diff --git a/src/group-theory/epimorphisms-groups.lagda.md b/src/group-theory/epimorphisms-groups.lagda.md index 3c505f64a5..46ac75f57e 100644 --- a/src/group-theory/epimorphisms-groups.lagda.md +++ b/src/group-theory/epimorphisms-groups.lagda.md @@ -22,10 +22,17 @@ open import group-theory.precategory-of-groups ## Idea -A group homomorphism `f : x → y` is a epimorphism if whenever we have two group -homomorphisms `g h : y → w` such that `g ∘ f = h ∘ f`, then in fact `g = h`. The -way to state this in Homotopy Type Theory is to say that precomposition by `f` -is an embedding. +A [group homomorphism](group-theory.homomorphisms-groups.md) `f : G → H` is an +**epimorphism** if the precomposition function + +```text + - ∘ f : hom-Group H K → hom-Group G K +``` + +is an [embedding](foundation.embeddings.md) for any +[group](group-theory.groups.md) `K`. In other words, `f` is an epimorphism if +for any two group homomorphisms `g h : H → K` we have that `g ∘ f = h ∘ f` +implies `g = h`. ## Definition @@ -61,3 +68,44 @@ module _ is-epi-iso-Group = is-epi-iso-Large-Precategory Group-Large-Precategory l3 G H f ``` + +### A group homomorphism is surjective if and only if it is an epimorphism + +**Proof using the law of excluded middle:** The forward direction of this claim +is the easier of the two directions, and this part of the proof doesn't require +the [law of excluded middle](foundation.law-of-excluded-middle.md). If `f` is +[surjective](foundation.surjective-maps.md) and `g h : H → K` are two group +homomorphisms such that `g ∘ f = h ∘ f`, then to show that `g = h` it suffices +to show that `g y = h y` for any `y : H`. Since we are proving a +[proposition](foundation.propositions.md) and `f` is assumed to be surjective, +we may assume `x : G` equipped with an +[identification](foundation.identity-types.md) `f x = y`. It therefore suffices +to show that `g (f x) = h (f x)`, which was assumed. + +For the converse, suppose that `f : G → H` is an epimorphism and consider the +[image subgroup](group-theory.images-of-group-homomorphisms.md) `I := im f` of +`H`. We first show that `I` is [normal](group-theory.normal-subgroups.md), and +then we show that `I = H`. + +In order to show that `I` is normal, we want to show that `I` has only one +conjugacy class, namely itself. Consider the group `K` of permutations of the +set of [conjugate](group-theory.conjugation.md) +[subgroups](group-theory.subgroups.md) of the subgroup `I` of `H`. There is a +group homomorphism `α : H → K` given by `h ↦ J ↦ hJh⁻¹`, where `J` ranges over +the conjugacy classes of `I`. Notice that `I` itself is a fixed point of the +conjugation operation `J ↦ f(x)Jf(x)⁻¹`, i.e., `I` is a fixed point of +`α(f(x))`. We claim that there is another homomorphism `β : H → K` given by +`h ↦ α(h) ∘ (I h⁻¹Ih)`, where we precompose with the +[transposition](finite-group-theory.transpositions.md) `(I h⁻¹Ih)`. This +transposition is defined using the law of excluded middle. However, note that +`I` is always a fixed point of `β(h)`, for any `h : H`. Furthermore, we have +`α(f(x)) = β(f(x))`. Therefore it follows from the assumption that `f` is an +epimorphism that `α = β`. In other words, `I` is a fixed point of any +conjugation operation `J ↦ hJh⁻¹`. We conclude that `I` is normal. + +Since `I` is normal, we may consider the +[quotient group](group-theory.quotient-groups.md) `H/I`. Now we observe that the +quotient map maps `f(x)` to the unit of `H/I`. Using the assumption that `f` is +an epimorphism once more, we conclude that the quotient map `H → H/I` is the +[trivial homomorphism](group-theory.trivial-group-homomorphisms.md). Therefore +it follows that `I = H`. This completes the proof.