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• Sylow’s Theorem (Summary) In this post we review Sylow's theorem and as an example we solve the following problem. Show that a group of order $200$ has a normal Sylow $5$-subgroup. Review of Sylow's Theorem One of the important theorems in group theory is Sylow's theorem. Sylow's theorem is a […]
• Basic Exercise Problems in Module Theory Let $R$ be a ring with $1$ and $M$ be a left $R$-module. (a) Prove that $0_Rm=0_M$ for all $m \in M$. Here $0_R$ is the zero element in the ring $R$ and $0_M$ is the zero element in the module $M$, that is, the identity element of the additive group $M$. To simplify the […]
• If a Sylow Subgroup is Normal in a Normal Subgroup, it is a Normal Subgroup Let $G$ be a finite group. Suppose that $p$ is a prime number that divides the order of $G$. Let $N$ be a normal subgroup of $G$ and let $P$ be a $p$-Sylow subgroup of $G$. Show that if $P$ is normal in $N$, then $P$ is a normal subgroup of $G$.   Hint. It follows from […]
• Fundamental Theorem of Finitely Generated Abelian Groups and its application In this post, we study the Fundamental Theorem of Finitely Generated Abelian Groups, and as an application we solve the following problem. Problem. Let $G$ be a finite abelian group of order $n$. If $n$ is the product of distinct prime numbers, then prove that $G$ is isomorphic […]
• Sequences Satisfying Linear Recurrence Relation Form a Subspace Let $V$ be a real vector space of all real sequences \[(a_i)_{i=1}^{\infty}=(a_1, a_2, \cdots).\] Let $U$ be the subset of $V$ defined by \[U=\{ (a_i)_{i=1}^{\infty} \in V \mid a_{k+2}-5a_{k+1}+3a_{k}=0, k=1, 2, \dots \}.\] Prove that $U$ is a subspace of […]
• A Positive Definite Matrix Has a Unique Positive Definite Square Root Prove that a positive definite matrix has a unique positive definite square root.   In this post, we review several definitions (a square root of a matrix, a positive definite matrix) and solve the above problem. After the proof, several extra problems about square […]
• Express a Hermitian Matrix as a Sum of Real Symmetric Matrix and a Real Skew-Symmetric Matrix Recall that a complex matrix is called Hermitian if $A^*=A$, where $A^*=\bar{A}^{\trans}$. Prove that every Hermitian matrix $A$ can be written as the sum \[A=B+iC,\] where $B$ is a real symmetric matrix and $C$ is a real skew-symmetric matrix.   Proof. Since […]
• How to Diagonalize a Matrix. Step by Step Explanation. In this post, we explain how to diagonalize a matrix if it is diagonalizable. As an example, we solve the following problem. Diagonalize the matrix \[A=\begin{bmatrix} 4 & -3 & -3 \\ 3 &-2 &-3 \\ -1 & 1 & 2 \end{bmatrix}\] by finding a nonsingular […]