Alphabeta Math
CorollaryStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-adaptedprecheck passaudited 2026-08-26
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The first chip identifies the source of the statement or construction; the second identifies the source of its local proof or verification.

  • Literature-sourced: the exact statement appears in a cited source; only wording and notation differ.
  • AI-adapted: a semantically identical restatement of literature-sourced material, modulo indexing, notation, and boundary cases adopted by the library.
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With respect to a free basis, the word length of an element is the length of its reduced word

Statement

With respect to a free basis, the word length of an element is the length of its reduced word.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: The hypotheses of the Statement.

[F1]

The word length ∣g∣S is the least n such that g is a product of n elements of S∪S−1 (Word length of a group element with respect to a generating set).

[L1]

Word length is defined on every element and satisfies ∣gh∣S≤∣g∣S+∣h∣S, ∣g−1∣S=∣g∣S, and ∣g∣S=0 exactly when g is the identity (Word length is defined on every element and satisfies the subadditivity, inversion and vanishing laws).

[L2]

The Cayley graph of a free group with respect to a free basis is a tree (The Cayley graph of a free group with respect to a free basis is a tree).

[L3]

An elementary cancellation deletes two adjacent letters xx−1 or x−1x. A word is reduced if no elementary cancellation applies. (Words in an alphabet with formal inverses, elementary cancellation, and reduced words).

[L4]

The reduced words on X⊔X−1 form a group when the product of reduced words is their concatenation followed by free reduction. (Reduced words form the free group on an alphabet).

[L5]

Every class in W(X)/∼ contains exactly one reduced word. (Every class in W(X)/∼ contains exactly one reduced word).

[L6]

The subset B is a free basis of F if (F,i) is a free group on the set B in the sense of. (A free basis of a group).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1F1L1L3L6

A reduced word of length n is an expression of length n, so the word length is at most the reduced length.

2.1F1L2L3L4L5step 1.1∎

An expression shorter than the reduced word would free-reduce to a second reduced word for the same element, contradicting uniqueness of normal form.

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · two levels

24 results within two dependency steps of this one, each drawn at its shortest distance from it. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, so the chart reads left to right and ends at this result, which carries a heavier outline. Every node is a link to that result. Click elsewhere on the chart to enlarge it.

Sources