Description: Define class of all
groups. A group is a monoid (df-mnd 12653) whose
internal operation is such that every element admits a left inverse
(which can be proven to be a two-sided inverse). Thus, a group is
an algebraic structure formed from a base set of elements (notated
per df-base 12422) and an internal group operation
(notated per df-plusg 12493). The operation combines any
two elements of the group base set and must satisfy the 4 group axioms:
closure (the result of the group operation must always be a member of
the base set, see grpcl 12716), associativity (so
for any a, b, c, see
grpass 12717), identity (there must be an element such
that for
any a), and inverse (for each element a
in the base set, there must be an element in the base set
such that ).
It can be proven that the identity
element is unique (grpideu 12719). Groups need not be commutative; a
commutative group is an Abelian group. Subgroups can often be formed
from groups. An example of an (Abelian) group is the set of complex
numbers over
the group operation
(addition). Other
structures include groups, including unital rings and fields.
(Contributed by NM, 17-Oct-2012.) (Revised by Mario Carneiro,
6-Jan-2015.) |