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Concept
Cycle graph (algebra)
Summary
In group theory, a subfield of abstract algebra, a group cycle graph illustrates the various cycles of a group and is particularly useful in visualizing the structure of small finite groups.
A cycle is the set of powers of a given group element a, where an, the n-th power of an element a is defined as the product of a multiplied by itself n times. The element a is said to generate the cycle. In a finite group, some non-zero power of a must be the group identity, e; the lowest such power is the order of the cycle, the number of distinct elements in it. In a cycle graph, the cycle is represented as a polygon, with the vertices representing the group elements, and the connecting lines indicating that all elements in that polygon are members of the same cycle.
Cycles can overlap, or they can have no element in common but the identity. The cycle graph displays each interesting cycle as a polygon.
If a generates a cycle of order 6 (or, more shortly, has order 6), then a6 = e. Then the set of powers of a2, {a2, a4, e} is a cycle, but this is really no new information. Similarly, a5 generates the same cycle as a itself.
So, only the primitive cycles need be considered, namely those that are not subsets of another cycle. Each of these is generated by some primitive element, a. Take one point for each element of the original group. For each primitive element, connect e to a, a to a2, ..., an−1 to an, etc., until e is reached. The result is the cycle graph.
When a2 = e, a has order 2 (is an involution), and is connected to e by two edges. Except when the intent is to emphasize the two edges of the cycle, it is typically drawn as a single line between the two elements.
As an example of a group cycle graph, consider the dihedral group Dih4. The multiplication table for this group is shown on the left, and the cycle graph is shown on the right with e specifying the identity element.
Notice the cycle {e, a, a2, a3} in the multiplication table, with a4 = e. The inverse a−1 = a3 is also a generator of this cycle: (a3)2 = a2, (a3)3 = a, and (a3)4 = e.
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