 One parameter subgroup

The one parameter subgroup of a Lie group for a given element $M$ of its Lie algebra is a subgroup of $G$ given by:

Intuitively, $M$ is a direction, and $t$ is how far we move along a given direction. This intuition is especially vivid in for example in the case of the Lie algebra of $SO(3)$, the rotation group.

One parameter subgroups can be seen as the continuous analogue to the cycle of an element of a group.