Group action

# Group action

Discussion

Encyclopedia

In algebra
Algebra
Algebra is the branch of mathematics concerning the study of the rules of operations and relations, and the constructions and concepts arising from them, including terms, polynomials, equations and algebraic structures...

and geometry
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....

, a group action is a way of describing symmetries
Symmetry
Symmetry generally conveys two primary meanings. The first is an imprecise sense of harmonious or aesthetically pleasing proportionality and balance; such that it reflects beauty or perfection...

of objects using groups
Group (mathematics)
In mathematics, a group is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with an operation that combines any two of its elements to form a third element. To qualify as a group, the set and the operation must satisfy a few conditions called group axioms, namely closure, associativity, identity...

. The essential elements of the object are described by a set, and the symmetries of the object are described by the symmetry group
Symmetry group
The symmetry group of an object is the group of all isometries under which it is invariant with composition as the operation...

of this set, which consists of bijective transformations of the set. In this case, the group is also called a permutation group
Permutation group
In mathematics, a permutation group is a group G whose elements are permutations of a given set M, and whose group operation is the composition of permutations in G ; the relationship is often written as...

(especially if the set is finite or not a vector space
Vector space
A vector space is a mathematical structure formed by a collection of vectors: objects that may be added together and multiplied by numbers, called scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be real numbers, but one may also consider vector spaces with scalar multiplication by complex...

) or transformation group (especially if the set is a vector space
Vector space
A vector space is a mathematical structure formed by a collection of vectors: objects that may be added together and multiplied by numbers, called scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be real numbers, but one may also consider vector spaces with scalar multiplication by complex...

and the group acts like linear transformation
Linear transformation
In mathematics, a linear map, linear mapping, linear transformation, or linear operator is a function between two vector spaces that preserves the operations of vector addition and scalar multiplication. As a result, it always maps straight lines to straight lines or 0...

s of the set).

A group action is an extension to the definition of a symmetry group in which every element of the group "acts" like a bijective transformation (or "symmetry") of some set, without being identified with that transformation. This allows for a more comprehensive description of the symmetries of an object, such as a polyhedron
Polyhedron
In elementary geometry a polyhedron is a geometric solid in three dimensions with flat faces and straight edges...

, by allowing the same group to act on several different sets of features, such as the set of vertices
Vertex (geometry)
In geometry, a vertex is a special kind of point that describes the corners or intersections of geometric shapes.-Of an angle:...

, the set of edges
Edge (geometry)
In geometry, an edge is a one-dimensional line segment joining two adjacent zero-dimensional vertices in a polygon. Thus applied, an edge is a connector for a one-dimensional line segment and two zero-dimensional objects....

and the set of faces
Face (geometry)
In geometry, a face of a polyhedron is any of the polygons that make up its boundaries. For example, any of the squares that bound a cube is a face of the cube...

of the polyhedron.

If G is a group and X is a set then a group action may be defined as a group homomorphism
Group homomorphism
In mathematics, given two groups and , a group homomorphism from to is a function h : G → H such that for all u and v in G it holds that h = h \cdot h...

from G to the symmetric group
Symmetric group
In mathematics, the symmetric group Sn on a finite set of n symbols is the group whose elements are all the permutations of the n symbols, and whose group operation is the composition of such permutations, which are treated as bijective functions from the set of symbols to itself...

of X. The action assigns a permutation
Permutation
In mathematics, the notion of permutation is used with several slightly different meanings, all related to the act of permuting objects or values. Informally, a permutation of a set of objects is an arrangement of those objects into a particular order...

of X to each element of the group in such a way that the permutation of X assigned to:
• The identity element
Identity element
In mathematics, an identity element is a special type of element of a set with respect to a binary operation on that set. It leaves other elements unchanged when combined with them...

of G is the identity transformation of X;
• A product gh of two elements of G is the composite
Function composition
In mathematics, function composition is the application of one function to the results of another. For instance, the functions and can be composed by computing the output of g when it has an argument of f instead of x...

of the permutations assigned to g and h.

Since each element of G is represented as a permutation, a group action is also known as a permutation representation.

The abstraction
Abstraction (mathematics)
Abstraction in mathematics is the process of extracting the underlying essence of a mathematical concept, removing any dependence on real world objects with which it might originally have been connected, and generalising it so that it has wider applications or matching among other abstract...

provided by group actions is a powerful one, because it allows geometrical ideas to be applied to more abstract objects. Many objects in mathematics have natural group actions defined on them. In particular, groups can act on other groups, or even on themselves. Despite this generality, the theory of group actions contains wide-reaching theorem
Theorem
In mathematics, a theorem is a statement that has been proven on the basis of previously established statements, such as other theorems, and previously accepted statements, such as axioms...

s, such as the orbit stabilizer theorem, which can be used to prove deep results in several fields.

## Definition

If is a group
Group (mathematics)
In mathematics, a group is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with an operation that combines any two of its elements to form a third element. To qualify as a group, the set and the operation must satisfy a few conditions called group axioms, namely closure, associativity, identity...

and is a set, then a (left) group action of G on X is a binary operator:

that satisfies the following two axioms:
Associativity: ;
Identity: .

The set X is called a (left) G-set. The group G is said to act on X (on the left).

From these two axioms, it follows that for every g in G, the function which maps x in X to g·x is a bijective map from X to X (its inverse
Inverse function
In mathematics, an inverse function is a function that undoes another function: If an input x into the function ƒ produces an output y, then putting y into the inverse function g produces the output x, and vice versa. i.e., ƒ=y, and g=x...

being the function which maps x to g−1·x). Therefore, one may alternatively define a group action of G on X as a group homomorphism
Group homomorphism
In mathematics, given two groups and , a group homomorphism from to is a function h : G → H such that for all u and v in G it holds that h = h \cdot h...

from G into the symmetric group
Symmetric group
In mathematics, the symmetric group Sn on a finite set of n symbols is the group whose elements are all the permutations of the n symbols, and whose group operation is the composition of such permutations, which are treated as bijective functions from the set of symbols to itself...

Sym(X) of all bijections from X to X.

In complete analogy, one can define a right group action of G on X as a function X × GX by the two axioms:
Associativity: ;
Identity: .

The difference between left and right actions is in the order in which a product like gh acts on x. For a left action h acts first and is followed by g, while for a right action g acts first and is followed by h. From a right action a left action can be constructed by composing with the inverse operation on the group. If is a right action, then, a the following is a left action:

Satisfying associativity,

and identity:

Any right action has an equivalent left action, thus only left actions can be considered without any loss of generality. Also, a right action of a group on is the same thing as a left action of its opposite group
Opposite group
In group theory, a branch of mathematics, an opposite group is a way to construct a group from another group that allows one to define right action as a special case of left action.- Definition :Let G be a group under the operation *...

on .

## Examples

• The action for any group G is defined by g·x=x for all g in G and all x in X; that is, the whole group G induces the identity permutation
Identity function
In mathematics, an identity function, also called identity map or identity transformation, is a function that always returns the same value that was used as its argument...

on X.
• Every group G acts on G in two natural but essentially different ways: g·x = gx for all x in G, or g·x = gxg−1 for all x in G. The latter action is often called the conjugation
Inner automorphism
In abstract algebra an inner automorphism is a functionwhich, informally, involves a certain operation being applied, then another one performed, and then the initial operation being reversed...

action, and an exponential notation is commonly used for the right-action variant: xg = g−1xg; it satisfies (xg)h = xgh.
• The symmetric group
Symmetric group
In mathematics, the symmetric group Sn on a finite set of n symbols is the group whose elements are all the permutations of the n symbols, and whose group operation is the composition of such permutations, which are treated as bijective functions from the set of symbols to itself...

Sn and its subgroup
Subgroup
In group theory, given a group G under a binary operation *, a subset H of G is called a subgroup of G if H also forms a group under the operation *. More precisely, H is a subgroup of G if the restriction of * to H x H is a group operation on H...

s act on the set { 1, … , n } by permuting its elements
• The symmetry group
Symmetry group
The symmetry group of an object is the group of all isometries under which it is invariant with composition as the operation...

of a polyhedron
Polyhedron
In elementary geometry a polyhedron is a geometric solid in three dimensions with flat faces and straight edges...

acts on the set of vertices of that polyhedron. It also acts on the set of faces or the set of edges of the polyhedron.
• The symmetry group of any geometrical object acts on the set of points of that object
• The automorphism group of a vector space
Vector space
A vector space is a mathematical structure formed by a collection of vectors: objects that may be added together and multiplied by numbers, called scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be real numbers, but one may also consider vector spaces with scalar multiplication by complex...

(or graph
Graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of graphs, mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects from a certain collection. A "graph" in this context refers to a collection of vertices or 'nodes' and a collection of edges that connect pairs of...

, or group, or ring...) acts on the vector space (or set of vertices of the graph, or group, or ring...).
• The general linear group
General linear group
In mathematics, the general linear group of degree n is the set of n×n invertible matrices, together with the operation of ordinary matrix multiplication. This forms a group, because the product of two invertible matrices is again invertible, and the inverse of an invertible matrix is invertible...

GL(n, R), special linear group
Special linear group
In mathematics, the special linear group of degree n over a field F is the set of n×n matrices with determinant 1, with the group operations of ordinary matrix multiplication and matrix inversion....

SL(n, R), orthogonal group
Orthogonal group
In mathematics, the orthogonal group of degree n over a field F is the group of n × n orthogonal matrices with entries from F, with the group operation of matrix multiplication...

O(n, R), and special orthogonal group SO(n, R) are Lie group
Lie group
In mathematics, a Lie group is a group which is also a differentiable manifold, with the property that the group operations are compatible with the smooth structure...

s which act on Rn.
• The Galois group
Galois group
In mathematics, more specifically in the area of modern algebra known as Galois theory, the Galois group of a certain type of field extension is a specific group associated with the field extension...

of a field extension
Field extension
In abstract algebra, field extensions are the main object of study in field theory. The general idea is to start with a base field and construct in some manner a larger field which contains the base field and satisfies additional properties...

E/F acts on the bigger field E. So does every subgroup of the Galois group.
• The additive group of the real number
Real number
In mathematics, a real number is a value that represents a quantity along a continuum, such as -5 , 4/3 , 8.6 , √2 and π...

s (R, +) acts on the phase space
Phase space
In mathematics and physics, a phase space, introduced by Willard Gibbs in 1901, is a space in which all possible states of a system are represented, with each possible state of the system corresponding to one unique point in the phase space...

of "well-behaved
Well-behaved
Mathematicians very frequently speak of whether a mathematical object — a function, a set, a space of one sort or another — is "well-behaved" or not. The term has no fixed formal definition, and is dependent on mathematical interests, fashion, and taste...

" systems in classical mechanics
Classical mechanics
In physics, classical mechanics is one of the two major sub-fields of mechanics, which is concerned with the set of physical laws describing the motion of bodies under the action of a system of forces...

(and in more general dynamical systems): if t is in R and x is in the phase space, then x describes a state of the system, and t·x is defined to be the state of the system t seconds later if t is positive or −t seconds ago if t is negative.
• The additive group of the real numbers (R, +) acts on the set of real functions of a real variable with (g·f)(x) equal to e.g. f(x + g), f(x) + g, , , , or , but not
• The quaternions with modulus 1, as a multiplicative group, act on R3: for any such quaternion , the mapping f(x) = z x z* is a counterclockwise rotation through an angle about an axis v; −z is the same rotation; see quaternions and spatial rotation
Quaternions and spatial rotation
Unit quaternions provide a convenient mathematical notation for representing orientations and rotations of objects in three dimensions. Compared to Euler angles they are simpler to compose and avoid the problem of gimbal lock. Compared to rotation matrices they are more numerically stable and may...

.
• The isometries of the plane act on the set of 2D images and patterns, such as a wallpaper pattern
Wallpaper group
A wallpaper group is a mathematical classification of a two-dimensional repetitive pattern, based on the symmetries in the pattern. Such patterns occur frequently in architecture and decorative art...

. The definition can be made more precise by specifying what is meant by image or pattern; e.g., a function of position with values in a set of colors.
• More generally, a group of bijections g: V → V acts on the set of functions x: VW by (gx)(v) = x(g−1(v)) (or a restricted set of such functions that is closed under the group action). Thus a group of bijections of space induces a group action on "objects" in it.

## Types of actions

The action of G on X is called
• if X is non-empty and if equivalently
1. For any x, y in X there exists a g in G such that gx = y,
2. Gx = X for all x in X,
3. Gx = X for some x in X.
Here, Gx = {g.x | g in G} is the orbit of x under G.
• Sharply transitive if that g is unique; it is equivalent to regularity defined below.
• if X has at least n elements and for any pairwise distinct x1, ..., xn and pairwise distinct y1, ..., yn there is a g in G such that g.xk = yk for 1 ≤ kn. A 2-transitive action is also called , a 3-transitive action is also called triply transitive, and so on. Such actions define 2-transitive group
2-transitive group
In the area of abstract algebra known as group theory, a 2-transitive group is a transitive permutation group in which a point stabilizer acts transitively on the remaining points. Every 2-transitive group is a primitive group, but not conversely. Every Zassenhaus group is 2-transitive, but not...

s, 3-transitive groups, and multiply transitive groups.
• Sharply n-transitive if there is exactly one such g. See also sharply triply transitive groups.
• (or ) if for any two distinct g, h in G there exists an x in X such that g·xh·x; or equivalently, if for any ge in G there exists an x in X such that g·xx. Intuitively, different elements of G induce different permutations of X.
• (or semiregular) if for any x in X, g.x = h.x implies g = h. Equivalently: if there exists an x in X such that g.x = x (that is, if g has at least one fixed point), then g is the identity.
• (or ) if it is both transitive and free; this is equivalent to saying that for any two x, y in X there exists precisely one g in G such that g·x = y. In this case, X is known as a principal homogeneous space
Principal homogeneous space
In mathematics, a principal homogeneous space, or torsor, for a group G is a homogeneous space X for G such that the stabilizer subgroup of any point is trivial...

for G or as a G-torsor.
• if it is transitive and preserves no non-trivial partition of X. See Primitive permutation group
Primitive permutation group
In mathematics, a permutation group G acting on a set X is called primitive if G acts transitively on X and G preserves no nontrivial partition of X...

for details.
• Locally free if G is a topological group
Topological group
In mathematics, a topological group is a group G together with a topology on G such that the group's binary operation and the group's inverse function are continuous functions with respect to the topology. A topological group is a mathematical object with both an algebraic structure and a...

, and there is a neighbourhood
Neighbourhood (mathematics)
In topology and related areas of mathematics, a neighbourhood is one of the basic concepts in a topological space. Intuitively speaking, a neighbourhood of a point is a set containing the point where you can move that point some amount without leaving the set.This concept is closely related to the...

U of e in G such that the restriction of the action to U is free; that is, if g·x = x for some x and some g in U then g = e.
• Irreducible if X is a non-zero module
Module (mathematics)
In abstract algebra, the concept of a module over a ring is a generalization of the notion of vector space, wherein the corresponding scalars are allowed to lie in an arbitrary ring...

over a ring R, the action of G is R-linear, and there is no nonzero proper invariant submodule.

Every free action on a non-empty set is faithful. A group G acts faithfully on X if and only if
If and only if
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, if and only if is a biconditional logical connective between statements....

the homomorphism G → Sym(X) has a trivial kernel
Kernel (algebra)
In the various branches of mathematics that fall under the heading of abstract algebra, the kernel of a homomorphism measures the degree to which the homomorphism fails to be injective. An important special case is the kernel of a matrix, also called the null space.The definition of kernel takes...

. Thus, for a faithful action, G is isomorphic to a permutation group
Permutation group
In mathematics, a permutation group is a group G whose elements are permutations of a given set M, and whose group operation is the composition of permutations in G ; the relationship is often written as...

on X; specifically, G is isomorphic to its image in Sym(X).

The action of any group G on itself by left multiplication is regular, and thus faithful as well. Every group can, therefore, be embedded in the symmetric group on its own elements, Sym(G) — a result known as Cayley's theorem
Cayley's theorem
In group theory, Cayley's theorem, named in honor of Arthur Cayley, states that every group G is isomorphic to a subgroup of the symmetric group acting on G...

.

If G does not act faithfully on X, one can easily modify the group to obtain a faithful action. If we define N = {g in G : g·x = x for all x in X}, then N is a normal subgroup
Normal subgroup
In abstract algebra, a normal subgroup is a subgroup which is invariant under conjugation by members of the group. Normal subgroups can be used to construct quotient groups from a given group....

of G; indeed, it is the kernel of the homomorphism G → Sym(X). The factor group G/N acts faithfully on X by setting (gNx = g·x. The original action of G on X is faithful if and only if N = {e}.

## Orbits and stabilizers

Consider a group G acting on a set X. The orbit of a point x in X is the set of elements of X to which x can be moved by the elements of G. The orbit of x is denoted by Gx:

The defining properties of a group guarantee that the set of orbits of (points x in) X under the action of G form a partition
Partition of a set
In mathematics, a partition of a set X is a division of X into non-overlapping and non-empty "parts" or "blocks" or "cells" that cover all of X...

of X. The associated equivalence relation
Equivalence relation
In mathematics, an equivalence relation is a relation that, loosely speaking, partitions a set so that every element of the set is a member of one and only one cell of the partition. Two elements of the set are considered equivalent if and only if they are elements of the same cell...

is defined by saying x ~ y if and only if
If and only if
In logic and related fields such as mathematics and philosophy, if and only if is a biconditional logical connective between statements....

there exists a g in G with g·x = y. The orbits are then the equivalence classes under this relation; two elements x and y are equivalent if and only if their orbits are the same; i.e., Gx = Gy.

The set of all orbits of X under the action of G is written as X /G (or, less frequently: G \X), and is called the quotient of the action. In geometric situations it may be called the , while in algebraic situations it may be called the space of , and written by contrast with the invariants (fixed points), denoted the coinvariants are a quotient while the invariants are a subset. The coinvariant terminology and notation are used particularly in group cohomology
Group cohomology
In abstract algebra, homological algebra, algebraic topology and algebraic number theory, as well as in applications to group theory proper, group cohomology is a way to study groups using a sequence of functors H n. The study of fixed points of groups acting on modules and quotient modules...

and group homology, which use the same superscript/subscript convention.

### Invariant subsets

If Y is a subset
Subset
In mathematics, especially in set theory, a set A is a subset of a set B if A is "contained" inside B. A and B may coincide. The relationship of one set being a subset of another is called inclusion or sometimes containment...

of X, we write GY for the set { g·y : yY and gG}. We call the subset Y invariant under G if GY = Y (which is equivalent to GYY). In that case, G also operates on Y. The subset Y is called fixed under G if g·y = y for all g in G and all y in Y. Every subset that's fixed under G is also invariant under G, but not vice versa.

Every orbit is an invariant subset of X on which G acts transitively. The action of G on X is transitive if and only if all elements are equivalent, meaning that there is only one orbit.

### Stabilizer subgroup

For every x in X, we define the stabilizer subgroup of x (also called the isotropy group or little group) as the set of all elements in G that fix x:
This is a subgroup
Subgroup
In group theory, given a group G under a binary operation *, a subset H of G is called a subgroup of G if H also forms a group under the operation *. More precisely, H is a subgroup of G if the restriction of * to H x H is a group operation on H...

of G, though typically not a normal one. The action of G on X is free if and only if all stabilizers are trivial. The kernel N of the homomorphism G → Sym(X) is given by the intersection
Intersection (set theory)
In mathematics, the intersection of two sets A and B is the set that contains all elements of A that also belong to B , but no other elements....

of the stabilizers Gx for all x in X.

A useful result is the following. Let x and y be two distinct elements in X, and let g be a group element such that . Then the two isotropy groups and are related by . Let us prove this: by definition if and only if . Applying to both sides of this equality we get ; that is, . This shows that if and only if .

### Orbit-stabilizer theorem

Orbits and stabilizers are closely related. For a fixed x in X, consider the map from G to X given by g g·x. The image
Image (mathematics)
In mathematics, an image is the subset of a function's codomain which is the output of the function on a subset of its domain. Precisely, evaluating the function at each element of a subset X of the domain produces a set called the image of X under or through the function...

of this map is the orbit of x and the coimage
Coimage
In algebra, the coimage of a homomorphismis the quotientof domain and kernel.The coimage is canonically isomorphic to the image by the first isomorphism theorem, when that theorem applies....

is the set of all left coset
Coset
In mathematics, if G is a group, and H is a subgroup of G, and g is an element of G, thenA coset is a left or right coset of some subgroup in G...

s of Gx. The standard quotient theorem of set theory then gives a natural bijection
Bijection
A bijection is a function giving an exact pairing of the elements of two sets. A bijection from the set X to the set Y has an inverse function from Y to X. If X and Y are finite sets, then the existence of a bijection means they have the same number of elements...

between G /Gx and Gx. Specifically, the bijection is given by hGx h·x. This result is known as the orbit-stabilizer theorem.

If G and X are finite then the orbit-stabilizer theorem, together with Lagrange's theorem
Lagrange's theorem (group theory)
Lagrange's theorem, in the mathematics of group theory, states that for any finite group G, the order of every subgroup H of G divides the order of G. The theorem is named after Joseph Lagrange....

, gives

This result is especially useful since it can be employed for counting arguments.

Note that if two elements x and y belong to the same orbit, then their stabilizer subgroups, Gx and Gy, are conjugate
Conjugacy class
In mathematics, especially group theory, the elements of any group may be partitioned into conjugacy classes; members of the same conjugacy class share many properties, and study of conjugacy classes of non-abelian groups reveals many important features of their structure...

(in particular, they are isomorphic
Group isomorphism
In abstract algebra, a group isomorphism is a function between two groups that sets up a one-to-one correspondence between the elements of the groups in a way that respects the given group operations. If there exists an isomorphism between two groups, then the groups are called isomorphic...

). More precisely: if y = g·x, then Gy = gGx g−1. Points with conjugate stabilizer subgroups are said to have the same orbit-type.

A result closely related to the orbit-stabilizer theorem is Burnside's lemma
Burnside's lemma
Burnside's lemma, sometimes also called Burnside's counting theorem, the Cauchy-Frobenius lemma or the orbit-counting theorem, is a result in group theory which is often useful in taking account of symmetry when counting mathematical objects. Its various eponyms include William Burnside, George...

:

where Xg is the set of points fixed by g. This result is mainly of use when G and X are finite, when it can be interpreted as follows: the number of orbits is equal to the average number of points fixed per group element.

The set of formal differences of finite G-sets forms a ring
Ring (mathematics)
In mathematics, a ring is an algebraic structure consisting of a set together with two binary operations usually called addition and multiplication, where the set is an abelian group under addition and a semigroup under multiplication such that multiplication distributes over addition...

called the Burnside ring
Burnside ring
In mathematics, the Burnside ring of a finite group is an algebraic construction that encodes the different ways the group can act on finite sets...

, where addition corresponds to disjoint union
Disjoint union
In mathematics, the term disjoint union may refer to one of two different concepts:* In set theory, a disjoint union is a modified union operation that indexes the elements according to which set they originated in; disjoint sets have no element in common.* In probability theory , a disjoint union...

, and multiplication to Cartesian product
Cartesian product
In mathematics, a Cartesian product is a construction to build a new set out of a number of given sets. Each member of the Cartesian product corresponds to the selection of one element each in every one of those sets...

.

A G-invariant element of X is xX such that g·x = x for all gG. The set of all such x is denoted XG and called the G-invariants of X. When X is a G-module
G-module
In mathematics, given a group G, a G-module is an abelian group M on which G acts compatibly with the abelian group structure on M. This widely applicable notion generalizes that of a representation of G...

, XG is the zeroth group cohomology
Group cohomology
In abstract algebra, homological algebra, algebraic topology and algebraic number theory, as well as in applications to group theory proper, group cohomology is a way to study groups using a sequence of functors H n. The study of fixed points of groups acting on modules and quotient modules...

group of G with coefficients in X, and the higher cohomology groups are the derived functor
Derived functor
In mathematics, certain functors may be derived to obtain other functors closely related to the original ones. This operation, while fairly abstract, unifies a number of constructions throughout mathematics.- Motivation :...

s of the functor
Functor
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a functor is a special type of mapping between categories. Functors can be thought of as homomorphisms between categories, or morphisms when in the category of small categories....

of G-invariants.

## Group actions and groupoids

The notion of group action can be put in a broader context by using the associated action groupoid
Groupoid
In mathematics, especially in category theory and homotopy theory, a groupoid generalises the notion of group in several equivalent ways. A groupoid can be seen as a:...

associated to the group action, thus allowing techniques from groupoid theory such as presentations and fibrations. Further the stabilisers of the action are the vertex groups, and the orbits of the action are the components, of the action groupoid. For more details, see the book Topology and groupoids referenced below.

This action groupoid comes with a morphism which is a covering morphism of groupoids. This allows a relation between such morphisms and covering maps in topology.

## Morphisms and isomorphisms between G-sets

If X and Y are two G-sets, we define a morphism from X to Y to be a function f : XY such that f(g·x) = g·f(x) for all g in G and all x in X. Morphisms of G-sets are also called equivariant maps or G-maps.

If such a function f is bijective, then its inverse is also a morphism, and we call f an isomorphism
Isomorphism
In abstract algebra, an isomorphism is a mapping between objects that shows a relationship between two properties or operations.  If there exists an isomorphism between two structures, the two structures are said to be isomorphic.  In a certain sense, isomorphic structures are...

and the two G-sets X and Y are called isomorphic; for all practical purposes, they are indistinguishable in this case.

Some example isomorphisms:
• Every regular G action is isomorphic to the action of G on G given by left multiplication.
• Every free G action is isomorphic to G×S, where S is some set and G acts by left multiplication on the first coordinate.
• Every transitive G action is isomorphic to left multiplication by G on the set of left coset
Coset
In mathematics, if G is a group, and H is a subgroup of G, and g is an element of G, thenA coset is a left or right coset of some subgroup in G...

s of some subgroup
Subgroup
In group theory, given a group G under a binary operation *, a subset H of G is called a subgroup of G if H also forms a group under the operation *. More precisely, H is a subgroup of G if the restriction of * to H x H is a group operation on H...

H of G.

With this notion of morphism, the collection of all G-sets forms a category
Category theory
Category theory is an area of study in mathematics that examines in an abstract way the properties of particular mathematical concepts, by formalising them as collections of objects and arrows , where these collections satisfy certain basic conditions...

; this category is a Grothendieck topos (in fact, assuming a classical metalogic, this topos will even be Boolean).

## Continuous group actions

One often considers continuous group actions: the group G is a topological group
Topological group
In mathematics, a topological group is a group G together with a topology on G such that the group's binary operation and the group's inverse function are continuous functions with respect to the topology. A topological group is a mathematical object with both an algebraic structure and a...

, X is a topological space
Topological space
Topological spaces are mathematical structures that allow the formal definition of concepts such as convergence, connectedness, and continuity. They appear in virtually every branch of modern mathematics and are a central unifying notion...

, and the map G × X → X is continuous with respect to the product topology
Product topology
In topology and related areas of mathematics, a product space is the cartesian product of a family of topological spaces equipped with a natural topology called the product topology...

of G × X. The space X is also called a G-space in this case. This is indeed a generalization, since every group can be considered a topological group by using the discrete topology
Discrete space
In topology, a discrete space is a particularly simple example of a topological space or similar structure, one in which the points are "isolated" from each other in a certain sense.- Definitions :Given a set X:...

. All the concepts introduced above still work in this context, however we define morphisms between G-spaces to be continuous maps compatible with the action of G. The quotient X/G inherits the quotient topology from X, and is called the quotient space of the action. The above statements about isomorphisms for regular, free and transitive actions are no longer valid for continuous group actions.

If G is a discrete group acting on a topological space
Topological space
Topological spaces are mathematical structures that allow the formal definition of concepts such as convergence, connectedness, and continuity. They appear in virtually every branch of modern mathematics and are a central unifying notion...

X, the action is properly discontinuous
Properly discontinuous
In topology and related branches of mathematics, an action of a group G on a topological space X is called proper if the map from G×X to X×X taking to is proper, and is called properly discontinuous if in addition G is discrete...

if for any point x in X there is an open neighborhood U of x in X, such that the set of all for which consists of the identity only. If X is a regular covering space of another topological space Y, then the action of the deck transformation group  on X is properly discontinuous as well as being free. Every free, properly discontinuous action of a group G on a path-connected topological space X arises in this manner: the quotient map X  X/G is a regular covering map, and the deck transformation group is the given action of G on X. Furthermore, if X is simply connected, the fundamental group of will be isomorphic to .

These results have been generalised in the book Topology and Groupoids referenced below to obtain the fundamental groupoid of the orbit space of a discontinuous action of a discrete group on a Hausdorff space, as, under reasonable local conditions, the orbit groupoid of the fundamental groupoid of the space. This allows calculations such as the fundamental group of the symmetric square of a space X, namely the orbit space of the product of X with itself under the twist action of the cyclic group of order 2 sending (x,y) to (y,x).

An action of a group G on a locally compact space X is cocompact if there exists a compact subset A of X such that GA = X. For a properly discontinuous action, cocompactness is equivalent to compactness of the quotient space X/G.

The action of G on X is said to be proper if the mapping G×XX×X that sends (g,x)(gx,x) is a proper map
Proper map
In mathematics, a continuous function between topological spaces is called proper if inverse images of compact subsets are compact. In algebraic geometry, the analogous concept is called a proper morphism.- Definition :...

.

### Strongly continuous group action and smooth points

If is an action of a topological group on another topological space , one says that it is strongly continuous if for all , the map g  αg(x) is continuous with respect to the respective topologies. Such an action induces an action on the space of continuous function on by .

The subspace of smooth points for the action is the subspace of of points such that g  αg(x) is smooth; i.e., it is continuous and all derivatives are continuous.

## Generalizations

One can also consider actions of monoid
Monoid
In abstract algebra, a branch of mathematics, a monoid is an algebraic structure with a single associative binary operation and an identity element. Monoids are studied in semigroup theory as they are naturally semigroups with identity. Monoids occur in several branches of mathematics; for...

s on sets, by using the same two axioms as above. This does not define bijective maps and equivalence relations however. See semigroup action.

Instead of actions on sets, one can define actions of groups and monoids on objects of an arbitrary category
Category theory
Category theory is an area of study in mathematics that examines in an abstract way the properties of particular mathematical concepts, by formalising them as collections of objects and arrows , where these collections satisfy certain basic conditions...

: start with an object X of some category, and then define an action on X as a monoid homomorphism into the monoid of endomorphisms of X. If X has an underlying set, then all definitions and facts stated above can be carried over. For example, if we take the category of vector space
Vector space
A vector space is a mathematical structure formed by a collection of vectors: objects that may be added together and multiplied by numbers, called scalars in this context. Scalars are often taken to be real numbers, but one may also consider vector spaces with scalar multiplication by complex...

s, we obtain group representation
Group representation
In the mathematical field of representation theory, group representations describe abstract groups in terms of linear transformations of vector spaces; in particular, they can be used to represent group elements as matrices so that the group operation can be represented by matrix multiplication...

s in this fashion.

One can view a group G as a category with a single object in which every morphism
Morphism
In mathematics, a morphism is an abstraction derived from structure-preserving mappings between two mathematical structures. The notion of morphism recurs in much of contemporary mathematics...

is invertible. A group action is then nothing but a functor
Functor
In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a functor is a special type of mapping between categories. Functors can be thought of as homomorphisms between categories, or morphisms when in the category of small categories....

from G to the category of sets
Category of sets
In the mathematical field of category theory, the category of sets, denoted as Set, is the category whose objects are sets. The arrows or morphisms between sets A and B are all functions from A to B...

, and a group representation is a functor from G to the category of vector spaces
Category of vector spaces
In mathematics, especially category theory, the category K-Vect has all vector spaces over a fixed field K as objects and K-linear transformations as morphisms...

. A morphism between G-sets is then a natural transformation between the group action functors. In analogy, an action of a groupoid
Groupoid
In mathematics, especially in category theory and homotopy theory, a groupoid generalises the notion of group in several equivalent ways. A groupoid can be seen as a:...

is a functor from the groupoid to the category of sets or to some other category.

Without using the language of categories, one can extend the notion of a group action on a set X by studying as well its induced action on the power set of X. This is useful, for instance, in studying the action of the large Mathieu group
Mathieu group
In the mathematical field of group theory, the Mathieu groups, named after the French mathematician Émile Léonard Mathieu, are five finite simple groups he discovered and reported in papers in 1861 and 1873; these were the first sporadic simple groups discovered...

on a 24-set and in studying symmetry in certain models of finite geometries
Finite geometry
A finite geometry is any geometric system that has only a finite number of points.Euclidean geometry, for example, is not finite, because a Euclidean line contains infinitely many points, in fact as many points as there are real numbers...

.