A finite quotient is the image of a group under a surjective group homomorphism to a finite group. A group has no nontrivial finite quotients exactly when every homomorphism from it to a finite group is trivial. This property does not prohibit finite or finite-quotient-bearing subgroups.
For a finite group, choose one unitary irreducible representation of degree from each equivalence class. One consistent normalized Fourier transform on a finite group convention is . The Schur orthogonality relations give
The normalized convolution on a finite group satisfies in this convention. Using in the transform instead reverses that product order for scalar functions with the same normalized convolution on a finite group convention. The Fourier transform on a finite group has matrix-valued components even when the original function is scalar-valued.
For a scalar function on a finite group, one normalized transform convention assigns the matrix to each chosen unitary irreducible representation. This map is a weighted Hilbert space isomorphism by the Parseval identity on a finite group. Another common convention uses ; the corresponding convolution theorem on a finite group then reverses the matrix product order for .
For a finite group and representatives of its conjugacy classes, Shapiro's lemma gives
Invariant primitive under a finite group action Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let a finite group act smoothly on a smooth manifold, and suppose that a -invariant differential form is an exact differential form, say . Averaging gives the invariant primitive
If the action is free, invariant forms descend uniquely through the resulting covering map.
Maschke's theorem Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Every group representation of a finite group over a field whose characteristic does not divide the number of elements of the group is semisimple. Given an invariant subspace, averaging any projection onto it over the group produces an equivariant projection, whose kernel is an invariant complement.
For on a finite group, use uniform expectation over the solutions of and the ordinary, unnormalized trace to define the displayed fourth-order quantity. If is its matrix Fourier block, this quantity equals , so it is real and nonnegative. For a scalar function on an abelian group, it reduces to the usual fourth power of the Gowers uniformity norm of order two. The unnormalized trace means a unitary matrix-valued function can have fourth-order quantity as large as .
Restriction of an irreducible representation to a subgroup is multiplicity-free when its semisimple representation decomposition has no repeated irreducible summands. Over the complex numbers, for finite groups, this is equivalent to the restricted module's endomorphism algebra being commutative. This follows by writing that algebra as a product of matrix algebras of sizes equal to the multiplicities.
For scalar functions on a finite group, normalized convolution on a finite group is . It is associative and need not commute. Its identity is , rather than the unscaled indicator function of the identity element. The Fourier analysis on a finite group convention turns it into matrix multiplication in the same order.
A finite group permutes the associate classes of irreducible polynomial factors of an invariant. The product of one representative from each orbit transforms by a scalar character of the group. If that character is trivial, the product is invariant. Its transitive factor orbit makes it prime in the invariant ring: an invariant polynomial divisible by one orbit factor is divisible by all of them.