What Are the Elements of the Quotient Group D4/N?

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the quotient group D4/N, where D4 is the dihedral group of order 8 and N is a normal subgroup generated by the element (13)(24). Participants are tasked with identifying the elements of the quotient group D4/N based on their understanding of cosets.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the computation of left and right cosets to establish N as a normal subgroup. There is uncertainty about how to represent the elements of the quotient group, particularly regarding which coset representatives to choose when multiple cosets yield the same set.

Discussion Status

Some participants have provided guidance on the equivalence of certain cosets and the notation for representing elements in the quotient group. There is an ongoing exploration of the uniqueness of coset representatives and how to express them correctly.

Contextual Notes

Participants are navigating the definitions and properties of cosets and normal subgroups, as well as the implications of these concepts for forming the quotient group. There is a recognition that multiple representations of the same coset may exist.

Felix542
Messages
4
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


Let D4 = { (1)(2)(3)(4) , (13)(24) , (1234) , (1432) , (14)(23) , (12)(34) , (13), (24) }
and N=<(13)(24)> which is a normal subgroup of d4 .

List the elements of d4/N .



Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


I computed the left and right cosets to prove that N is a normal subgroup of D4 ( this was a previous part to the question )

The left cosets looked something like ;
N (1)(2)(3)(4) = {((1)(2)(3)(4) , (13)(24)}
N (1234) = {(1432),(1234)}
N (13)(24) = {((1)(2)(3)(4) , (13)(24)}
N (1432) = {(1432),(1234)}
N (14)(23) = {(14)(23) , (12)(34)}
N(12)(34) = {(14)(23) , (12)(34)}
N(13) = {(24,13)}
N(24 ) = {( (24),(13)}

And the right cosets were equal i.e N(1234)=(1234)N . To compute the quotient group d4/N , I know there will be four elements one will naturally be N , but the other three I'm not too sure about . From the above cosets I noticed that say N(14)(23) and N(12)(34) give the same set , but which would I choose to be in d4/N ? This problem is again for , N(24) and N(13) .

Hopefully this makes sense , thank you for any help :) .
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Felix542 said:

Homework Statement


Let D4 = { (1)(2)(3)(4) , (13)(24) , (1234) , (1432) , (14)(23) , (12)(34) , (13), (24) }
and N=<(13)(24)> which is a normal subgroup of d4 .

List the elements of d4/N .

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution


I computed the left and right cosets to prove that N is a normal subgroup of D4 ( this was a previous part to the question )

The left cosets looked something like ;
N (1)(2)(3)(4) = {((1)(2)(3)(4) , (13)(24)}
N (1234) = {(1432),(1234)}
N (13)(24) = {((1)(2)(3)(4) , (13)(24)}
N (1432) = {(1432),(1234)}
N (14)(23) = {(14)(23) , (12)(34)}
N(12)(34) = {(14)(23) , (12)(34)}
N(13) = {(24,13)}
N(24 ) = {( (24),(13)}

And the right cosets were equal i.e N(1234)=(1234)N . To compute the quotient group d4/N , I know there will be four elements one will naturally be N , but the other three I'm not too sure about . From the above cosets I noticed that say N(14)(23) and N(12)(34) give the same set , but which would I choose to be in d4/N ? This problem is again for , N(24) and N(13) .

Hopefully this makes sense , thank you for any help :) .

Welcome to PF, Felix542! :smile:

N(24) and N(13) are the same coset (why?), so you can pick either.

Btw, these are "right" cosets and not "left" cosets, so you should write (24)N instead for an element of the quotient group D4/N.
 
I like Serena said:
Welcome to PF, Felix542! :smile:

N(24) and N(13) are the same coset (why?), so you can pick either.

Btw, these are "right" cosets and not "left" cosets, so you should write (24)N instead for an element of the quotient group D4/N.

Thanks for your reply ! Thanks for the welcome .
Oops yeah sorry meant right cosets sorry . Well I think they are the same because N(24 ) = {( (24),(13)}=N(13) ?

So would this be a suitable answer d4/N={N , N(1432) , N(12)(34) , 24(N)} ?
 
Felix542 said:
Thanks for your reply ! Thanks for the welcome .
Oops yeah sorry meant right cosets sorry . Well I think they are the same because N(24 ) = {( (24),(13)}=N(13) ?

So would this be a suitable answer d4/N={N , N(1432) , N(12)(34) , 24(N)} ?

Yep!
 
Okay thank you :) . Sorry , just one more quick question ! Would there be other valid answers ? I'm not sure if this is correct but since say we have shown N(24 )= N(13) , we could equally have an equivalent answer for D4/N ?
 
Each element in D4/N is unique.
It's just that there is more than one way to write each element down.

You could for instance also have written {(24),(13)} to represent the element (13)N.
 
So for future reference I'm looking each time for a coset representative to form the quotient group - I hope this is the right term to use here ?
 
Hmm, coset representative sounds as if you're talking about one element from the coset, like (13).
I guess you could use that to represent the coset, but I would tend to stick to (13)N or {(24),(13)}.


From wikipedia:
"Let N be a normal subgroup of a group G. We define the set G/N to be the set of all left cosets of N in G, i.e., G/N = { aN : a in G }."

and:
"gH = {gh : h an element of H } is a left coset of H in G"


I prefer to use either the notation aN, or to write out the set itself.
 

Similar threads

Replies
28
Views
7K
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
13K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
4K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
21K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K