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Cycle Index
In combinatorial mathematics a cycle index is a polynomial in several variables which is structured in such a way that information about how a group of permutations acts on a set can be simply read off from the coefficients and exponents. This compact way of storing information in an algebraic form is frequently used in combinatorial enumeration. Each permutation π of a finite set of objects partitions that set into cycles; the cycle index monomial of π is a monomial in variables ''a''1, ''a''2, … that describes the cycle type of this partition: the exponent of ''a''''i'' is the number of cycles of π of size ''i''. The cycle index polynomial of a permutation group is the average of the cycle index monomials of its elements. The phrase cycle indicator is also sometimes used in place of ''cycle index''. Knowing the cycle index polynomial of a permutation group, one can enumerate equivalence classes due to the group's action. This is the main ingredient in the Pólya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combinatorics
Combinatorics is an area of mathematics primarily concerned with counting, both as a means and as an end to obtaining results, and certain properties of finite structures. It is closely related to many other areas of mathematics and has many applications ranging from logic to statistical physics and from evolutionary biology to computer science. Combinatorics is well known for the breadth of the problems it tackles. Combinatorial problems arise in many areas of pure mathematics, notably in algebra, probability theory, topology, and geometry, as well as in its many application areas. Many combinatorial questions have historically been considered in isolation, giving an ''ad hoc'' solution to a problem arising in some mathematical context. In the later twentieth century, however, powerful and general theoretical methods were developed, making combinatorics into an independent branch of mathematics in its own right. One of the oldest and most accessible parts of combinatorics ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derivative
In mathematics, the derivative is a fundamental tool that quantifies the sensitivity to change of a function's output with respect to its input. The derivative of a function of a single variable at a chosen input value, when it exists, is the slope of the tangent line to the graph of the function at that point. The tangent line is the best linear approximation of the function near that input value. For this reason, the derivative is often described as the instantaneous rate of change, the ratio of the instantaneous change in the dependent variable to that of the independent variable. The process of finding a derivative is called differentiation. There are multiple different notations for differentiation. '' Leibniz notation'', named after Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, is represented as the ratio of two differentials, whereas ''prime notation'' is written by adding a prime mark. Higher order notations represent repeated differentiation, and they are usually denoted in Leib ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Order Of A Group
In mathematics, the order of a finite group is the number of its elements. If a group is not finite, one says that its order is ''infinite''. The ''order'' of an element of a group (also called period length or period) is the order of the subgroup generated by the element. If the group operation is denoted as a multiplication, the order of an element of a group, is thus the smallest positive integer such that , where denotes the identity element of the group, and denotes the product of copies of . If no such exists, the order of is infinite. The order of a group is denoted by or , and the order of an element is denoted by or , instead of \operatorname(\langle a\rangle), where the brackets denote the generated group. Lagrange's theorem states that for any subgroup of a finite group , the order of the subgroup divides the order of the group; that is, is a divisor of . In particular, the order of any element is a divisor of . Example The symmetric group S3 has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Free Variables And Bound Variables
In mathematics, and in other disciplines involving formal languages, including mathematical logic and computer science, a variable may be said to be either free or bound. Some older books use the terms real variable and apparent variable for free variable and bound variable, respectively. A ''free variable'' is a Mathematical notation, notation (symbol) that specifies places in an expression (mathematics), expression where Substitution (logic), substitution may take place and is not a parameter of this or any container expression. The idea is related to a ''placeholder'' (a symbol that will later be replaced by some value), or a wildcard character that stands for an unspecified symbol. In computer programming, the term free variable refers to variable (programming), variables used in a function (computer science), function that are neither local variables nor parameter (computer programming), parameters of that function. The term non-local variable is often a synonym in this co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fixed Point (mathematics)
In mathematics, a fixed point (sometimes shortened to fixpoint), also known as an invariant point, is a value that does not change under a given transformation (mathematics), transformation. Specifically, for function (mathematics), functions, a fixed point is an element that is mapped to itself by the function. Any set of fixed points of a transformation is also an invariant set. Fixed point of a function Formally, is a fixed point of a function if belongs to both the domain of a function, domain and the codomain of , and . In particular, cannot have any fixed point if its domain is disjoint from its codomain. If is defined on the real numbers, it corresponds, in graphical terms, to a curve in the Euclidean plane, and each fixed-point corresponds to an intersection of the curve with the line , cf. picture. For example, if is defined on the real numbers by f(x) = x^2 - 3 x + 4, then 2 is a fixed point of , because . Not all functions have fixed points: for example, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kernel (algebra)
In algebra, the kernel of a homomorphism is the relation describing how elements in the domain of the homomorphism become related in the image. A homomorphism is a function that preserves the underlying algebraic structure in the domain to its image. When the algebraic structures involved have an underlying group structure, the kernel is taken to be the preimage of the group's identity element in the image, that is, it consists of the elements of the domain mapping to the image's identity. For example, the map that sends every integer to its parity (that is, 0 if the number is even, 1 if the number is odd) would be a homomorphism to the integers modulo 2, and its respective kernel would be the even integers which all have 0 as its parity. The kernel of a homomorphism of group-like structures will only contain the identity if and only if the homomorphism is injective, that is if the inverse image of every element consists of a single element. This means that the kernel can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Permutation Representation
In mathematics, the term permutation representation of a (typically finite) group G can refer to either of two closely related notions: a representation of G as a group of permutations, or as a group of permutation matrices. The term also refers to the combination of the two. Abstract permutation representation A permutation representation of a group G on a set X is a homomorphism from G to the symmetric group of X: : \rho\colon G \to \operatorname(X). The image \rho(G)\sub \operatorname(X) is a permutation group and the elements of G are represented as permutations of X. A permutation representation is equivalent to an action of G on the set X: :G\times X \to X. See the article on group action for further details. Linear permutation representation If G is a permutation group of degree n, then the permutation representation of G is the linear representation of G :\rho\colon G\to \operatorname_n(K) which maps g\in G to the corresponding permutation matrix (here K is an arbi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Image (mathematics)
In mathematics, for a function f: X \to Y, the image of an input value x is the single output value produced by f when passed x. The preimage of an output value y is the set of input values that produce y. More generally, evaluating f at each Element (mathematics), element of a given subset A of its Domain of a function, domain X produces a set, called the "image of A under (or through) f". Similarly, the inverse image (or preimage) of a given subset B of the codomain Y is the set of all elements of X that map to a member of B. The image of the function f is the set of all output values it may produce, that is, the image of X. The preimage of f is the preimage of the codomain Y. Because it always equals X (the domain of f), it is rarely used. Image and inverse image may also be defined for general Binary relation#Operations, binary relations, not just functions. Definition The word "image" is used in three related ways. In these definitions, f : X \to Y is a Function (mat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Group Homomorphism
In mathematics, given two groups, (''G'',∗) and (''H'', ·), a group homomorphism from (''G'',∗) to (''H'', ·) is a function ''h'' : ''G'' → ''H'' such that for all ''u'' and ''v'' in ''G'' it holds that : h(u*v) = h(u) \cdot h(v) where the group operation on the left side of the equation is that of ''G'' and on the right side that of ''H''. From this property, one can deduce that ''h'' maps the identity element ''eG'' of ''G'' to the identity element ''eH'' of ''H'', : h(e_G) = e_H and it also maps inverses to inverses in the sense that : h\left(u^\right) = h(u)^. \, Hence one can say that ''h'' "is compatible with the group structure". In areas of mathematics where one considers groups endowed with additional structure, a ''homomorphism'' sometimes means a map which respects not only the group structure (as above) but also the extra structure. For example, a homomorphism of topological groups is often required to be continuous. Properties Let e_ be the ident ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abstract Group
In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as rings, fields, and vector spaces, can all be seen as groups endowed with additional operations and axioms. Groups recur throughout mathematics, and the methods of group theory have influenced many parts of algebra. Linear algebraic groups and Lie groups are two branches of group theory that have experienced advances and have become subject areas in their own right. Various physical systems, such as crystals and the hydrogen atom, and three of the four known fundamental forces in the universe, may be modelled by symmetry groups. Thus group theory and the closely related representation theory have many important applications in physics, chemistry, and materials science. Group theory is also central to public key cryptography. The early history of group theory dates from the 19th century. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subgroup
In group theory, a branch of mathematics, a subset of a group G is a subgroup of G if the members of that subset form a group with respect to the group operation in G. Formally, given a group (mathematics), group under a binary operation ∗, a subset of is called a subgroup of if also forms a group under the operation ∗. More precisely, is a subgroup of if the Restriction (mathematics), restriction of ∗ to is a group operation on . This is often denoted , read as " is a subgroup of ". The trivial subgroup of any group is the subgroup consisting of just the identity element. A proper subgroup of a group is a subgroup which is a subset, proper subset of (that is, ). This is often represented notationally by , read as " is a proper subgroup of ". Some authors also exclude the trivial group from being proper (that is, ). If is a subgroup of , then is sometimes called an overgroup of . The same definitions apply more generally when is an arbitrary se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symmetric Group
In abstract algebra, the symmetric group defined over any set is the group whose elements are all the bijections from the set to itself, and whose group operation is the composition of functions. In particular, the finite symmetric group \mathrm_n defined over a finite set of n symbols consists of the permutations that can be performed on the n symbols. Since there are n! (n factorial) such permutation operations, the order (number of elements) of the symmetric group \mathrm_n is n!. Although symmetric groups can be defined on infinite sets, this article focuses on the finite symmetric groups: their applications, their elements, their conjugacy classes, a finite presentation, their subgroups, their automorphism groups, and their representation theory. For the remainder of this article, "symmetric group" will mean a symmetric group on a finite set. The symmetric group is important to diverse areas of mathematics such as Galois theory, invariant theory, the re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
