Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 iii Paper 3 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Retain the identification with the left regular action. A group group automorphism of satisfies , so it normalizes and fixes the identity point.
Conversely let a normalizing permutation fix the identity. Its conjugation on induces a group group automorphism characterized by . Evaluating at the identity gives , so the whole identity stabilizer in the normalizer is exactly . For arbitrary , put . Then fixes the identity and is an group automorphism; thus every element has a unique expression .
The translation subgroup is normal in its normalizer, its intersection with the group automorphism subgroup is trivial, and the multiplication rule isConsequentlyThe action in this semidirect product is the natural evaluation of group automorphisms on . This normalizer is the holomorph, realized as all permutations . The decomposition is established from the regular group action itself rather than only from an order comparison.