Schur multiplierIn mathematical group theory, the Schur multiplier or Schur multiplicator is the second homology group of a group G. It was introduced by in his work on projective representations. The Schur multiplier of a finite group G is a finite abelian group whose exponent divides the order of G. If a Sylow p-subgroup of G is cyclic for some p, then the order of is not divisible by p. In particular, if all Sylow p-subgroups of G are cyclic, then is trivial.
Spin groupIn mathematics the spin group Spin(n) is a Lie group whose underlying manifold is the double cover of the special orthogonal group SO(n) = SO(n, R), such that there exists a short exact sequence of Lie groups (when n ≠ 2) The group multiplication law on the double cover is given by lifting the multiplication on . As a Lie group, Spin(n) therefore shares its dimension, n(n − 1)/2, and its Lie algebra with the special orthogonal group. For n > 2, Spin(n) is simply connected and so coincides with the universal cover of SO(n).
Projective orthogonal groupIn projective geometry and linear algebra, the projective orthogonal group PO is the induced action of the orthogonal group of a quadratic space V = (V,Q) on the associated projective space P(V). Explicitly, the projective orthogonal group is the quotient group PO(V) = O(V)/ZO(V) = O(V)/{±I} where O(V) is the orthogonal group of (V) and ZO(V)={±I} is the subgroup of all orthogonal scalar transformations of V – these consist of the identity and reflection through the origin.
Pin groupIn mathematics, the pin group is a certain subgroup of the Clifford algebra associated to a quadratic space. It maps 2-to-1 to the orthogonal group, just as the spin group maps 2-to-1 to the special orthogonal group. In general the map from the Pin group to the orthogonal group is not surjective or a universal covering space, but if the quadratic form is definite (and dimension is greater than 2), it is both.
Group extensionIn mathematics, a group extension is a general means of describing a group in terms of a particular normal subgroup and quotient group. If and are two groups, then is an extension of by if there is a short exact sequence If is an extension of by , then is a group, is a normal subgroup of and the quotient group is isomorphic to the group . Group extensions arise in the context of the extension problem, where the groups and are known and the properties of are to be determined.
Linear groupIn mathematics, a matrix group is a group G consisting of invertible matrices over a specified field K, with the operation of matrix multiplication. A linear group is a group that is isomorphic to a matrix group (that is, admitting a faithful, finite-dimensional representation over K). Any finite group is linear, because it can be realized by permutation matrices using Cayley's theorem. Among infinite groups, linear groups form an interesting and tractable class.
VersorIn mathematics, a versor is a quaternion of norm one (a unit quaternion). Each versor has the form where the r2 = −1 condition means that r is a unit-length vector quaternion (or that the first component of r is zero, and the last three components of r are a unit vector in 3 dimensions). The corresponding 3-dimensional rotation has the angle 2a about the axis r in axis–angle representation. In case a = π/2 (a right angle), then , and the resulting unit vector is termed a right versor.
Metaplectic groupIn mathematics, the metaplectic group Mp2n is a double cover of the symplectic group Sp2n. It can be defined over either real or p-adic numbers. The construction covers more generally the case of an arbitrary local or finite field, and even the ring of adeles. The metaplectic group has a particularly significant infinite-dimensional linear representation, the Weil representation. It was used by André Weil to give a representation-theoretic interpretation of theta functions, and is important in the theory of modular forms of half-integral weight and the theta correspondence.
Quaternions and spatial rotationUnit quaternions, known as versors, provide a convenient mathematical notation for representing spatial orientations and rotations of elements in three dimensional space. Specifically, they encode information about an axis-angle rotation about an arbitrary axis. Rotation and orientation quaternions have applications in computer graphics, computer vision, robotics, navigation, molecular dynamics, flight dynamics, orbital mechanics of satellites, and crystallographic texture analysis.
Projective representationIn the field of representation theory in mathematics, a projective representation of a group G on a vector space V over a field F is a group homomorphism from G to the projective linear group where GL(V) is the general linear group of invertible linear transformations of V over F, and F∗ is the normal subgroup consisting of nonzero scalar multiples of the identity transformation (see Scalar transformation). In more concrete terms, a projective representation of is a collection of operators satisfying the homomorphism property up to a constant: for some constant .
Real projective spaceIn mathematics, real projective space, denoted \mathbb{RP}^n or \mathbb{P}_n(\R), is the topological space of lines passing through the origin 0 in the real space \R^{n+1}. It is a compact, smooth manifold of dimension n, and is a special case \mathbf{Gr}(1, \R^{n+1}) of a Grassmannian space. As with all projective spaces, RPn is formed by taking the quotient of Rn+1 ∖ under the equivalence relation x ∼ λx for all real numbers λ ≠ 0. For all x in Rn+1 ∖ one can always find a λ such that λx has norm 1.
Orthogonal groupIn mathematics, the orthogonal group in dimension , denoted , is the group of distance-preserving transformations of a Euclidean space of dimension that preserve a fixed point, where the group operation is given by composing transformations. The orthogonal group is sometimes called the general orthogonal group, by analogy with the general linear group. Equivalently, it is the group of orthogonal matrices, where the group operation is given by matrix multiplication (an orthogonal matrix is a real matrix whose inverse equals its transpose).
Projective linear groupIn mathematics, especially in the group theoretic area of algebra, the projective linear group (also known as the projective general linear group or PGL) is the induced action of the general linear group of a vector space V on the associated projective space P(V). Explicitly, the projective linear group is the quotient group PGL(V) = GL(V)/Z(V) where GL(V) is the general linear group of V and Z(V) is the subgroup of all nonzero scalar transformations of V; these are quotiented out because they act trivially on the projective space and they form the kernel of the action, and the notation "Z" reflects that the scalar transformations form the center of the general linear group.
3D rotation groupIn mechanics and geometry, the 3D rotation group, often denoted SO(3), is the group of all rotations about the origin of three-dimensional Euclidean space under the operation of composition. By definition, a rotation about the origin is a transformation that preserves the origin, Euclidean distance (so it is an isometry), and orientation (i.e., handedness of space). Composing two rotations results in another rotation, every rotation has a unique inverse rotation, and the identity map satisfies the definition of a rotation.
Principal bundleIn mathematics, a principal bundle is a mathematical object that formalizes some of the essential features of the Cartesian product of a space with a group . In the same way as with the Cartesian product, a principal bundle is equipped with An action of on , analogous to for a product space. A projection onto . For a product space, this is just the projection onto the first factor, . Unlike a product space, principal bundles lack a preferred choice of identity cross-section; they have no preferred analog of .
Particle physics and representation theoryThere is a natural connection between particle physics and representation theory, as first noted in the 1930s by Eugene Wigner. It links the properties of elementary particles to the structure of Lie groups and Lie algebras. According to this connection, the different quantum states of an elementary particle give rise to an irreducible representation of the Poincaré group. Moreover, the properties of the various particles, including their spectra, can be related to representations of Lie algebras, corresponding to "approximate symmetries" of the universe.
Compact groupIn mathematics, a compact (topological) group is a topological group whose topology realizes it as a compact topological space (when an element of the group is operated on, the result is also within the group). Compact groups are a natural generalization of finite groups with the discrete topology and have properties that carry over in significant fashion. Compact groups have a well-understood theory, in relation to group actions and representation theory. In the following we will assume all groups are Hausdorff spaces.
Special unitary groupIn mathematics, the special unitary group of degree n, denoted SU(n), is the Lie group of n × n unitary matrices with determinant 1. The matrices of the more general unitary group may have complex determinants with absolute value 1, rather than real 1 in the special case. The group operation is matrix multiplication. The special unitary group is a normal subgroup of the unitary group U(n), consisting of all n×n unitary matrices. As a compact classical group, U(n) is the group that preserves the standard inner product on .
Covering groups of the alternating and symmetric groupsIn the mathematical area of group theory, the covering groups of the alternating and symmetric groups are groups that are used to understand the projective representations of the alternating and symmetric groups. The covering groups were classified in : for n ≥ 4, the covering groups are 2-fold covers except for the alternating groups of degree 6 and 7 where the covers are 6-fold. For example the binary icosahedral group covers the icosahedral group, an alternating group of degree 5, and the binary tetrahedral group covers the tetrahedral group, an alternating group of degree 4.
