Normal subgroup
Basic notions in group theory |
category of groups |
subgroups, normal subgroups |
quotient groups |
group homomorphisms, kernel, image |
(semi-)direct product, direct sum |
types of groups |
simple, |
finite, infinite |
discrete, continuous |
multiplicative, additive |
cyclic, abelian, nilpotent, solvable |
In mathematics, more specifically in abstract algebra, a normal subgroup is a special kind of subgroup. Normal subgroups are important because they can be used to construct quotient groups from a given group.
Évariste Galois was the first to realize the importance of the existence of normal subgroups.
Definitions
A subgroup N of a group G is called a normal subgroup if it is invariant under conjugation; that is, for each element n in N and each g in G, the element gng−1 is still in N. We write
![N \triangleleft G\,\,\Leftrightarrow\,\forall\,n\in{N},\forall\,g\in{G}\ , gng^{-1}\in{N}](/2009-wikipedia_en_wp1-0.7_2009-05/I/cdc29ff22a85bda82e83ffaa9bb61a6c.png)
The following conditions are equivalent to requiring that a subgroup N be normal in G. Any one of them may be taken as the definition:
- For all g in G, gNg−1 ⊆ N.
- For all g in G, gNg−1 = N.
- The sets of left and right cosets of N in G coincide.
- For all g in G, gN = Ng.
- N is a union of conjugacy classes of G.
- There is some homomorphism on G for which N is the kernel.
Note that condition (1) is logically weaker than condition (2), and condition (3) is logically weaker than condition (4). For this reason, conditions (1) and (3) are often used to prove that N is normal in G, while conditions (2) and (4) are used to prove consequences of the normality of N in G.
Examples
- {e} and G are always normal subgroups of G. These groups are called the trivial subgroups, and if these are the only ones, then G is said to be simple.
- The center of a group is a normal subgroup.
- The commutator subgroup is a normal subgroup.
- More generally, any characteristic subgroup is normal, since conjugation is always an automorphism.
- All subgroups N of an abelian group G are normal, because gN = Ng. A group that is not abelian but for which every subgroup is normal is called a Hamiltonian group.
- The translation group in any dimension is a normal subgroup of the Euclidean group; for example in 3D rotating, translating, and rotating back results in only translation; also reflecting, translating, and reflecting again results in only translation (a translation seen in a mirror looks like a translation, with a reflected translation vector). The translations by a given distance in any direction form a conjugacy class; the translation group is the union of those for all distances.
- In the Rubik's Cube group, the subgroup consisting of operations which only affect the corner pieces is normal, because no conjugate transformation can make such an operation affect an edge piece instead of a corner. By contrast, the subgroup consisting of turns of the top face only is not normal, because a conjugate transformation can move parts of the top face to the bottom and hence not all conjugates of elements of this subgroup are contained in the subgroup.
Properties
- Normality is preserved upon surjective homomorphisms, and is also preserved upon taking inverse images.
- Normality is preserved on taking direct products
- A normal subgroup of a normal subgroup of a group need not be normal in the group. That is, normality is not a transitive relation. However, a characteristic subgroup of a normal subgroup is normal. Also, a normal subgroup of a central factor is normal. In particular, a normal subgroup of a direct factor is normal.
- Every subgroup of index 2 is normal. More generally, a subgroup H of finite index n in G contains a subgroup K normal in G and of index dividing n! called the normal core. In particular, if p is the smallest prime dividing the order of G, then every subgroup of index p is normal.
Lattice of normal subgroups
The normal subgroups of a group G form a lattice under subset inclusion with least element {e} and greatest element G. Given two normal subgroups N and M in G, meet is defined as
![N \wedge M�:= N \cap M](/2009-wikipedia_en_wp1-0.7_2009-05/I/62487c96fe66ba5799903f4850160748.png)
and join is defined as
![N \vee M�:= N M = \{nm \,|\, n \in N \,, m \in M\}.](/2009-wikipedia_en_wp1-0.7_2009-05/I/9622c290174a0089b5d6864ef583761c.png)
The lattice is complete and modular.
Normal subgroups and homomorphisms
Normal subgroups are of relevance because if N is normal, then the quotient group G/N may be formed: if N is normal, we can define a multiplication on cosets by
- (a1N)(a2N) := (a1a2)N.
This turns the set of cosets into a group called the quotient group G/N. There is a natural homomorphism f : G → G/N given by f(a) = aN. The image f(N) consists only of the identity element of G/N, the coset eN = N.
In general, a group homomorphism f: G → H sends subgroups of G to subgroups of H. Also, the preimage of any subgroup of H is a subgroup of G. We call the preimage of the trivial group {e} in H the kernel of the homomorphism and denote it by ker(f). As it turns out, the kernel is always normal and the image f(G) of G is always isomorphic to G/ker(f) (the first isomorphism theorem). In fact, this correspondence is a bijection between the set of all quotient groups G/N of G and the set of all homomorphic images of G (up to isomorphism). It is also easy to see that the kernel of the quotient map, f: G → G/N, is N itself, so we have shown that the normal subgroups are precisely the kernels of homomorphisms with domain G.
See also
Operations taking subgroups to subgroups:
- normalizer
- conjugate closure
- normal core
Subgroup properties stronger than normality:
- characteristic subgroup
- fully characteristic subgroup
Subgroup properties weaker than normality:
- subnormal subgroup
- ascendant subgroup
- descendant subgroup
- serial subgroup
- quasinormal subgroup
- seminormal subgroup
- conjugate permutable subgroup
- modular subgroup
- pronormal subgroup
- paranormal subgroup
- polynormal subgroup
- c normal subgroup
Subgroup properties complementary (or opposite) to normality:
- malnormal subgroup
- contranormal subgroup
- abnormal subgroup
- self-normalizing subgroup
Related notions in algebra:
References
- I. N. Herstein, Topics in algebra. Second edition. Xerox College Publishing, Lexington, Mass.-Toronto, Ont., 1975. xi+388 pp.
- David S. Dummit; Richard M. Foote, Abstract algebra. Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1991. xiv+658 pp. ISBN 0-13-004771-6
External links