite field , denoted 
À
. These groups are crucial to public-key cryptography.

)

The 6th complex roots of unity form a cyclic group. z is a primitive element, but z2 is not,
because the odd powers of z are not a power of z2.

A cyclic grou is a group all of whose elements are powers (when the group operation is written
additively, the term 'multiple' can be used) of a particular element a.In multiplicative notation,
the elements of the group are:

..., aí3, aí2, aí1, a0 = e, a, a2, a3, ...,

where a2 means a ‡ a, and aí3 stands for aí1 ‡ aí1 ‡ aí1=(a ‡ a ‡ a)í1 etc.Such an element a is
called a generator or a primitive element of the group.

A typical example for this class of groups is the group of n-th complex roots of unity, given by
complex numbers z satisfying zn = 1 (and whose operation is multiplication).Any cyclic group
with n elements is isomorphic to this group. Using some field theory, the group 
À
can be
shown to be cyclic: for example, if  = 5, 3 is a generator since 31 = 3, 32 = 9 Ł 4, 33 Ł 2, and 34
Ł 1.

Some cyclic groups have an infinite number of elements. In these groups, for every non-zero
element a, all the powers of a are distinct; despite the name "cyclic group", the powers of the
elements do not cycle. An infinite cyclic group is isomorphic to (', +), the group of integers
under addition introduced above.As these two prototypes are both abelian, so is any cyclic group.

The study of abelian groups is quite mature, including the fundamental theorem of finitely
generated abelian groups; and reflecting this state of affairs, many group-related notions, such as
center and commutator, describe the extent to which a given group is not abelian.

)##)

|ymmetry grou are groups consisting of symmetries of given mathematical objects²be they of
geometric nature, such as the introductory symmetry group of the square, or of algebraic nature,
such as polynomial equations and their solutions.Conceptually, group theory can be thought of as
the study of symmetry. Symmetries in mathematics greatly simplify the study of geometrical or
analytical objects. A group is said to act on another mathematical object
if every group
element performs some operation on
compatibly to the group law. In the rightmost example
below, an element of order 7 of the (2,3,7) triangle group acts on the tiling by permuting the
highlighted warped triangles (and the other ones, too). By a group action, the group pattern is
connected to the structure of the object being acted on.
Rotations and flips form the symmetry group of a great icosahedron.

In chemical fields, such as crystallography, space groups and point groups describe molecular
symmetries and crystal symmetries. These symmetries underlie the chemical and physical
behavior of these systems, and group theory enables simplification of quantum mechanical
analysis of these properties.For example, group theory is used to show that optical transitions
between certain quantum levels cannot occur simply because of the symmetry of the states
involved.

Not only are groups useful to assess the implications of symmetries in molecules, but
surprisingly they also predict that molecules sometimes can change symmetry. The Jahn-Teller
effect is a distortion of a molecule of high symmetry when it adopts a particular ground state of
lower symmetry from a set of possible ground states that are related to each other by the
symmetry operations of the molecule.

Likewise, group theory helps predict the changes in physical properties that occur when a
material undergoes a phase transition, for example, from a cubic to a tetrahedral crystalline form.
An example is ferroelectric materials, where the change from a paraelectric to a ferroelectric
state occurs at the Curie temperature and is related to a change from the high-symmetry
paraelectric state to the lower symmetry ferroelectic state, accompanied by a so-called soft
phonon mode, a vibrational lattice mode that goes to zero frequency at the transition.

Such spontaneous symmetry breaking has found further application in elementary particle
physics, where its occurrence is related to the appearance of Goldstone bosons.
 Hexaaquacopper(I
I) complex ion,
[Cu(OH2)6]2+.
Ammonia, NH3. Compared to a The (2,3,7)
Buckminsterfullere Its symmetry Cubane C8H8 perfectly triangle group, a
ne displays group is of order features symmetrical hyperbolic group,
icosahedral 6, generated by a octahedral shape, the acts on this tiling
symmetry. 120° rotation and symmetry. molecule is of the hyperbolic
a reflection. vertically dilated plane.
by about 22%
(Jahn-Teller
effect).

Finite symmetry groups such as the Mathieu groups are used in coding theory, which is in turn
applied in error correction of transmitted data, and in CD players.Another application is
differential Galois theory, which characterizes functions having antiderivatives of a prescribed
form, giving group-theoretic criteria for when solutions of certain differential equations are well-
behaved.Geometric properties that remain stable under group actions are investigated in
(geometric) invariant theory.
c!)

Two vectors (the left illustration) multiplied by matrices (the middle and right illustrations). The
middle illustration represents a clockwise rotation by 90°, while the right-most one stretches the
ð-coordinate by factor 2.

Matrix groups consist of matrices together with matrix multiplication. The general linear grou
(n, ) consists of all invertible n-by-n matrices with real entries. Its subgroups are referred to
as matrið grou or linear grou . The dihedral group example mentioned above can be viewed
as a (very small) matrix group. Another important matrix group is the special orthogonal group
|(n). It describes all possible rotations in n dimensions. Via Euler angles, rotation matrices are
used in computer graphics.

Rere entation theory is both an application of the group concept and important for a deeper
understanding of groups.It studies the group by its group actions on other spaces. A broad class
of group representations are linear representations, i.e. the group is acting on a vector space, such
3
as the three-dimensional Euclidean space . A representation of  on an n-dimensional real
vector space is simply a group homomorphism

ȡ:  ĺ (n, )

from the group to the general linear group. This way, the group operation, which may be
abstractly given, translates to the multiplication of matrices making it accessible to explicit
computations.

Given a group action, this gives further means to study the object being acted on.On the other
hand, it also yields information about the group.
Group representations are an organizing principle in the theory of finite groups, Lie groups,
algebraic groups and topological groups, especially (locally) compact groups.

c

aloi grou have been developed to help solve polynomial equations by capturing their
symmetry features. For example, the solutions of the quadratic equation að2 + bð + c = 0 are
given by

Exchanging "+" and "í" in the expression, i.e. permuting the two solutions of the equation can
be viewed as a (very simple) group operation. Similar formulae are known for cubic and quartic
equations, but do not exist in general for degree 5 and higher. Abstract properties of Galois
groups associated with polynomials (in particular their solvability) give a criterion for
polynomials that have all their solutions expressible by radicals, i.e. solutions expressible using
solely addition, multiplication, and roots similar to the formula above.

The problem can be dealt with by shifting to field theory and considering the splitting field of a
polynomial. Modern Galois theory generalizes the above type of Galois groups to field
extensions and establishes²via the fundamental theorem of Galois theory²a precise
relationship between fields and groups, underlining once again the ubiquity of groups in
mathematics.
  *+

c

In mathematics, a  is a set endowed with a binary operation satisfying certain axioms,
detailed below. For example, the set of integers with addition as the binary operation is a group.
Group theory is the branch of mathematics which studies groups.

Group theory originated with the work of Évariste Galois, in 1830, on the problem of when an
algebraic equation is soluble by radicals. Before this work, groups were mainly studied in terms
of permutations. Some aspects of abelian group theory were also known in the theory of
quadratic forms.

Many of the structures investigated in mathematics turn out to be groups. These include familiar
number systems, such as the integers, the rational numbers, the real numbers, and the complex
numbers under addition, as well as the non-zero rationals, reals, and complex numbers, under
multiplication. Other important examples are the group of non-singular matrices under
multiplication and the group of invertible functions under composition. Group theory allows one
to study such structures in a general setting.

Group theory has extensive applications in mathematics, science, and engineering. Many
algebraic structures such as fields and vector spaces are based on groups, and group theory
provides an important tool for studying symmetry, since the symmetries of any object form a
group. Groups are thus pertinent to branches of sciences involving symmetry principles, such as
relativity, quantum mechanics, particle physics, chemistry, computer graphics, and others.

K 
,

The modern concept of an abstract group developed out of several fields of mathematics.The
original motivation for group theory was the quest for solutions of polynomial equations of
degree higher than 4. The 19th-century French mathematician Évariste Galois, extending prior
work of Paolo Ruffini and Joseph-Louis Lagrange, gave a criterion for the solvability of a
particular polynomial equation in terms of the symmetry group of its roots (solutions). The
elements of such a Galois group correspond to certain permutations of the roots.
At first, Galois' ideas were rejected by his contemporaries, and published only
posthumously.More general permutation groups were investigated in particular by Augustin
Louis Cauchy. Arthur Cayley's n the theory of grou  a deending on the ymbolic e¯uation
șn = 1 (1854) gives the first abstract definition of a finite group.

Geometry was a second field in which groups were used systematically, especially symmetry
groups as part of Felix Klein's 1872 Erlangen program.

After novel geometries such as hyperbolic and projective geometry had emerged, Klein used
group theory to organize them in a more coherent way. Further advancing these ideas, Sophus
Lie founded the study of Lie groups in 1884.

The third field contributing to group theory was number theory. Certain abelian group structures
had been used implicitly in Carl Friedrich Gauss' number-theoretical work Di ¯ui itione
Arithmeticae (1798), and more explicitly by Leopold Kronecker.In 1847, Ernst Kummer led
early attempts to prove Fermat's Last Theorem to a climax by developing groups describing
factorization into prime numbers.

The convergence of these various sources into a uniform theory of groups started with Camille
Jordan's Traité de ub titution et de é¯uation algébri¯ue (1870).Walther von Dyck (1882)
gave the first statement of the modern definition of an abstract group.As of the 20th century,
groups gained wide recognition by the pioneering work of Ferdinand Georg Frobenius and
William Burnside, who worked on representation theory of finite groups, Richard Brauer's
modular representation theory and Issai Schur's papers.The theory of Lie groups, and more
generally locally compact groups was pushed by Hermann Weyl, Élie Cartan and many others.
Its algebraic counterpart, the theory of algebraic groups, was first shaped by Claude Chevalley
(from the late 1930s) and later by pivotal work of Armand Borel and Jacques Tits.

The University of Chicago's 1960±61 Group Theory Year brought together group theorists such
as Daniel Gorenstein, John G. Thompson and Walter Feit, laying the foundation of a
collaboration that, with input from numerous other mathematicians, classified all finite simple
groups in 1982. This project exceeded previous mathematical endeavours by its sheer size, in
both length of proof and number of researchers.
Research is ongoing to simplify the proof of this classification.These days, group theory is still a
highly active mathematical branch crucially impacting many other fields.

v   


A group (, * ) is a set  along with a function * :  À  ĺ , satisfying the group axioms
below. The function * is called a binary oerator. Here "a * b" represents the result of applying
the function * to the ordered pair (a, b) of elements in . The group axioms are the following:

hY A ociativity: For every a, b and c in , (a * b) * c = a * (b * c).

hY ›eutral element: There is an element e in  such that for every a in , e * a = a * e = a.
hY ÷nver e element: For every a in , there is an element b in  such that a * b = b * a = e,
where e is the neutral element from the previous axiom.
One often also sees the axiom:

hY alo ure: For all a and b in , a * b belongs to .

Since the definition of group given here uses the notion of binary operation, closure is
automatically satisfied and hence would be superfluous as an axiom. When determining if a
given * is a group operation, one nevertheless checks that * satisfies closure as part of verifying
that it is, in fact, a binary operation.

The neutral element of a group is often called the identity element if the operation is written in
multiplicative notation, while it is called the zero element or null element if the operation is
written in additive notation.

If a group has both a left neutral element (say, e1) and a right neutral element (say, e2), then they
must be identical (because e1 = e1 * e2 = e2). It follows that the neutral element e of the second
group axiom is unique, that is, a group has only one neutral element. This is why the third group
axiom refers to the neutral element, even though the second axiom merely asserts that there is at
least one neutral element.

The order of a group , denoted by || or o(), is the number of elements of the set . A group
is called finite if it has finitely many elements, that is if the set  is a finite set.
When there is no ambiguity, the group (, * ) is often denoted simply as "", leaving the
operation * unmentioned. But different operations on the same set would define different groups.

The operation in a group need not be commutative, that is there may exist elements a,b such that
a * b  b * a. A group  is said to be abelian (after the mathematician Niels Abel) (or
commutative) if for every a, b in , a * b = b * a. Groups lacking this property are called non-
abelian.


  +
 '


The axioms given above in the definition of group are stronger than what is strictly required.
Sufficient are associativity, the existence of a right neutral element (that is, there is an element e
such that ð * e = ð for all ð), and the existence of right inverses with respect to this right neutral
element (that is, for each ð, there is a y such that ð * y = e). It follows from these that the
postulated right neutral element e is also a left neutral element, and hence, as above, is unique.
Further, it follows that each right inverse is also a left inverse. Thus, the axiomatization given
above is not strictly minimal in the logical sense; however, it is customary. One reason for the
custom is that the axioms as given are easily remembered and checked in practice. Another
reason is that subsets or variants of the axioms define other useful algebraic structures ² e.g.,
groupoids and semigroups.

Groups can be axiomatized in ways other than the one presented above. For instance, a group is a
set  closed under:

hY An associative binary operation, here denoted by concatenation, and a unary operation,

denoted by the superscript -1 such that ð-1ðy = yð-1ð = y is an axiom. It follows that ð-1ð is
a constant, and hence, is the neutral element.
hY An associative binary operation, here denoted by concatenation, such that for each a,b •
, there exist ð,y •  such that að = b and ya = b. Equivalently, a group is an associative
quasigroup. The existence of the neutral element follows easily.
hY Two binary operations, here denoted by infix "/" and "\", with axioms y = ð/(y\ð) =
(ð/y)\ð, and (ð/y)\z = ð/(y\z). One may then define an associative binary operation and a
unary operation as above in terms of \ and / so that ð/y = ðy-1 and ð\y = ð-1y.



c


  

 ð * y or ðy ð+y

) e or 1 0

 ðn nð

 ðí1 íð

#  À  Œ

Usually the operation, whatever it really is, is thought of as an analogue of multiplication, and
the group operations are therefore written multilicatively. That is:

hY We write "a · b" or even "ab" for a * b and call it the roduct of a and b;
hY We write "1" (or "e") for the neutral element and call it the unit element;
hY We write "aí1" for the inverse of a and call it the recirocal of a.
However, sometimes the group operation is thought of as analogous to addition and written
additively:

hY We write "a + b" for a * b and call it the um of a and b;

hY We write "0" for the neutral element and call it the zero element;
hY We write "ía" for the inverse of a and call it the oo ite of a.
Usually, only abelian (commutative) groups are written additively, although they may also be
written multiplicatively. When being noncommittal, one can use the notation (with "*") and
terminology that was introduced in the definition, using the notation aí1 for the inverse of a.

If | is a subset of  and ð an element of , then, in multiplicative notation, ð| is the set of all

products {ð : in |}; similarly the notation |ð = { ð : in |}; and for two subsets | and T of ,
we write |T for { t : in |, t in T}. In additive notation, we write ð + |, | + ð, and | + T for the
respective sets.



  , 

 


%-!

A group that we are introduced to in elementary school is the integers under addition. For this
example, let ' be the set of integers, {..., í4, í3, í2, í1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, ...}, and let the symbol "+"
indicate the operation of addition. Then (',+) is a group (written additively).

Proof:

hY If a and b are integers then a + b is an integer. (Closure; + really is a binary operation)

hY If a, b, and c are integers, then (a + b) + c = a + (b + c). (Associativity)
hY 0 is an integer and for any integer a, 0 + a = a + 0 = a. (Identity element)
hY If a is an integer, then there is an integer b := ía, such that a + b = b + a = 0. (Inverse
element)
This group is also abelian: a + b = b + a.

The integers with both addition and multiplication together form the more complicated algebraic
structure of a ring. In fact, the elements of any ring form an abelian group under addition, called
the additive grou of the ring.

›
-!#

On the other hand, if we consider the operation of multiplication, denoted by "·", then (',·) is not
a group:

hY If a and b are integers then a · b is an integer. (Closure)

hY If a, b, and c are integers, then (a · b) · c = a · (b · c). (Associativity)
hY 1 is an integer and for any integer a, 1 · a = a · 1 = a. (Identity element)
hY However, it is  true that whenever a is an integer, there is an integer b such that ab =
ba = 1. For example, a = 2 is an integer, but the only solution to the equation ab = 1 in
 this case is b = 1/2. We cannot choose b = 1/2 because 1/2 is not an integer. (Inverse
element fail )
Since not every element of (',·) has an inverse, (',·) is not a group. The most we can say is that
it is a commutative monoid.

%-!(#%#

Consider the set of rational numbers , that is the set of numbers a/b such that a and b are
integers and b is nonzero, and the operation multiplication, denoted by "·". Since the rational
number 0 does not have a multiplicative inverse, (,·), like (',·), is not a group.

However, if we instead use the set  \ {0} instead of , that is include every rational number
eðcet zero, then ( \ {0},·) doe form an abelian group (written multiplicatively). The inverse of
a/b is b/a, and the other group axioms are simple to check. We don't lose closure by removing
zero, because the product of two nonzero rationals is never zero.

Just as the integers form a ring, the rational numbers form the algebraic structure of a field,
allowing the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. In fact, the nonzero
elements of any given field form a group under multiplication, called the multilicative grou of
the field.

"%-#"

For a more concrete example, consider three colored blocks (red, green, and blue), initially
placed in the order RGB. Let a be the action "swap the first block and the second block", and let
b be the action "swap the second block and the third block".

Cycle diagram for S3. A loop specifies a series of powers of any element connected to the
identity element (1). For example, the e-ba-ab loop reflects the fact that (ba)2=ab and (ba)3=e, as
well as the fact that (ab)2=ba and (ab)3=e The other "loops" are roots of unity so that, for
example a2=e.

In multiplicative form, we traditionally write ðy for the combined action "first do y, then do ð";
so that ab is the action RGB ĺ RBG ĺ BRG, i.e., "take the last block and move it to the front".
 If we write e for "leave the blocks as they are" (the identity action), then we can write the six
permutations of the set of three blocks as the following actions:

hY e : RGB ĺ RGB
hY a : RGB ĺ GRB
hY b : RGB ĺ RBG
hY ab : RGB ĺ BRG
hY ba : RGB ĺ GBR
hY aba : RGB ĺ BGR
Note that the action aa has the effect RGB ĺ GRB ĺ RGB, leaving the blocks as they were; so
we can write aa = e. Similarly,

hY bb = e,
hY (aba)(aba) = e, and
hY (ab)(ba) = (ba)(ab) = e;
so each of the above actions has an inverse.

By inspection, we can also determine associativity and closure; note for example that

hY (ab)a = a(ba) = aba, and

hY (ba)b = b(ab) = bab.
This group is called the ymmetric grou on 3 letter , or |3. It has order 6 (or 3 factorial), and is
non-abelian (since, for example, ab  ba). Since |3 is built up from the basic actions a and b, we
say that the set {a,b} generate it.

Every group can be expressed in terms of permutation groups like |3; this result is Cayley's
theorem and is studied as part of the subject of group actions.

 
K
 

hY A group has exactly one identity element.

hY Every element has exactly one inverse.

 roof: Suppose both b and c are inverses of ð. Then, by the definition of an inverse, ðb = bð = e
and ðc = cð = e. But then:

(multiplying on the left by b)

(using bð = e)

(neutral element axiom)

Therefore the inverse is unique.

The first two properties actually follow from associative binary operations defined on a set.
Given a binary operation on a set, there is at most one identity and at most one inverse for any
element.

hY You can perform division in groups; that is, given elements a and b of the group , there is
exactly one solution ð in  to the equation ð * a = b and exactly one solution y in  to the
equation a * y = b.

hY The expression "a1 * a2 * ··· * an" is unambiguous, because the result will be the same no matter
where we place parentheses.

hY (|ock and hoe ) The inverse of a product is the product of the inverses in the opposite order: (a
* b)í1 = bí1 * aí1.
roof: We will demonstrate that (ab)(b-1a-1) = (b-1a-1)(ab) = e, as required by the definition of an
inverse.
= (associativity)

= (definition of inverse)

= (definition of neutral element)

 = (definition of inverse)

And similarly for the other direction.

These and other basic facts that hold for all individual groups form the field of elementary group
theory.


  c.c

c +


1.Y If a subset  of a group (,*) together with the operation * restricted on  is itself a group, then
it is called a ubgrou of (,*).
2.Y The direct roduct of two groups (,*) and (,‡) is the Cartesian product set À together with
the operation (g1,h1)(g2,h2) = (g1*g2,h1‡h2). The direct product can also be defined with any
number of terms, finite or infinite, by using the cartesian product and defining the operation
coordinate-wise.
3.Y The emidirect roduct of two groups › and  with respect to a group homomorphism ij :  ĺ
Aut(›) is a new group (› À , *), with * defined as

(n1, h1) * (n2, h2) = (n1 ij(h1) (n2), h1 h2)

4.Y The direct eðternal um of a family of groups is the subgroup of the product constituted by
elements that have a finite number of non-identity coordinates. If the family is finite the direct
sum and the product are of course the same.
5.Y Given a group  and a normal subgroup ›, the ¯uotient grou is the set of cosets of /› together
with the operation (g›)(h›)=gh›.

c 
'


In abstract algebra, we get some related structures which are similar to groups by relaxing some
of the axioms given at the top of the article.

hY If we eliminate the requirement that every element have an inverse, then we get a monoid.
hY If we additionally do not require an identity either, then we get a semigroup.
hY Alternatively, if we relax the requirement that the operation be associative while still requiring
the possibility of division, then we get a loop.
hY If we additionally do not require an identity, then we get a quasigroup.
hY If we don't require any axioms of the binary operation at all, then we get a magma.
Groupoids, which are similar to groups except that the composition a * b need not be defined for
all a and b, arise in the study of more involved kinds of symmetries, often in topological and
analytical structures. They are special sorts of categories.

Supergroups and Hopf algebras are other generalizations.

Lie groups, algebraic groups and topological groups are examples of group objects: group-like
structures sitting in a category other than the ordinary category of sets.

Abelian groups form the prototype for the concept of an abelian category, which has applications
to vector spaces and beyond.

Formal group laws are certain formal power series which have properties much like a group
operation.




c
K
,

Applications of group theory abound. Almost all structures in abstract algebra are special cases
of groups. Rings, for example, can be viewed as abelian groups (corresponding to addition)
together with a second operation (corresponding to multiplication). Therefore group theoretic
arguments underlie large parts of the theory of those entities.

Galois theory uses groups to describe the symmetries of the roots of a polynomial (or more
precisely the automorphisms of the algebras generated by these roots). The fundamental theorem
of Galois theory provides a link between algebraic field extensions and group theory. It gives an
effective criterion for the solvability of polynomial equations in terms of the solvability of the
corresponding Galois group. For example, |5, the symmetric group in 5 elements, is not solvable
which implies that the general quintic equation cannot be solved by radicals in the way equations
of lower degree can. The theory, being one of the historical roots of group theory, is still
fruitfully applied to yield new results in areas such as class field theory.
Algebraic topology is another domain which prominently associates groups to the objects the
theory is interested in. There, groups are used to describe certain invariants of topological spaces.
They are called "invariants" because they are defined in such a way that they do not change if the
space is subjected to some deformation. For example, the fundamental group "counts" how many
paths in the space are essentially different. The Poincaré conjecture, proved in 2002/2003 by
Grigori Perelman is a prominent application of this idea. The influence is not unidirectional,
though. For example, algebraic topology makes use of Eilenberg-MacLane spaces which are
spaces with prescribed homotopy groups. Similarly algebraic K-theory stakes in a crucial way on
classifying spaces of groups. Finally, the name of the torsion subgroup of an infinite group
shows the legacy of topology in group theory.

A torus. Its abelian group structure is induced from the map  ĺ /'+£', where £ is a
parameter

The cyclic group '/26 underlies Caesar's cipher.

Algebraic geometry and cryptography likewise uses group theory in many ways. Abelian
varieties have been introduced above. The presence of the group operation yields additional
information which makes these varieties particularly accessible. They also often serve as a test
for new conjectures.The one-dimensional case, namely elliptic curves is studied in particular
detail. They are both theoretically and practically intriguing. Very large groups of prime order
constructed in Elliptic-Curve Cryptography serve for public key cryptography. Cryptographical
methods of this kind benefit from the flexibility of the geometric objects, hence their group
structures, together with the complicated structure of these groups, which make the discrete
logarithm very hard to calculate. One of the earliest encryption protocols, Caesar's cipher, may
also be interpreted as a (very easy) group operation. In another direction, toric varieties are
algebraic varieties acted on by a torus. Toroidal embeddings have recently led to advances in
algebraic geometry, in particular resolution of singularities.

Algebraic number theory is a special case of group theory, thereby following the rules of the
latter. For example, Euler's product formula

captures the fact that any integer decomposes in a unique way into primes. The failure of this
statement for more general rings gives rise to class groups and regular primes, which feature in
Kummer's treatment of Fermat's Last Theorem.

hY The concept of the Lie group (named after mathematician Sophus Lie) is important in the
study of differential equations and manifolds; they describe the symmetries of continuous
geometric and analytical structures. Analysis on these and other groups is called
harmonic analysis. Haar measures, that is integrals invariant under the translation in a Lie
group, are used for pattern recognition and other image processing techniques.

hY In combinatorics, the notion of permutation group and the concept of group action are
often used to simplify the counting of a set of objects; see in particular Burnside's lemma.
The circle of fifths may be endowed with a cyclic group structure

hY The presence of the 12-periodicity in the circle of fifths yields applications of elementary
group theory in musical set theory.

hY An understanding of group theory is also important in physics and chemistry and material
science. In physics, groups are important because they describe the symmetries which the
laws of physics seem to obey. Physicists are very interested in group representations,
especially of Lie groups, since these representations often point the way to the "possible"
physical theories. Examples of the use of groups in physics include: Standard Model,
Gauge theory, Lorentz group, Poincaré group

hY In chemistry, groups are used to classify crystal structures, regular polyhedra, and the
symmetries of molecules. The assigned point groups can then be used to determine
physical properties (such as polarity and chirality), spectroscopic properties (particularly
useful for Raman spectroscopy and Infrared spectroscopy), and to construct molecular
orbitals.