MTH 623, Spring 2007

Brief Notes for Weeks 4-5

 

Monday, January 29, 2007 (5:00-6:15 PM)

           We will finish up chapter 2, discussing the correspondence theorem and some applications.

Here is the lattice diagram of subgroups of S4.

 

Wednesday, January 31, 2007 (5:00-6:15 PM)

           One more application of the FHT – we prove that the group of inner automorphisms of G is isomorphic to G/Z(G).  (See the definition of center on p. 44.)

           We begin chapter 3, looking at the symmetric group and the more general issue of Ògroup actionÓ.  

           We define orbit, stabilizer, and prove some basic results about their relationship. 

 

Monday, February 5, 2007 (5:00-6:15 PM)

           Note the definition of conjugate on p. 43.  (This is another ÒinvisibleÓ idea, but critical in noncommutative environments such as linear algebraÉ)  The conjugate of a permutation will be a permutation with the same cycle structure.

           Read to page 48 and look at the following problems: 

                       pages 45-46: 3.3, 6, 11,

                       page 48: 3.14, 15, 16.

           Look at page 54: 3.27, 28, 29.

           Note the group of monomial matrices.

 

Wednesday, February 7, 2007 (No class – I am out of town.  We will make-up this missed time in early April.)

 

Monday, February 12, 2007 (5:00-6:15 PM)

           First, three elementary remarks:

                       1.  About the ÒalgorithmÓ defined by the FHTÉ.

                       2.  A normal subgroup is a union of conjugacy classes.

                       3.  On adding n copies of 1/nÉ.

           Normal subgroups of S5.  (What are they?)

           We prove the simplicity of A5.  (n>3:  Every even permutation is a product of 3-cycles.  n>4:  All 3-cycles are conjugates.)

           We prove the simplicity of A6.  (If H is normal in A6, does it have a member which fixes 1?)

           We prove the simplicity of An.  (If H is normal in An, n>6, then H has a member which moves no more than 6 elements of {1,É,n}.)

 

Wednesday, February 14, 2007 (5:00-6:15 PM)

           We do the orbit counting theorem and its applications.

Here is the set of 3-colorings of the 2x2 square (in preparation for the orbit-counting lemma.)

 

Last modified February 11, 2007