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An abelian quotient is a quotient group $G/N$ that is an abelian group. It exists only for a normal subgroup $N$, and it is abelian exactly when $N$ contains the commutator subgroup. Thus every abelian quotient factors through the abelianization $G/[G,G]$.

For a subgroup $K$ of a finite abelian group $G$, its annihilator isThese are exactly the linear characters that descend to the quotient group $G/K$. The character group of a finite abelian group has the same size as the group, so $|K^{\perp }|=|G/K|=|G|/|K|$. The annihilator is what abelian hidden-subgroup Fourier sampling measures.

Let $\pi :G\to G/N$ be a quotient group map, let $A$ be finite and symmetric, and suppose $P\subseteq \pi (A^m)$ has $|P|\ge \delta |\pi (A)|$. ThenChoose one lift in $A^m$ of each member of $P$ and multiply those lifts by $A^2\cap N$. Distinct fibers are disjoint, while $|\pi (A)||A^2\cap N|\ge |A|$.

Given a quotient group map $\pi :G\to G/N$ and a representation $\rho$ of $G/N$, its inflation to $G$ is the representation $\rho \circ \pi$. Conversely, a representation of $G$ factors through $G/N$ exactly when its kernel contains $N$.

The modular Heisenberg group consists of upper-unitriangular $3\times 3$ matrices over the finite field ${\mathbb{F}}_p$. In coordinates $M(x,y,z)$, multiplication is $M(x,y,z)M(x\prime ,y\prime ,z\prime )=M(x+x\prime ,y+y\prime +xz\prime ,z+z\prime )$, and its order is $p^3$. Its center of a group is $\{M(0,y,0)\}\cong C_p$; the quotient group by the centre is $C_p\times C_p$, represented by the $x,z$ coordinates. The elementary generators $a=M(1,0,0)$, $b=M(0,0,1)$, $c=M(0,1,0)$ satisfy $a^p=b^p=c^p=e$, $ab{a}^{-1}{b}^{-1}=c$, and $c$ central. For $p=2$, $(ab{)}^2=c$, so the whole group does not have exponent two.

Every nontrivial quotient group of a group generated by two involutions is generated by two involutions, allowing repeated generators. The two generator images have squares equal to the identity. If one image becomes trivial, the other generates $C_2$; if both become trivial, the quotient is trivial and is excluded. Thus the two-involution characterization of a dihedral group is preserved by nontrivial quotients.