Powers of Infinite Order Element
From ProofWiki
Theorem
Let $G$ be a group whose identity is $e$.
Let $a \in G$ have infinite order in $G$.
Then:
- $\forall m, n \in \Z: m \ne n \implies a^m \ne a^n$
Proof
Let $m, n \in Z$. Then:
| \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle a^m\) | \(=\) | \(\displaystyle a^n\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | |||
| \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \implies\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle a^m \left({a^n}\right)^{-1}\) | \(=\) | \(\displaystyle e \land a^n \left({a^m}\right)^{-1} = e\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | |||
| \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \implies\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle a^{m-n}\) | \(=\) | \(\displaystyle a^{n-m} = e\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | |||
| \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \implies\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle m - n\) | \(=\) | \(\displaystyle 0 \land n - m = 0\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | |||
| \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \implies\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle m\) | \(=\) | \(\displaystyle n\) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) | \(\displaystyle \) |
The result follows from transposition.
$\blacksquare$
Sources
- Thomas A. Whitelaw: An Introduction to Abstract Algebra (1978)... (previous)... (next): $\S 38.2$