Representation theoryRepresentation theory is a branch of mathematics that studies abstract algebraic structures by representing their elements as linear transformations of vector spaces, and studies modules over these abstract algebraic structures. In essence, a representation makes an abstract algebraic object more concrete by describing its elements by matrices and their algebraic operations (for example, matrix addition, matrix multiplication).
Ferdinand Georg FrobeniusFerdinand Georg Frobenius (26 October 1849 – 3 August 1917) was a German mathematician, best known for his contributions to the theory of elliptic functions, differential equations, number theory, and to group theory. He is known for the famous determinantal identities, known as Frobenius–Stickelberger formulae, governing elliptic functions, and for developing the theory of biquadratic forms. He was also the first to introduce the notion of rational approximations of functions (nowadays known as Padé approximants), and gave the first full proof for the Cayley–Hamilton theorem.
Richard BrauerRichard Dagobert Brauer (February 10, 1901 – April 17, 1977) was a leading German and American mathematician. He worked mainly in abstract algebra, but made important contributions to number theory. He was the founder of modular representation theory. Alfred Brauer was Richard's brother and seven years older. They were born to a Jewish family. Both were interested in science and mathematics, but Alfred was injured in combat in World War I. As a boy, Richard dreamt of becoming an inventor, and in February 1919 enrolled in Technische Hochschule Berlin-Charlottenburg.
Character (mathematics)In mathematics, a character is (most commonly) a special kind of function from a group to a field (such as the complex numbers). There are at least two distinct, but overlapping meanings. Other uses of the word "character" are almost always qualified. multiplicative character A multiplicative character (or linear character, or simply character) on a group G is a group homomorphism from G to the multiplicative group of a field , usually the field of complex numbers.
Modular representation theoryModular representation theory is a branch of mathematics, and is the part of representation theory that studies linear representations of finite groups over a field K of positive characteristic p, necessarily a prime number. As well as having applications to group theory, modular representations arise naturally in other branches of mathematics, such as algebraic geometry, coding theory, combinatorics and number theory.
Regular representationIn mathematics, and in particular the theory of group representations, the regular representation of a group G is the linear representation afforded by the group action of G on itself by translation. One distinguishes the left regular representation λ given by left translation and the right regular representation ρ given by the inverse of right translation. Representation theory of finite groups#Left- and right-regular representation For a finite group G, the left regular representation λ (over a field K) is a linear representation on the K-vector space V freely generated by the elements of G, i.
Quaternion groupIn group theory, the quaternion group Q8 (sometimes just denoted by Q) is a non-abelian group of order eight, isomorphic to the eight-element subset of the quaternions under multiplication. It is given by the group presentation where e is the identity element and commutes with the other elements of the group. Another presentation of Q8 is The quaternion group Q8 has the same order as the dihedral group D4, but a different structure, as shown by their Cayley and cycle graphs: In the diagrams for D4, the group elements are marked with their action on a letter F in the defining representation R2.
Group ringIn algebra, a group ring is a free module and at the same time a ring, constructed in a natural way from any given ring and any given group. As a free module, its ring of scalars is the given ring, and its basis is the set of elements of the given group. As a ring, its addition law is that of the free module and its multiplication extends "by linearity" the given group law on the basis. Less formally, a group ring is a generalization of a given group, by attaching to each element of the group a "weighting factor" from a given ring.
Root of unityIn mathematics, a root of unity, occasionally called a de Moivre number, is any complex number that yields 1 when raised to some positive integer power n. Roots of unity are used in many branches of mathematics, and are especially important in number theory, the theory of group characters, and the discrete Fourier transform. Roots of unity can be defined in any field. If the characteristic of the field is zero, the roots are complex numbers that are also algebraic integers.
Finite groupIn abstract algebra, a finite group is a group whose underlying set is finite. Finite groups often arise when considering symmetry of mathematical or physical objects, when those objects admit just a finite number of structure-preserving transformations. Important examples of finite groups include cyclic groups and permutation groups. The study of finite groups has been an integral part of group theory since it arose in the 19th century.
