Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/ib/paper-3/1c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 ib Paper 3 1C Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The conjugate group elements relation is when for some . It is reflexive by taking the identity, symmetric because , and transitive because and imply . Hence it is an equivalence relation.
For a finite group, the centralizer is a subgroup. The map has equal values at exactly when . Its fibers are therefore the left cosets of , givingBy Lagrange's theorem, this index divides . This is also the orbit-stabilizer theorem for the conjugation action, with the centralizer as stabilizer.
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