A permutation group can then be described in terms of the generating set of a group of specific elements given in cycle notation.
E.g. en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mathieu_group&oldid=1034060469#Permutation_groups mentions that the Mathieu group is generated by three elements:which feels quite compact for a simple group with 95040 elements, doesn't it!
- (0123456789a)
- (0b)(1a)(25)(37)(48)(69)
- (26a7)(3945)
If we pick k elements of the set, the stabilizer subgroup of those k elements is a subgroup of the given permutation group that keeps those elements unchanged.
Note that an analogous definition can be given for non-finite groups. Also note that the case for all finite groups is covered by the permutation definition since all groups are isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetric group
TODO existence and uniqueness. Existence is obvious for the identity permutation, but proper subgroup likely does not exist in general.
Group of all permutations.
Note that odd permutations don't form a subgroup of the symmetric group like the even permutations do, because the composition of two odd permutations is an even permutation.
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A permutation is a specific arrangement of a set of items or elements. In mathematics, particularly in combinatorics, permutations refer to the different ways in which a subset of objects can be ordered or arranged. For example, if you have a set of three items, say \( \{A, B, C\} \), the possible permutations of these items are: 1. ABC 2. ACB 3. BAC 4. BCA 5. CAB 6.