Namespaces
Variants
Actions

Centre of a group

From Encyclopedia of Mathematics
Jump to: navigation, search

The set $Z$ of all central elements (sometimes also called invariant elements) of the group, that is, the elements that commute with all elements of the group. The centre of a group $G$ is a normal subgroup, and even a characteristic subgroup in $G$. Moreover, every subgroup of the centre is normal in $G$. Abelian groups and only these coincide with their centres. Groups whose centres consist only of the unit element are said to be groups without centre or groups with trivial centre. The quotient group $G/Z$ of a group $G$ by its centre is not necessarily a group without centre.

References

[1] A.G. Kurosh, "The theory of groups" , 1–2 , Chelsea (1955–1956) (Translated from Russian)
How to Cite This Entry:
Centre of a group. Encyclopedia of Mathematics. URL: http://encyclopediaofmath.org/index.php?title=Centre_of_a_group&oldid=35361
This article was adapted from an original article by O.A. Ivanova (originator), which appeared in Encyclopedia of Mathematics - ISBN 1402006098. See original article