[Math] Disjoint permutations

linear algebrapermutations

I have some exercise examples that were give at the exam last year, but I'm having trouble with what they're asking of me. It's also possible that I misunderstood or have an incorrect exercise. This is what it's like:

Define the disjoint permutation. (I'm guessing it's referring to say when two permutations are disjoint?). Give an example of two permutations that are disjoint and two that aren't.

This is the exercise that was supposedly given at the exam last year. Thing is, I couldn't find anything on disjoint permutations in the course notes. I know that a permutation can be written as a product of two disjoint cycles though, does that have anything to do with it?

Sorry for the vague question, I'm just trying to prepare for this exam.

Best Answer

Two permutations are disjoint if any point moved by one permutation is fixed by the other permutation. In other words, in the disjoint cycle decomposition of the two permutations, there is no overlap in the points that are written out. Equivalently, two permutations are disjoint if and only if they have disjoint support (the support of a permutation is the set of points moved by the permutation).

For example, in $S_9$, the permutations $(12)(34)$ and $(569)$ are disjoint permutations because the sets $\{1,2,3,4\}$ and $\{5,6,9\}$ are disjoint. The permutations $(12)(34)$ and $(561)$ are not disjoint.

Related Question