Why must the group N be finite in this result?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the properties of a finite subgroup ##N## of a group ##G##, specifically addressing the condition under which the conjugate subgroup ##gNg^{-1}## is contained in ##N## and when it is equal to ##N##. Participants question the necessity of ##N## being finite and explore implications for subgroups of varying sizes.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question why the subgroup ##N## must be finite, suggesting that the result may hold for subgroups of any size.
  • Others argue that the result could be true for any subset ##N## if the quantifier for ##g## is universally quantified.
  • A participant expresses uncertainty about the necessity of specifying that ##N## is finite, suggesting that the exercise might depend on this condition.
  • Another participant notes that for finite ##N##, a bijection exists for a single ##g \in G##, raising questions about the implications for the index of subgroups.
  • It is mentioned that ##gNg^{-1}## and ##N## have the same index, but the relevance of this to the finiteness of ##N## is not resolved.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether the finiteness of ##N## is necessary for the result to hold, and multiple competing views remain regarding the applicability of the result to subgroups of different sizes.

Contextual Notes

Some arguments depend on the definitions of subgroups and the properties of group actions, which may not be fully explored in the discussion.

Mr Davis 97
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Ffom exercise 27 of Dummite and Foote: Let ##N## be a finite subgroup of ##G##. Show that ##gNg^{-1}\subseteq N## if and only if ##gNg^{-1} = N##.

Why must the subgroup ##N## be finite? Isn't this result true for subgroups of any size?
 
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Mr Davis 97 said:
Ffom exercise 27 of Dummite and Foote: Let ##N## be a finite subgroup of ##G##. Show that ##gNg^{-1}\subseteq N## if and only if ##gNg^{-1} = N##.

Why must the subgroup ##N## be finite? Isn't this result true for subgroups of any size?
Sure. It is even true for any subset ##N## ... as long as the quantor at ##g## is an ##\forall##.
 
fresh_42 said:
Sure. It is even true for any subset ##N## ... as long as the quantor at ##g## is an ##\forall##.
Then why does the exercise bother with specifying that ##N## should be finite?
 
Mr Davis 97 said:
Then why does the exercise bother with specifying that ##N## should be finite?
I have no idea. Given ##gSg^{-1}\subseteq S## for all ##g\in G## and a subset ##S\subseteq G##, we have especially for ##g^{-1}\, : \,g^{-1}S(g^{-1})^{-1} = g^{-1}Sg \subseteq S## and thus ##S \subseteq gSg^{-1} \subseteq S##.

Maybe the rest of the exercise depends on it. Here we only use the all quantor on the elements of ##G## and that they have an inverse. We don't even need ##S\subseteq G## as long as ##G## operates via conjugation on a set ##S##.
 
Stephen Tashi said:
So the assumption for all ##g## has been wrong.

For finite ##N## we get a bijection even for a single ##g\in G##. I only skimmed the link, but it seems, that the case ##|G/N|<\infty## hasn't been proven. So why is ##\exists \, g\in G \, : \,gNg^{-1} \subseteq N \Longrightarrow gNg^{-1}=N## true for ##N \leq G## of finite index?
 
##gNg^{-1}## and ##N## have the same index.
 

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