Abstract algebra

:This article is about the branch of mathematics. For other uses of the term "algebra" see algebra (disambiguation).

History and examples

Historically, algebraic structures usually arose first in some other field of mathematics, were specified axiomatically, and were then studied in their own right in abstract algebra. Because of this, abstract algebra has numerous fruitful connections to all other branches of mathematics.

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Examples of algebraic structures with a single binary operation are:

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• magmas,
• quasigroups,
• monoids, semigroups and, most important, groups.

More complicated examples include:

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• rings and fields
• modules and vector spaces
• algebras over fields
• associative algebras and Lie algebras
• lattices and Boolean algebras

In universal algebra, all those definitions and facts are collected that apply to all algebraic structures alike. All the above classes of objects, together with the proper notion of homomorphism, form categories, and category theory frequently provides the formalism for translating between and comparing different algebraic structures.

Related Topics:
Universal algebra - Homomorphism - Categories

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