Subgroup

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.