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For a finite group and a Sylow subgroup $P$, conjugation by $P$ on all Sylow subgroups has stabilizer $P\cap Q$ at $Q$: the normal Sylow subgroup $Q$ of $N_G(Q)$ contains every $p$-subgroup of that normalizer. Thus the orbit length is $[P:P\cap Q]$. If every $Q\ne P$ has this index at least $p^a$, each such orbit length is divisible by $p^a$, whereas $P$ is a singleton orbit. Summing orbit lengths proves the displayed stronger integer congruence.

A subgroup $H\le G$ is a subset of a group $G$ that is itself a group under the same group operation. It must contain the identity element of $G$ and be closed under products and inverse elements. Associativity is inherited from $G$, so it needs no new proof. The whole group and the trivial group $\{e\}$ are always subgroups. A proper subgroup satisfies $H\ne G$.

A useful single-condition test isTo see why it works, choose $a\in H$; then $a{a}^{-1}=e\in H$. Taking $a=e$ gives every inverse element $b^{-1}\in H$. Applying the test to $a$ and $b^{-1}$ then gives $ab\in H$. Conversely, every subgroup satisfies the test by closure under products and inverse elements. This also makes the additive version memorable: a nonempty subset of an additive group is a subgroup exactly when it is closed under differences. See McKernan's MIT lecture 2, Proposition 2.3, for the equivalent closure criterion.

For the square dihedral group $D_4$ above, $R=\{e,r,r^2,r^3\}$ is a cyclic subgroup: products add exponents modulo four, and $(r^k{)}^{-1}=r^{-k}$. The smaller collections $\{e,r^2\}$ and $\{e,s\}$ are subgroups of group order two. But $\{e,r\}$ is not a subgroup, since $r\cdot r=r^2$ lies outside it. A plausible-looking list of symmetries therefore need not constitute a complete collection of reversible operations.

Inside $(\mathbb{Z},+)$, the even numbers $2\mathbb{Z}$ form a subgroup: $2m-2n=2(m-n)$ is an even number. Its two cosets consist of the even numbers and the odd numbers, so its index of a subgroup is two. The parity group homomorphism $k\mapsto k\mathrm{mod}2$ has $2\mathbb{Z}$ as its kernel of a group homomorphism. A subgroup can thus identify exactly which information a composition-preserving map forgets.

Subgroups also describe residual symmetry. In the group action of $D_4$ on the four vertices, the stabilizer subgroup of $(1,1)$ is $\{e,sr\}$: the diagonal reflection $sr$ fixes that vertex, and the other six motions move it. Requiring a feature to stay fixed still leaves a group, because both composition and reversal preserve that requirement. This is why subgroups are useful for studying a group action one feature at a time.

A subnormal series is a finite chain of subgroups in which each is a normal subgroup of the next. A member need not be normal in the whole group. Requiring the factors to be cyclic groups defines a polycyclic group; allowing finite factors as well defines a poly-(cyclic or finite) group.

For finite sets $A,B\subseteq G$ in an abelian group $G$, their sumset isEach distinct value occurs only once in this set, even if many ordered pairs produce it. When $B=A$, repetitions are allowed: $a+a$ belongs to $A+A$. For the two integer sets introduced above,For $A$, the value $3$ comes from $(0,3),(1,2),(2,1),(3,0)$. For $B$, two ordered pairs give the same sum only when one reverses the other, apart from a pair being identical to itself. Thus its four pairs $(b,b)$ and six pairs with distinct members, counted without regard to order, produce ten distinct sums.

Every nonempty finite set of integers $S\subseteq \mathbb{Z}$ satisfies $|S+S|\ge 2|S|-1$. To see this, list its members as $s_1<\cdots <s_n$. The $2n-1$ distinct sumsall belong to $S+S$. A nonconstant arithmetic progression attains this bound. The ordered list is essential: in the cyclic group $\mathbb{Z}/6\mathbb{Z}$, the subgroup $H=\{0,2,4\}$ instead satisfies $H+H=H$, of cardinality three. Addition wraps around, for example $4+4=2$ in this group.

For a finite subgroup $U$ of a group $T$ of Riemannian isometries of a closed manifold $N$, assume $U$ acts freely and define $I_t(g)={\int }_N{H}_N(t,x,gx)dV(x)$. Invariance of the Riemannian heat kernel and change of variables show that $I_t$ is a class function on $T$. For $U\le T$, the heat kernel on a finite isometric quotient and integration over a fundamental domain give the displayed heat trace formula. Grouping by conjugacy classes proves equality for Gassmann equivalent subgroups. More generally the same argument allows fixed points of $T$ outside the freely acting subgroups; only the quotient under consideration must be smooth.

Suppose a finite group $G$ acts by Riemannian isometries on a compact Riemannian manifold $M$, and Gassmann equivalent subgroups $H_1,H_2$ act freely. The quotient manifolds $H_i\backslash M$ have equal Laplace-Beltrami operator spectra. For an eigenfunction space $E$, the quotient multiplicity is $|H_i{|}^{-1}{\sum }_{h\in H_i}\mathrm{tr}(h|E)$, and the equality follows by summing its character of a representation over conjugacy classes. Nonconjugacy inside $G$ alone does not guarantee that the quotients are nonisometric.

A Sylow $p$-subgroup of a finite group has the largest power of $p$ dividing the group order.

A subset $A$ of a multiplicatively written group is symmetric when it contains the identity element and $A^{-1}=A$. Consequently $⟨A⟩={\bigcup }_{m\ge 1}{A}^m$.

For a group of Euclidean isometries, every element preserves the displayed union of images of a set, because left multiplication permutes its group indices. Its full setwise isometry group can be larger even when $T$ itself has no nonidentity symmetry. Take $G$ to be the integer translations of the plane and $T=\{(0,0),(1,0),(0,2)\}$. By rigidity of a scalene triangle, $T$ has trivial stabilizer subgroup. Yet $S={\mathbb{Z}}^2$, whose quarter-turn about the origin is a symmetry outside the translation group.

A symmetry group collects bijections of an object to itself that preserve a specified structure in both directions, with function composition as the operation. For a geometric object one may require Euclidean distances to be preserved, giving an isometry group; for a graph, one preserves adjacency, giving a graph automorphism group. For an unstructured finite set, every permutation is allowed. The structure to be preserved is part of the definition.

For a square with its usual geometric structure, the symmetry group consists of four rotations and four reflections. These form the dihedral group of group order eight. The existing group action example shows how its eight elements move the vertices of a polygon; changing the object to its edges or a marked configuration changes the group action being studied.^[ref]

Specifying the preserved data makes it possible to test a proposed symmetry exactly. After the preserved data are declared, function composition, the identity map, and inverse maps automatically preserve them too. Symmetry transformations therefore form a group, and questions about equivalent configurations become questions about group orbits, stabilizer subgroups, and group homomorphisms. This supplies reusable mathematics for comparing many different kinds of objects.

For a finite group $G$, Tate cohomology joins group cohomology and group homology through the norm map $N_G={\sum }_{g\in G}g$. For $r\ge 1$ it equals ordinary group cohomology; for $r\le -2$ it equals $H_{-r-1}(G,M)$. The middle terms are ${\hat{H}}^0(G,M)=M^G/N_{G}M$ and ${\hat{H}}^{-1}(G,M)=\ker (N_G)/I_{G}M$, where $I_{G}M$ is generated by $gm-m$. For the trivial module $\mathbb{Z}$, ${\hat{H}}^{-2}(G,\mathbb{Z})=G^{\mathrm{ab}}$. With multiplicative coefficients the norm is the product of the translates.

For cube vertices $(\pm 1,\pm 1,\pm 1)$, the four vertices of coordinate product $+1$ and the four of product $-1$ form the two inscribed regular tetrahedra. A cube rotation is a signed permutation matrix of determinant one and maps each product class to one class. A quarter-turn about a coordinate axis exchanges the classes. The orbit of either tetrahedron therefore has size two, while the cube rotation group has order 24. The orbit-stabilizer theorem gives its setwise stabilizer subgroup order 12; this is the tetrahedron's proper rotation group.

A Tietze transformation changes a group presentation without changing the presented group, by adding or removing a consequence of the relators, or by adding or eliminating a generator together with a defining equation expressing it in the others. For example a generator $t$ defined by $t=xs{x}^{-1}$ can be eliminated by substitution in every remaining relator.

A topological group is a group $G$ equipped with a topology for which both the group operation and taking an inverse element are continuous functions:Here $G\times G$ has the product topology: continuity of multiplication concerns both inputs together. Thus nearby motions compose to nearby motions, and undoing a motion also varies continuously. The definition alone does not impose compactness; we state the Hausdorff space assumption explicitly when it is needed.

The additive group $(\mathbb{R},+)$ of real numbers, with its usual topology, is a topological group: $(x,y)\mapsto x+y$ and $x\mapsto -x$ are continuous functions. Its identity element is $0$. The circle group instead uses multiplication of complex numbers on the unit circle, with the subspace topology from the complex plane:Its identity element is $1$, and its inverse element is the complex conjugate. Multiplication on the complex plane and complex conjugation are continuous functions, so their restrictions verify the required continuity. Angles add, but points multiply: a quarter-turn followed by another quarter-turn gives $i\cdot i=-1$, and the next two quarter-turns return to $1$. Ordinary addition would fail to stay on the unit circle, since $1+1=2$.

For any fixed $a\in G$, the translations $x\mapsto ax$ and $x\mapsto xa$ are homeomorphisms, with inverses given by translation by $a^{-1}$. Consequently the neighbourhoods of the identity element determine the entire topology. This is why local information near one motion can control a whole family of symmetries. See Tornier, Haar Measures, section 1.1 for these basic properties of topological groups.