Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2012/ia/paper-3/5e/i/solution

For a group action of on , let be the stabilizer subgroup of , and its group orbit. The orbit-stabilizer theorem is the bijection
It is well defined because elements in the same left coset differ by an element fixing . Conversely, implies , so the cosets coincide. Surjectivity is the definition of the group orbit. For a finite group, counting the cosets gives
To obtain Cayley theorem, let act on its own underlying set by left multiplication. The map is a permutation, with inverse , and . If is the identity permutation, evaluating at the identity element gives . Thus is an injective group homomorphism. When , labeling this set by letters identifies its image with a subgroup of . Every finite group embeds in the symmetric group on its own elements.

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