Definition:Power of Element/Monoid

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Definition

Let $\struct {S, \circ}$ be a monoid whose identity element is $e$.

Let $a \in S$.

Let $n \in \N$.


The definition $a^n = \map {\circ^n} a$ as the $n$th power of $a$ in a semigroup can be extended to allow an exponent of $0$:

$a^n = \begin {cases} e & : n = 0 \\ a^{n - 1} \circ a & : n > 0 \end{cases}$

or:

$n \cdot a = \begin {cases} e & : n = 0 \\ \paren {\paren {n - 1} \cdot a} \circ a & : n > 0 \end{cases}$


The validity of this definition follows from the fact that a monoid has an identity element.


Invertible Element

Let $b \in S$ be invertible for $\circ$.

Let $n \in \Z$.


The definition $b^n = \map {\circ^n} b$ as the $n$th power of $b$ in $\left({S, \circ}\right)$ can be extended to include the inverse of $b$:

$b^{-n} = \paren {b^{-1} }^n$


Sources