HomomorphismIn algebra, a homomorphism is a structure-preserving map between two algebraic structures of the same type (such as two groups, two rings, or two vector spaces). The word homomorphism comes from the Ancient Greek language: ὁμός () meaning "same" and μορφή () meaning "form" or "shape". However, the word was apparently introduced to mathematics due to a (mis)translation of German ähnlich meaning "similar" to ὁμός meaning "same". The term "homomorphism" appeared as early as 1892, when it was attributed to the German mathematician Felix Klein (1849–1925).
Group homomorphismIn mathematics, given two groups, (G, ∗) and (H, ·), a group homomorphism from (G, ∗) to (H, ·) is a function h : G → H such that for all u and v in G it holds that where the group operation on the left side of the equation is that of G and on the right side that of H. From this property, one can deduce that h maps the identity element eG of G to the identity element eH of H, and it also maps inverses to inverses in the sense that Hence one can say that h "is compatible with the group structure".
Module homomorphismIn algebra, a module homomorphism is a function between modules that preserves the module structures. Explicitly, if M and N are left modules over a ring R, then a function is called an R-module homomorphism or an R-linear map if for any x, y in M and r in R, In other words, f is a group homomorphism (for the underlying additive groups) that commutes with scalar multiplication. If M, N are right R-modules, then the second condition is replaced with The of the zero element under f is called the kernel of f.
Ring homomorphismIn ring theory, a branch of abstract algebra, a ring homomorphism is a structure-preserving function between two rings. More explicitly, if R and S are rings, then a ring homomorphism is a function f : R → S such that f is: addition preserving: for all a and b in R, multiplication preserving: for all a and b in R, and unit (multiplicative identity) preserving: Additive inverses and the additive identity are part of the structure too, but it is not necessary to require explicitly that they too are respected, because these conditions are consequences of the three conditions above.
Algebra homomorphismIn mathematics, an algebra homomorphism is a homomorphism between two algebras. More precisely, if A and B are algebras over a field (or a ring) K, it is a function such that, for all k in K and x, y in A, one has The first two conditions say that F is a K-linear map, and the last condition says that F preserves the algebra multiplication. So, if the algebras are associative, F is a rng homomorphism, and, if the algebras are rings and F preserves the identity, it is a ring homomorphism.
