Group homomorphism

In mathematics, given two groups, (G, ∗) and (H, ·), a group homomorphism from (G, ∗) to (H, ·) is a function h : G → H such that for all u and v in G it holds that h ( u ∗ v ) = h ( u ) ⋅ h ( v ) {\displaystyle h(u*v)=h(u)\cdot h(v)} where the group operation on the left hand side of the equation is that of G and on the right hand side that of H. From this property, one can deduce that h maps the identity element eG of G to the identity element eH of H, h ( e G ) = e H {\displaystyle h(e_{G})=e_{H}} and it also maps inverses to inverses in the sense that h ( u − 1 ) = h ( u ) − 1 . {\displaystyle h\left(u^{-1}\right)=h(u)^{-1}.\,} Hence one can say that h "is compatible with the group structure". Older notations for the homomorphism h(x) may be xh or xh, though this may be confused as an index or a general subscript. A more recent trend is to write group homomorphisms on the right of their arguments, omitting brackets, so that h(x) becomes simply x h. This approach is especially prevalent in areas of group theory where automata play a role, since it accords better with the convention that automata read words from left to right. In areas of mathematics where one considers groups endowed with additional structure, a homomorphism sometimes means a map which respects not only the group structure (as above) but also the extra structure. For example, a homomorphism of topological groups is often required to be continuous.