GroupTheory
QuaternionGroup
construct a generalized quaternion group
Calling Sequence
Parameters
Description
Examples
Compatibility
QuaternionGroup( n )
QuaternionGroup( f )
n
-
(optional) an integer greater than or equal to 3.
f
(optional) equation of the form form = "permgroup" (default) or form = "fpgroup"
The QuaternionGroup( n ) calling sequence constructs a generalized quaternion group of order 2n, where 3≤n is an integer.
The argument n is optional, and is taken to be equal to 3 by default, so the calling sequence QuaternionGroup() returns a quaternion group of order 8.
The quaternion group is one of the two non-abelian groups of order 8, (the other being the dihedral group of degree 4). It is notable because it is an example of a Hamiltonian group - every one of its subgroups is normal - and it appears as a subgroup of every non-Abelian Hamiltonian group.
The generalized quaternion group is constructed as a permutation group by default.
But, you can pass the option 'form' = "fpgroup" or 'form' = "permgroup" to cause the QuaternionGroup command to return a group of the indicated class.
In the Standard Worksheet interface, you can insert this group into a document or worksheet by using the Group Constructors palette.
with⁡GroupTheory:
QuaternionGroup⁡
Q
QuaternionGroup⁡form=permgroup
QuaternionGroup⁡form=fpgroup
GroupOrder⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
8
There are only two non-Abelian groups of order eight.
SearchSmallGroups⁡order=8,abelian=false
8,3,8,4
One of these is the Quaternion group.
IdentifySmallGroup⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
8,4
The dihedral group of order 8 (and degree 4) is the other group of order 8. It is not isomorphic to the quaternion group.
AreIsomorphic⁡QuaternionGroup⁡,DihedralGroup⁡4
false
However, the quaternion and dihedral groups of order eight do have the same character tables.
ctQ≔CharacterTable⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
ctQ≔
ctD≔CharacterTable⁡DihedralGroup⁡4
ctD≔
EqualEntries⁡GetMatrix⁡ctQ,GetMatrix⁡ctD
true
(Notice, however, that the quaternion group has a single conjugacy class of involutions, while the dihedral group of order 8 has three conjugacy classes of involutions.)
GraphTheory:-DrawGraph⁡CayleyGraph⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
DrawCayleyTable⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
DrawSubgroupLattice⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
The quaternion group is an example of a Hamiltonian group - every one of its subgroups is normal. This is evident from the subgroup lattice diagram above; alternatively, Hamiltonicity can be demonstrated, as follows.
andmap⁡IsNormal,convert⁡SubgroupLattice⁡QuaternionGroup⁡,list,QuaternionGroup⁡
Like the dihedral group of order 8, the quaternion group is an extra-special 2-group.
map⁡GroupOrder,Centre,DerivedSubgroup,FrattiniSubgroup⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
2,2,2
map⁡op@Generators,Centre,DerivedSubgroup,FrattiniSubgroup⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
1,32,45,86,7
The quaternion group of order 8 is Hamiltonian, but generalized quaternion groups of larger order are not.
IsHamiltonian⁡QuaternionGroup⁡
IsHamiltonian⁡QuaternionGroup⁡5
Quaternion groups do not have perfect order classes.
IsPerfectOrderClassesGroup⁡QuaternionGroup⁡4
The GroupTheory[QuaternionGroup] command was introduced in Maple 17.
For more information on Maple 17 changes, see Updates in Maple 17.
See Also
GroupTheory[AreIsomorphic]
GroupTheory[DicyclicGroup]
GroupTheory[DihedralGroup]
GroupTheory[GroupOrder]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quaternion_group
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