Group Actions
- Group actions generalize group multiplication.
- If G is a group and X is an arbitrary set, a group action of an element g ∈ G and x ∈ X is a
product, gx, living in X.
Definition: A (right) action of G on X is a map : X× G → X given by (x, g) → gx,
- Satisfying
(i) xe = x for all x ∈ X;
(ii) x(g1g2) = x(g1)g2 for all x ∈ X and all g1, g2 ∈ G.
X is called a G-set.
A left action is correspondingly defined.
Example 1. Let G = GL2(R) and X = R 2 . Then G acts on X by right multiplication. If v ∈ R2 and I is
the identity matrix, then vI = v. If A and B are 2 × 2 invertible matrices, then v(AB) = (vA)B since
matrix multiplication is associative.
Example 2. Let G = D4 be the symmetry group of a square. If X = {1, 2, 3, 4} is the set of vertices
of the square, then we can consider D4 to 213 214 consist of the following permutations:
{(1),(13),(24),(1432),(1234),(12)(34),(14)(23),(13)(24)}. The elements of D4 act on X as functions.
The permutation (13)(24) acts on vertex 1 by sending it to vertex 3, on vertex 2 by sending it to
vertex 4, and so on. It is easy to see that the axioms of a group action are satisfied.
For more examples and properties, see
1. Soft copy of materials distributed in class
2. Voice Notes on our Telegram platform
Reference. Abstract Algebra Theory and Applications Thomas W. Judson , Stephen F. Austin
