Tag: definition

  • Sure it’s structure preserving

    An isomorphism is said to be structure preserving


    In fact relationships between elements are maintained even if the elements are renamed or reordered


    But what if a finite multiplicative cyclic group has a secondary feature?

    Allowing both relabelling and reordering means this secondary feature is no longer accessible or usable.

    Does this prevent the mapping being structure preserving?

    A truly structure preserving mapping would allow the use of the secondary feature even after reordering and relabelling.

    Best illustrated with examples.

    Using a generating element of 65 and working modulo 8321 we obtain the 52 element multiplicative group shown next.
    { 65,4225,32,2080,2064,1024,8313,7801,7805,8065,
    2,130,129,64,4160,4128,2048,8305,7281,7289,
    7809,4,260,258,128,8320,8256,4096,8289,6241,
    6257,7297,8,520,516,256,8319,8191,8192,8257,
    4161,4193,6273,16,1040,1032,512,8317,8061,8063,
    8193,1 }

    There is a secondary feature in that group that allows us to jump to a portion of our group and be at most 7 elements from the element we require.


    Every eighth element after 16 from the end of the group is a power of 2.

    In order we would write them as follows

    24,28,212,216,220,224,228,232,236,2402^4, 2^8, 2^{12}, 2^{16}, 2^{20}, 2^{24}, 2^{28}, 2^{32}, 2^{36}, 2^{40}

    Writing them longhand we might say
    eight from last is 16
    sixteenth from last is 2^8
    twentyfourth from last is 2^12
    thirtysecond from last is 2^16
    fortieth from last is 2^20
    fortyeighth from last is 2^24

    The fourth item is in bold in the group listing above and represents 2^24 mod 8321

    Using sturdy element notation we might say the group we tabulated above beginning 65 is

    Sturdy element notation for 1+2^t for set 1+(1+2^t)*(2^(t+1)) for t=6

    Current theory tells us that there exists an isomorphism between this finite abelian cyclic group and the additive group Z52.


    Such an isomorphism would use both relabelling and reordering.

    The problem then becomes how to access the secondary feature?
    We are now [after isomorphism] the group Z52 whose elements are:
    { 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,
    14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,
    27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,
    40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52 }

    By allowing reordering without being specific about tracking each element and how it maps individually, we have no way of locating an element of the secondary feature once in Z52


    This prevents us from jumping to a section of the group and navigating a maximum of seven elements from that jump destination.

    That secondary feature is part of our original multiplicative cyclic group.

    We are unable to use that secondary feature.


    Therefore we are not truly structure preserving.

    Next a further example.

    Using a generating element of 257 and working modulo 131585 we obtain the 68 element multiplicative group shown next.
    { 257, 66049, 128, 32896, 32832, 16384, 131553, 123361,
    123377, 127489, 8, 2056, 2052, 1024, 131583, 131071,
    131072, 131329, 65793, 65921, 98817, 64, 16448, 16416,
    8192, 131569, 127473, 127481, 129537, 4, 1028, 1026,
    512, -1, 131328, 65536, 131457, 98689, 98753, 115201,
    32, 8224, 8208, 4096, 131577, 129529, 129533, 130561,
    2, 514, 513, 256, 65792, 65664, 32768, 131521,
    115137, 115169, 123393, 16, 4112, 4104, 2048, 131581,
    130557, 130559, 131073, 1 }

    Using sturdy element notation we might say the group we tabulated above beginning 257 is

    Sturdy element notation for 1+2^t for set 1+(1+2^t)*(2^(t+1)) for t=8

    Labelling that 68 element multiplicative cyclic group as TPy68.


    With a jump or secondary feature similar to our previous example

    eight from last is 16
    sixteenth from last is 2^8
    twentyfourth from last is 2^12
    thirtysecond from last is 2^16
    fortieth from last is 2^20
    fortyeighth from last is 2^24
    fiftysixth from last is 2^28
    sixtyfourth from last is 2^32

    The fourth item is in bold in the group listing above and represents 2^32 mod 131585.


    Current theory tells us that there exists an isomorphism between this finite abelian cyclic group and the additive group Z68.

    Such an isomorphism would use both relabelling and reordering.

    The problem then becomes how to access the secondary feature?

    We are now [after isomorphism] the group Z68 whose elements are
    { 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,
    18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,
    35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,
    52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,67,68 }

    By allowing reordering without being specific about tracking each element and how it maps individually, we have no way of locating an element of the secondary feature once in Z68


    This prevents us from jumping to a section of the group and navigating a maximum of seven elements from that jump destination.

    That secondary feature is part of our original multiplicative cyclic group TPy68.

    We are unable to use that secondary feature.

    Therefore we are not truly structure preserving.

    If the jump feature is an essential part of the multiplication operation, then you cannot have a structure preserving map.


    Do we make a special case for this type of group, or do we modify or qualify current theory?


    A question that might be hard to answer is do we in fact have the jump feature in the Z group and just need to add something to the labelling to allow it to operate [again]?


    Want to try and highlight in bold the elements in the Z group?
    Would that be enough?

  • Masters project or PhD subject?

    If you are a Masters student and interested in doing a project or PhD in Abstract Algebra, then read on.

    Cyclic groups are an area of active research.

    There are three themes for projects based on content on this site

    • Isomorphisms between cyclic groups
    • Observations / conjectures about order
    • Definitions of [sub]group and where the groups documented on this site should fit?

    Those themes should offer extensive opportunities for studying cyclic groups inspired by work in this blog and comparisons to known cyclic subgroups documented in other research.

    Questions that might be answered in your research might include any of the following:

    • How many non-isomorphic groups are there with 36 elements?
    • How many non-isomorphic groups are there with 42 elements?
    • How many non-isomorphic groups are there with 52 elements?
    • How many non-isomorphic groups are there with 68 elements?
    • How do we classify a cyclic group that has a parent set but no parent group?
    • What do we call an element that takes a loose structure like a set and always produces a stronger mathematical structure [ a group ]?
    • What do the lattices look like for the groups X and Y on this site
    • Does Burnside pq theorem apply to all groups with even order?
    • Should we use double angle brackets or is existing notation sufficient?

    When thinking about isomorphisms or not you may end up considering X and P and conjectures about their order with a table inspired by the following:

    In that table I say ‘not iso’ but these are open questions which I have provided no answer to.

    For questions about order 36, 42, 52, 68 the following group lists may give you cyclic [abelian] group examples to use as examples when talking about where multiplicative groups having that order occur.

    Lookup table with highlighted entries for order 36,42,52,68

    If you are still short of project material, then you can always prove some conjectures

  • Does widening a definition weaken it?

    Why do we need another definition?

    We have the definition for generator being an element of a group.

    But a sturdy element is instead an element of a set.

    We could widen the definition for generator to be an element of a set.

    Would that create problems?

    Should we say super generator instead of sturdy element?

    But this might require or imply a generator could be an element of a set.

    There is nothing wrong with describing the results of using a sturdy element modulo enclosing set as being a cyclic group.

    However to call those results a cyclic subgroup implies a parent group and that is not always the case.

    We could widen the definition of subgroup to include a parent set also.

    Would that create problems?

    A new definition “super element” avoids having to widen existing definitions.

    Perhaps because a debate about widening generator or subgroup has not yet happened shows that these elements and their behaviour have not yet been studied more widely.

    “They are just generators”
    But they do not belong to a group [in all cases]

    “They are super generators”
    We need to be careful we do not imply group membership [in all cases] by reusing the term generator

    “They generate cyclic subgroups”
    We need to be careful we do not imply group membership [in all cases] by the current definition of a subgroup

    But wouldn’t having a sturdy element require a new notation?

    If we reuse the angle brackets that we use for generator typically then we could risk confusion.

    How about double angle brackets

    <<-1+2^t>> for the sturdy element -1+2^t

    <<1+2^t>> for the sturdy element 1+2^t

    <<-1+3^t>> for the sturdy element -1+3^t

    <<1+3^t>> for the sturdy element 1+3^t

    Each of those sturdy elements has a context set or enclosing set so should be quoted in more complete form as shown next.