Galois Group - Definition

Definition

Suppose that E is an extension of the field F (written as E/F and read E over F). An automorphism of E/F is defined to be an automorphism of E that fixes F pointwise. In other words, an automorphism of E/F is an isomorphism α from E to E such that α(x) = x for each x in F. The set of all automorphisms of E/F forms a group with the operation of function composition. This group is sometimes denoted by Aut(E/F).

If E/F is a Galois extension, then Aut(E/F) is called the Galois group of (the extension) E over F, and is usually denoted by Gal(E/F).

Read more about this topic:  Galois Group

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