General linear group over a finite field

The group $G{L}_n({\mathbb{F}}_q)$ consists of invertible $n$ by $n$ matrices over the finite field ${\mathbb{F}}_q$.

If $k_n(q)$ counts conjugacy classes in $G{L}_n(q)$, then ${\sum }_{n\ge 0}{k}_n(q)t^n={\prod }_{i\ge 1}(1-t^i)/(1-q{t}^i)$. Associate a partition to each irreducible polynomial other than t. The Euler product over those polynomials counts monic polynomials with nonzero constant term and is $(1-u)/(1-qu)$.

The group of invertible linear maps preserving a nondegenerate Hermitian form over a quadratic finite field is, in an orthonormal basis, the displayed matrix group. Here $q^2$ denotes the size of the field on which the matrices act; some authors denote this same group by $U_n(q)$. Imposing determinant one gives the special unitary subgroup, and subsequently quotienting its scalar center gives the projective special unitary group over a finite field.

The projective quotient of determinant-one matrices preserving a nondegenerate Hermitian form over ${\mathbb{F}}_{q^2}$, with conjugation $x\mapsto x^q$. In dimension three its natural two-transitive action has $q^3+1$ isotropic points. For $q\ge 3$ its order is $q^3(q^3+1)(q^2-1)/\gcd (3,q+1)$.

For column vectors with the preserved space first, $A,D$ are invertible and $B$ arbitrary. Thus $P_k\cong {\mathbb{F}}_q^{k(n-k)}⋊(G{L}_k(q)\times G{L}_{n-k}(q))$. Its orbits on $k$-spaces are classified by intersection dimension with the preserved space.

This group preserves a nondegenerate alternating bilinear form on ${\mathbb{F}}_q^{2m}$. Choosing a nonzero vector and a partner of pairing one, then recursing on their orthogonal complement, gives $|S{p}_{2m}(q)|=q^{m^2}{\prod }_{i=1}^m(q^{2i}-1)$. Its center consists of scalars with ${\lambda }^2=1$.

For even n, the even-weight subspace of $F_2^n$ has radical $⟨1⟩$ for the dot product. Its quotient is a nondegenerate alternating bilinear form space of dimension n−2. The symmetric group acts by coordinate permutations. At n=6 this action is faithful and gives $S_6\cong S{p}_4(2)$.

For $q>3$, embedded perfect $S{L}_2(q)$ groups contain every symplectic transvection. For $q=3,m\ge 2$, four coefficient-one transvections on the lines of an isotropic plane multiply to the identity; their abelianized class is annihilated by 3 and 4. For $q=2,m\ge 3$, seven transvections on an isotropic three-space multiply to the identity; their class is annihilated by 2 and 7. Thus all nonexceptional cases are perfect.

This map preserves the alternating form and has inverse $T_{v,-c}$. Transvections along a fixed line form an abelian normal subgroup of its stabilizer. They generate the symplectic group by aligning successive symplectic basis pairs.

The scalar center has order $\gcd (2,q-1)$. The quotient is simple except at $(m,q)=(1,2),(1,3),(2,2)$. The last exception is $S{p}_4(2)\cong S_6$.

Inverse transpose is an automorphism of order at most two. On projective geometry it implements point-hyperplane duality. For $G{L}_3(2)$ it swaps distinct point- and plane-stabilizer classes, so it is outer.

The maximal subgroups are point stabilizers and plane stabilizers of order 24, and Singer cycle normalizers of order 21. A proper subgroup containing a 7-element has a unique Sylow 7-subgroup, since the other count gives an impossible index-three subgroup of the simple group. A subgroup of order dividing 24 has a fixed point or a three-point orbit on the seven nonzero vectors. A collinear orbit gives an invariant plane; an independent triple gives its fixed vector sum.

Every involution of $G{L}_3(2)$ is a transvection $I+vf$, because its nilpotent part has square zero and rank one. Two distinct commuting transvections either have common image line or common fixed plane. This gives two types of elementary abelian groups of order four, displayed above. No larger elementary abelian $2$-subgroup is possible: a transvection commuting with all three elements of a common-image group must have that same image, and the dual argument applies to a common-fixed-plane group. Their normalizers are respectively point and plane stabilizers of order $24$. The common fixed-space dimensions one and two distinguish their conjugacy classes.

Multiplication by a generator of ${\mathbb{F}}_{q^n}^{\times }$ on the ${\mathbb{F}}_q$-space ${\mathbb{F}}_{q^n}$ gives a cyclic subgroup regular on nonzero vectors. Its normalizer contains the field Frobenius automorphism. In degree three over ${\mathbb{F}}_2$ the full normalizer has order 21.

For prime $p$, every order-$p$ element of $G{L}_2({\mathbb{F}}_p)$ is conjugate to the displayed nonidentity unipotent matrix. Its cyclic subgroup has vector group orbits of sizes one or $p$; counting all $p^2$ vectors implies at least $p$ fixed vectors. Choose a nonzero fixed vector as first basis vector. The matrix becomes triangular with first diagonal entry one; its other diagonal entry satisfies $d^p=1$ and hence $d=1$ in the prime finite field. The off-diagonal entry is nonzero and can be rescaled to one. All matrices involved have invertible changes of basis.

The general linear group over a finite field $G{L}_2({\mathbb{F}}_2)$ acts faithfully on the four vectors of ${\mathbb{F}}_2^2$, since a matrix fixing all vectors fixes the standard basis. The zero vector is fixed by every element; the induced action on the three nonzero vectors identifies this six-element group with $S_3$. Swapping the two coordinates fixes $(0,0)$ and $(1,1)$ and exchanges the other two vectors, so its four-point permutation is odd. This action therefore embeds the group into $S_4$ with nontrivial composite sign homomorphism.

Choosing linearly independent columns successively gives

The upper unitriangular group consists of upper triangular matrices with every diagonal entry equal to one. Over ${\mathbb{F}}_p$ it has order $p^{n(n-1)/2}$ and is a Sylow subgroup of $G{L}_n({\mathbb{F}}_p)$.

Its elements form the upper triangular, diagonal-one subset of triangular matrices.

The upper unitriangular group is generated by adjacent elementary transvection matrices $I+s{E}_{i,i+1}$. Commuting a matrix $X$ with each such generator forces every entry above the diagonal to vanish except possibly its $(1,n)$ entry: comparing $X{E}_{i,i+1}$ with $E_{i,i+1}X$ kills the entries above position $(i,i)$ in column $i$ and to the right of position $(i+1,i+1)$ in row $i+1$. The surviving matrices $I+t{E}_{1n}$ do commute with the entire group. In particular the group center has order $q$; it distinguishes $U_4(2)$ from $U_3(4)$ despite their common order $64$.

For a three-dimensional strictly upper triangular matrix $A$, the binomial theorem stops after $A^2$. Over a finite field of odd prime characteristic $p$, both coefficients $p$ and $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{p}{2}\right)$ vanish, so every nonidentity matrix in $U{T}_3({\mathbb{F}}_p)$ has order $p$. In characteristic two, a matrix with nonzero $A^2$ instead has order four.

The upper unitriangular group $U{T}_3({\mathbb{F}}_3)$ consists of $M(a,b,c)=\left(\begin{array}{ccc}1& a& c\\ 0& 1& b\\ 0& 0& 1\end{array}\right)$ for $a,b,c\in {\mathbb{F}}_3$. Its multiplication is $M(a,b,c)M(a^{\prime },b^{\prime },c^{\prime })=M(a+a^{\prime },b+b^{\prime },c+c^{\prime }+a{b}^{\prime })$. The elements $M(1,0,0)$ and $M(0,1,0)$ do not commute. Yet every element is $I+N$ with $N^3=0$, so characteristic three gives $(I+N{)}^3=I$. It is a nonabelian finite group of order $27$ whose nonidentity elements all have order three.

The group $PG{L}_2(F)=G{L}_2(F)/Z$ acts faithfully onby Möbius transformations. For $|F|=q$, this embeds $PG{L}_2(F)$ into the symmetric group $S_{q+1}$.

For any field $F$, a projective linear group element is uniquely determined by its images of three distinct points of the projective line, and any ordered distinct target triple is attainable. Given representatives $v_z,v_x$ forming a basis and $v_y=A{v}_z+B{v}_x$, the matrix with columns $A{v}_z,B{v}_x$ sends $(0,1,\infty )$ to $(x,y,z)$. Distinctness forces $A,B\ne 0$. The matrices realizing one projective map differ by a nonzero scalar; over ${\mathbb{F}}_p$ there are $p-1$ such matrices.

The projective line over a field $F$ is the set of one-dimensional subspaces of $F^2$ and may be identified with $F\cup \{\infty \}$.

In the affine coordinate $z\mapsto [z:1]$, the complex projective line consists of the complex plane together with the single extra projective point $[1:0]$, called its point at infinity. It is the only point whose second homogeneous coordinate vanishes. This coordinate choice distinguishes the point; it is not intrinsically special under projective transformations. The map $[u:v]\mapsto [v:u]$ exchanges zero and infinity. The resulting one-point compactification is the Riemann sphere.

The translations $x\mapsto x+b$ for $b\in {\mathbb{F}}_4$ form a Sylow $2$-subgroup of $PG{L}_2({\mathbb{F}}_4)$. Every nonidentity translation fixes infinity and exchanges the four finite points in two transpositions, so its action lies in $A_5$.

The determinant-one matrices form the normal subgroup $S{L}_n({\mathbb{F}}_q)=\ker (\det )$.

Over a field of odd characteristic, an involutory matrix has minimal polynomial dividing $(X-1)(X+1)$, so it is diagonalizable with eigenvalues in $\{1,-1\}$. In dimension two, determinant one requires either both eigenvalues one or both minus one. Hence the only element of order two in $S{L}_2$ is $-I$; the identity has order one.

A determinant-one matrix over ${\mathbb{F}}_2$ permutes the three nonzero vectors of ${\mathbb{F}}_2^2$. This group action is faithful because fixing two basis vectors forces the matrix to be the identity. There are $(4-1)(4-2)=6$ invertible matrices, all of determinant one since the only nonzero field element is one, so the action identifies the group with the symmetric group $S_3$. Reduction of integer determinant-one matrices modulo two is onto: $\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& -1\\ 1& 0\end{array}\right)$ and $\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& 1\\ 0& 1\end{array}\right)$ induce two distinct transpositions, which generate $S_3$. Its kernel consists of matrices congruent to the identity modulo two, the level-two principal congruence subgroup.

The scalar center has order $\gcd (n,q-1)$. For $n>1$ the quotient is simple except at $(n,q)=(2,2),(2,3)$. Its faithful primitive projective-point action, abelian fixed-center transvections, elementary-matrix generation and perfectness give the Iwasawa simplicity lemma proof.

On the six-dimensional exterior square of ${\mathbb{F}}_2^4$, the Pfaffian $Q=x_{12}{x}_{34}+x_{13}{x}_{24}+x_{14}{x}_{23}$ is a nonsingular plus-type quadratic form. The action of $G{L}_4(2)$ preserves it and is faithful: fixing every decomposable exterior line fixes every two-space and then every one-space. The even-weight binary subset module on eight letters, modulo the all-one vector, gives another six-dimensional plus-type space with $Q=\mathrm{wt}(x)/2\mathrm{mod}2$. Coordinate permutations embed $S_8$ faithfully into its orthogonal group. That orthogonal group has order $40320$, while $G{L}_4(2)$ has order $20160$, identifying its index-two image with the alternating group $A_8$.

The special linear group $S{L}_2(5)$ has $24$ nonzero first columns and five second columns giving determinant one, hence order $120$; its centre is $\{I,-I\}$. In the quotient by this centre, the nonidentity conjugacy classes have sizes $15,20,12,12$, corresponding to projective element orders $2,3,5,5$. These arise from trace zero, paired traces $\pm 1$, and paired unipotent traces $\pm 2$. No proper union of these classes with the identity has size dividing $60$, so the quotient is simple. The simple groups with order a power of two times fifteen result identifies it with $A_5$.

Over ${\mathbb{F}}_5$, putThese determinant-one matrices satisfy $i^2=j^2=-I$, $ij=-ji$, and $r^3=I$. Conjugation by $r$ cycles $i,ij,j$. Thus $⟨i,j⟩$ is a quaternion group of order eight, normalized by an element of order three. Their generated subgroup has order $24$ in $S{L}_2(5)$, hence order $12$ after quotienting by $\{\pm I\}$. Its index-five coset action, together with simplicity and perfectness, identifies $PS{L}_2(5)$ with the alternating group $A_5$.

For a finite field of odd characteristic and nonzero $a,b$, let $U_a=\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& a\\ 0& 1\end{array}\right)$. An arbitrary determinant-one matrix $P=\left(\begin{array}{cc}r& s\\ t& u\end{array}\right)$ satisfies $P{U}_a=U_{b}P$ only if $t=0$ and $ar=bu$. The determinant condition $ru=1$ then gives $b/a=r^2$. Conversely $\mathrm{diag}(r,r^{-1})U_a\mathrm{diag}(r,r^{-1}{)}^{-1}=U_{a{r}^2}$. Thus nonzero upper unipotent matrices fall into two conjugacy classes under this square-class criterion. For example, $U_1$ and $U_3$ are conjugate over ${\mathbb{F}}_{11}$ because $5^2=3$, but not over ${\mathbb{F}}_5$. The criterion compares these particular upper unipotent representatives; it does not classify all determinant-one matrices.

A matrix $\left(\begin{array}{cc}a& b\\ c& d\end{array}\right)$ acts on the projective line by the Möbius transformation $x\mapsto (ax+b)/(cx+d)$, with the pole sent to infinity and infinity sent to $a/c$ when $c\ne 0$. The action is transitive because $\left(\begin{array}{cc}t& -1\\ 1& 0\end{array}\right)$ sends infinity to any finite $t$. The stabilizer subgroup of infinity consists of $\left(\begin{array}{cc}a& b\\ 0& a^{-1}\end{array}\right)$ with $a\ne 0$. The orbit-stabilizer theorem gives $|{\mathrm{SL}}_2({\mathbb{F}}_q)|=q(q^2-1)$. Its kernel is the scalar matrices of determinant one: a transformation fixing infinity has $c=0$, fixing zero then forces $b=0$, and fixing one gives $a=d$. Thus the kernel is $\{I,-I\}$, with these matrices coinciding in characteristic two.