| Unit name | Representation Theory |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MATHM4600 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Rickard |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites | |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Mathematics |
| Faculty | Faculty of Science |
The basic idea of representation theory is to describe or represent some unfamiliar algebraic system - like a large finite group or an algebra - by a more familiar system - often a group or collection of matrices defined over the complex numbers. At present this is one of the main research areas in pure mathematics. The unit will introduce the basic concepts, prove some elementary results about characters, and apply them to derive a few important results in pure group theory, including Burnsides theorem on solubility of finite groups.
