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The group is the direct product of groups ${\mathbb{Z}}_p\times {\mathbb{Z}}_q$. Repeatedly adding $(1,1)$ returns to $(0,0)$ for the first time when both $p$ and $q$ divide the step number. Its order of a group element is therefore $\mathrm{lcm}(p,q)$. If $p,q$ are coprime, this is $pq$, so it generates every element:Explicitly, $[t{]}_{pq}\mapsto ([t{]}_p,[t{]}_q)$ is the Chinese remainder theorem group isomorphism.

If $d=\gcd (p,q)>1$, every pair satisfiesThus every element order divides $pq/d<pq$, and no element can generate the whole group. HenceThis is the cyclicity of a product of two finite cyclic groups.

Closure of the componentwise operation follows from closure in each factor. For three pairs, associativity holds coordinatewise:The identity element is $(e_1,e_2)$ and the inverse element of $(g_1,g_2)$ is $(g_1^{-1},g_2^{-1})$. These verify all group axioms for the direct product of groups. Counting independent choices givesThe subset $N=G_1\times \{e_2\}$ contains the identity and is closed under products and inverses, so it is a subgroup. For any $x=(a,b)$ in the product and $(g,e_2)\in N$,Conjugation by $x^{-1}$ gives the reverse inclusion, and henceThis is the definition of a normal subgroup.

Multiplication in a direct product of rings is coordinatewise. Thus $(r_1,\dots ,r_n)$ has a two-sided inverse exactly when each $r_j$ has a two-sided inverse in $R_j$, and thenConsequently its unit group is the direct product of groupsThe identification preserves multiplication because both sides use coordinatewise multiplication. This is the unit group of a direct product of rings formula.

A p-elementary group is a direct product of groups of a p-group and a cyclic group whose order is coprime to $p$. Either factor may be trivial. The coprime cyclic factor is central, a stronger requirement than merely having a cyclic subgroup with p-group quotient.

If a group $K$ acts on a finite set $X$, it acts on the direct product of groups $H^X$ by permuting its factors. The resulting semidirect product is the permutation wreath product. For $K=S_m$ acting on $m$ two-point blocks and $H=C_2$, it describes independent within-block swaps combined with a permutation of blocks, and has order $2^{m}m!$. The action on $X$ is part of the definition; it need not be the regular action used in a regular wreath product.

Write an elementary group as $P\times C$ with $P$ a p-group and $C$ cyclic of order prime to $p$. Split $C$ into its cyclic pi-part and pi-complementary part. Attach $P$ to whichever part contains $p$, producing a direct product of groups of a pi-group and a complementary-prime group.

The restricted direct sum of a family of groups $G_i$ is the subgroup of their direct product of groups consisting of tuples with only finitely many nonidentity coordinates. Multiplication is coordinatewise. If every factor is a finite group, each subgroup that is a finitely generated group lies in a finite subproduct, so the restricted direct sum is a locally finite group. This gives concrete infinite torsion groups without a uniform bound on element orders.

If a group homomorphism section $i:G/N\to G$ satisfies $\pi i=\mathrm{id}$, then each $g\in G$ has a unique form $i(q)n$ with $q\in G/N$ and $n\in N$: take $q=\pi (g)$ and $n=i(q{)}^{-1}g$. Thus $(q,n)\mapsto i(q)n$ is a bijection. It is a homomorphism for the ordinary direct product of groups exactly when the section image centralizes $N$. In general it describes a semidirect product with a nontrivial conjugation action.

A tuple in a direct product of rings is a unit exactly when each coordinate is a unit. Indeed, multiplying by an inverse tuple gives an inverse in each coordinate; conversely, the coordinate inverses form an inverse tuple. This identifies the unit group with the direct product of groups of the individual unit groups, for finite or infinite families of unital rings.