PERMUTATION

GROUPS
Permutation Group
✘ Permutations and the Symmetric Groups
✘ Orbits and Cyles
HISTORY OF
PERMUTATION
PERMUTATION AND
SYMMETRIC GROUPS
 ✘ What is Permutation?
A permutation is a bijection from a set to itself.
 Permutation Groups

Definitions
• Permutation of a set A - is a function from A to A that is both one-to-
one and onto.
• Permutation group of a set A- is a set of permutations of A that forms
a group under function composition.
 Permutation of Set A
Which of the following is a permutation of
Set ?

A=
ANSWER: 1

1 2
Permutation of Set A
A=
Yes

A=
No

A=
Yes
 Although groups of permutations of any nonempty set A of objects exist, we will focus on the
case where A is finite. Furthermore, it is customary, as well as convenient, to take A to be a set of the
form {1, 2, 3, . . . , n} for some positive integer n. Unlike in calculus, where most functions are
defined on infinite sets and are given by formulas, in algebra, permutations of finite sets are usually
given by an explicit listing of each element of the domain and its corresponding functional value.

For example, we define a permutation α of the set {1, 2, 3, 4} by specifying:

A more convenient way to express this correspondence is to write a in array form as:

Here α(j) is placed directly below j for each j.

Similarly, the permutation β of the set {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6} given by:

Expressed in array form:

PRACTICE
PRACTICE
1. The permutation of A of the set is
A(1) = 4 A(2)=3 A(3)=1
A(4)=5 A(5)=2

express it in array form.

A=
PRACTICE
2. The permutation of X of the set , is
X(1)=2 X(2)= 1 X(3)=3

express it in array form.

X=
Permutation Group
of Set A
COMPOSITION OF
PERMUTATION
 Permutation Groups

Definitions
• Permutation group of a set A- is a set of permutations of A that forms
a group under function composition.
COMPOSITION OF PERMUTATION
Composition of permutations expressed in array notation is carried out from right
to left by going from top to bottom, then again from top to bottom.

Example 1:
Let A= and

Then:
COMPOSITION OF PERMUTATION
Example 2:

Let: A= and

Then:
SYMMETRIC
GROUP
SYMMETRIC GROUP

Definition:
Let A be the finite set {1, 2, ··· , n}. The group of all permutations of A is the
symmetric group on letters and is denoted by .
Note:
has elements, where
SYMMETRIC GROUP

Example 1: Symmetric Group S3

Let S3 denote the set of all one-to-one functions from {1, 2, 3} to itself. Then S 3, under function
composition, is a group with six elements. The six elements are
X= =
= =
Example 3: Symmetries of a Square
As a third example, we associate each motion in D4 with the permutation of the locations of each of
the four corners of a square. For example, if we label the four corner positions as in the figure below
and keep these labels fixed for reference, we may describe a 90° counterclockwise rotation by the
permutation

whereas a reflection across a horizontal axis yields:

These two elements generate the entire group (that is, every element is some combination of the p’s
and ’s). When D4 is represented in this way, we see that it is a subgroup of S4.
ORBITS AND
CYCLES
ORBITS
ORBITS
Let σ be a permutation of a set A. The equivalence
classes in A determined by the equivalence relation
(1) are the orbits of σ.
ORBITS
Example 1: Since the identity permutation ι of A leaves each
element of A fixed, the orbits of ι are the one-element subsets of
A.
A= {1}, {2}, {3}
 ORBITS
Example 2: In S8, find the orbits of the permutation,
Example 3:
PRACTICE
 Practice
Find all the orbits of the given permutation .

Ans. {1,5,2}, {3}, {4,6}

 Practice
Find all the orbits of the given permutation .

Ans. {1,5,8,7}, {2,6,3}, {4}

Ans. {1,2,3,5,4}, {6}, {7,8}

CYCLES
 CYCLES
For the remainder of this section, we consider just permutations of a finite set A
of n elements. We may as well suppose that and that we are dealing with
elements of the symmetric group Sn.

The orbits of:

are indicated in the figure:

 CYCLES

That is, σ acts on each integer from 1 to 8 on one of the circles by carrying it into the next
integer on the circle traveled counter-clockwise, in the direction of the arrows. For
example, the leftmost circle indicates that σ(1) = 3, σ(3) = 6, and σ(6) = 1

Each individual circle in the figure also defines, by itself, a permutation in S8.
CYCLES
For example, the leftmost circle corresponds to the permutation

that acts on 1, 3, and 6 just as σ does, but

leaves the remaining integers 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8
fixed. In summary, µ has one three-element orbit
{1, 3, 6} and five one-element orbits {2}, {4}, {5},
{7}, and {8}. Such a permutation, described
graphically by a single circle, is called a cycle
(for circle). We consider the identity permutation
to be a cycle since it can be represented by a
circle having only the integer 1, as shown in
Figure. We now define the term cycle in a
mathematically precise way.
CYCLES
Remember: Not every permutation is a cycle.
Example: Let , determine if s is a cycle or not.

𝒔= 𝟏
𝟐 ( 𝟐
𝟏
𝟑𝟒
𝟒𝟑 )
𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒔 : { 𝟏,𝟐 } , {𝟑,𝟒 }

∴ 𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒚𝒄𝒍𝒆 ,𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒇 (𝟏 ,𝟐 ) 𝒂𝒏𝒅(𝟑,𝟒)

PRACTICE
Determine if the given permutation is a cycle or not. If it is a cycle determine the length
of the cycle.
Answer: not a cycle since the orbits are {1, 2, 3} and {4, 5}. Both of
( 𝟏
𝟐
𝟐
𝟑
𝟑𝟒𝟓
𝟏𝟓𝟒 ) them have more than one element.

( 𝟏
𝟐
𝟐
𝟑 )
𝟑 𝟒 𝟓 Answer: It is a cycle. The orbits are {1, 2, 3}, {4}, and {5}. The length
𝟏 𝟒 𝟓 of the cycle is 3. Moreover, the cyclic notation is (1, 2, 3).

( 𝟏
𝟏
𝟐
𝟐
𝟑𝟒𝟓
𝟑𝟓𝟒 ) Answer: It is a cycle. The orbits are {1}, {2}, {3}, and {4, 5}. The length
of the cycle is 2. Moreover, the cyclic notation is (4, 5).
Example:
Example:
Theorem 2.14.2. Every equals a product of disjoint cycles.
Finding disjoint cycle decompositions:

1. Pick a number that doesn’t yet appear in the cycle.

2. Compute its image, and the image of that, so on, until you have a cycle. Write down that cycle.

3. If all elements of 1 . . . . . , n are in one of your cycles, stop, else go back to step 1.

Example:
Express as (1, 4, 8, 2) (3, 4, 9, 8, 5, 1) as a product of disjoint cycles.
Solution:
Note: Any 1-cycle is
(1, 4, 8, 2) (3, 4, 9, 8, 5, 1) = (1, 3, 8, 5, 4, 9, 2) (6) (7) equal to the identity
permutation
= (1, 3, 8, 5, 4, 9, 2)
PRACTICE
 Express the following permutations as products of disjoint cycles:

( 1
3
2
7
34
12
5
8
67
59
8
6
9
4 ) ¿ ( 1 , 3 ) (2, 7 , 9 , 4)(5 , 8 ,6)

( 1
8
2
2
34
71
5
5
67
43
8
6
9
9 )¿ ( 1 , 8 , 6 ,=4 ) ( 2 ) (3 ,7)(5)(9)
( 1 , 3 , 2 ,5 )( 4 , 2 , 8 , 7 ) ( 3 , 9 , 1 ,2 )( 6 , 9¿) (18 2
2
34
95
5
1
67
34
8
7 )
9 ,
6

¿ (1 , 8 ,7 , 4 ,5)(2)(3 , 9 , 6)
¿ (1 , 8 ,7 , 4 ,5)(3 , 9 , 6)
https://youtu.be/MpKG6FmcIHk
“Life is full of permutations and combinations.
Sometimes the order you do things matter sometimes it
doesn’t, but in order to find the solution in life you must
work through each possibility presented to find your
opportunity.”

― Gregory Willis, Birth of a Nephillim