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For each prime there are exactly two nonabelian groups of order p3 up to isomorphism

Statement

For every prime p there are exactly two nonabelian groups of order p3 up to isomorphism. For odd p they are the Heisenberg group Hp, of exponent p, and the modular group Mp, of exponent p2. For p=2 they are Dih(C4) and Q8.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: A prime p and a nonabelian group P with P=p3.

[F1]

The Heisenberg group of order p3 is the set Hp of triples over Z/p with (a,b,c)(a,b,c):=(a+a,b+b,c+c+ab) (The Heisenberg group of order p3 over Z/p).

[F2]

The modular group of order p3 is Mp=AαB with A=a of order p2, B=s of order p and sas1=a1+p (The modular group of order p3 as a semidirect product Cp2Cp).

[F3]

Z(G):={zG:zg=gz for every gG} (The center Z(G) of a group).

[F4]

For g,hG the commutator is [g,h]:=ghg1h1 (Commutators [g,h]=ghg1h1 and the commutator subgroup [G,G]).

[F5]

For a finite group G, exp(G)=min{nN:n>0 and gn=e for every gG} (The exponent of a finite group).

[F8]

For a group G and a prime p, Gp=gp:gG (The pth-power subgroup Gp).

[L1]

A nonabelian group of order p3 is extraspecial, with Z(P)=[P,P]=Φ(P) of order p and P/Z(P) elementary abelian of order p2 (A nonabelian group of order p3 is extraspecial).

[L2]

For a finite p-group P the following are equivalent: P is extraspecial; P is nonabelian, Z(P)=p and P/Z(P) is elementary abelian; P is nonabelian and Z(P)=P=Φ(P) has order p (Three equivalent descriptions of an extraspecial p-group).

[L3]

For every finite p-group P, Φ(P)=PPp (Φ(P)=PPp for a finite p-group).

[L4]

If [x,y]e in an extraspecial p-group P, then x,y contains Z(P), has order p3, is nonabelian, and is extraspecial with centre Z(P) (Two elements of an extraspecial p-group with nontrivial commutator generate an extraspecial subgroup of order p3).

[L5]

If [G,G]Z(G) then [xy,w]=[x,w][y,w], [x,yw]=[x,y][x,w], and [xn,y]=[x,y]n=[x,yn] for every integer n (Commutator identities in a group whose derived subgroup is central).

[L6]

For an odd prime p and a finite group G with [G,G]Z(G) of exponent dividing p, (xy)p=xpyp for all x,y (For an odd prime p, the p-th power map is a homomorphism on a finite group whose derived subgroup is central of exponent dividing p).

[L7]

Z(Hp)=[Hp,Hp] is the third coordinate axis, of order p; Hp is extraspecial; and for odd p its exponent is p (The Heisenberg group of order p3 is extraspecial, and for odd p it has exponent p).

[L8]

The Heisenberg multiplication is a group law with identity (0,0,0) and inverse (a,b,c)1=(a,b,c+ab), the group is nonabelian of order p3, and (1,0,0)a=(a,0,0), (0,1,0)b=(0,b,0), (0,0,1)c=(0,0,c) (The Heisenberg multiplication is a group law, nonabelian, on a set of p3 elements).

[L9]

Mp is nonabelian of order p3, extraspecial of exponent p2, with Z(Mp)=[Mp,Mp]=ap; at p=2 it is Dih(C4) (The modular group of order p3 is extraspecial, of exponent p2 when p is odd).

[L10]

Dih(C4) and Q8 are extraspecial of order 8, with exactly six and exactly two solutions of x2=1 respectively (Dih(C4) and Q8 are extraspecial of order 8, with six and two solutions of x2=1 respectively).

[L11]

The conditions NG, G=NH, NH={1} hold if and only if conjugation restricts to an action α:HAut(N) and (n,h)nh is an isomorphism NαHG carrying the canonical factors onto N and H ( Recognition theorem: G=NH with NG, NH=1 exactly realises an external semidirect product).

[L12]

For n1, Dih(Cn)=CnC2 with rn=s2=1 and srs1=r1, of order 2n ( Dih(Cn)=CnC2 with inversion action has order 2n and the dihedral relations).

[L14]

Q8=8, the element 1 is its only element of order two, and each of ±i,±j,±k has order four (Q8 is a subgroup of H× with eight elements, and 1 is its only element of order 2).

[L15]

For a finite group G and HG, G=[G:H]H (Lagrange's theorem: G=[G:H]H for every subgroup H of a finite group G).

[L17]

A cyclic group with a generator of finite order n is isomorphic to (Z/n,+) (Every cyclic group is isomorphic to (Z,+) or to (Z/n,+) for its finite order n1).

Proof

technique · cases
1.1

P is extraspecial: Z(P)=[P,P]=Φ(P)=z has order p, and V=P/Z(P) is elementary abelian of order p2.

F3F4L1L2
1.2

Since Φ(P)=[P,P]Pp contains Pp, every gP has gpZ(P).

F8L1L3
1.3

Every element order divides p3; an element of order p3 would generate P and make it abelian, so every element has order dividing p2 and exp(P) is p or p2.

F5F6F7L15L16
1.4

For odd p the groups Hp and Mp are nonabelian of order p3 with exponents p and p2, so they are not isomorphic.

F5L7L8L9
1.5

The groups Dih(C4) and Q8 are nonabelian of order eight and have six and two solutions of x2=1, so they are not isomorphic.

L10
1.6

First case: suppose gp=e for every gP. At p=2 this makes P abelian, since gh=(gh)1=h1g1=hg; so p is odd here.

F7L16assume-case expp
1.7

Second case: suppose instead that P has an element a of order p2. Then a has order p2 and index p, and ap is a nonidentity element of Z(P), so Z(P)=ap.

F6F7L15L16assume-case exppsq
2.1

In the first case, nonabelianness gives x,y with [x,y]e; then z:=[x,y] generates Z(P) and x,y has order p3, so P=x,y.

F4F6L4step 1.1step 1.6
2.2

In the second case, choose ba; then a,b properly contains a subgroup of index p and so equals P, and [b,a]e since otherwise P would be abelian.

F4F6L15step 1.7
3.1

In the first case every element of P is uniquely xuyvzw with u,v,w in {0,,p1}: the images xˉ,yˉ generate V, so the products xuyv meet every coset of Z(P)={zw}, and there are exactly p3 such triples of exponents.

F3F6L1L15step 2.1
3.2

In the second case [b,a] lies in ap and is not the identity, so [b,a]=apk with pk; choosing k with kk1(modp) and replacing b by bk, which still lies outside a because its image in V is nontrivial, gives [b,a]=ap, that is bab1=a1+p. Moreover bpZ(P)=ap, say bp=apm.

F4L5L16step 1.2step 1.7step 2.2
4.1

In the first case the class-two identities give yvxu=[yv,xu]xuyv=zuvxuyv, so (xuyvzw)(xuyvzw)=xu+uyv+vzw+wuv, all exponents read modulo p because xp=yp=zp=e.

F4L5L16step 1.6step 3.1
4.2

In the second case with p odd, the p-th power map is a homomorphism, so c=bam has cp=bp(am)p=e; also ca, and cac1=bab1=a1+p.

L6L16step 3.2assume-case odd
4.3

In the second case with p=2, the element b2 lies in {e,a2}, and the relation reads bab1=a3=a1.

L16step 3.2assume-case two
5.1

In Hp put X=(1,0,0), Y=(0,1,0) and W=(0,0,1). Then XY=(1,1,1), YX=(1,1,0) and (YX)1=(1,1,1), so [X,Y]=(XY)(YX)1=(0,0,1)=W, which generates Z(Hp); for odd p every element of Hp has p-th power the identity, so steps 3.1 and 4.1 hold verbatim in Hp with X,Y,W in place of x,y,z.

F1F4L4L7L8step 3.1step 4.1
5.2

In the second case with p odd, a is normal because c conjugates it into itself and a normalises it, ac is trivial because ca and c has prime order, and ac=p3, so P=ac is an internal semidirect product whose conjugation action sends a to a1+p; hence PMp.

F2F6L11L15L17step 4.2
5.3

In the second case with p=2 and b2=e: a is normal of index two, ab is trivial, and b acts on a by inversion, so P is the internal semidirect product of a cyclic group of order four by a cyclic group of order two acting by inversion, that is PDih(C4).

F6L11L12L15L17step 4.3
5.4

In the second case with p=2 and b2=a2: the eight elements aubv with 0u<4 and v{0,1} are distinct and exhaust P, and the relations a4=e, b2=a2 and ba=a1b determine every product of two of them. The quaternion group satisfies the same three relations with i for a and j for b, since i4=1, j2=1=i2 and ji=k=i1j, and ji, so its eight elements have the same normal form; matching normal forms is therefore an isomorphism and PQ8.

F6L13L14L15L16step 4.3
6.1

In the first case, matching normal forms gives a bijection HpP carrying XuYvWw to xuyvzw, and both products are computed by the same rule, so it is an isomorphism and PHp.

step 3.1step 4.1step 5.1
7.1

The two cases are exhaustive, and within the second the two parities are exhaustive; so for odd p every nonabelian group of order p3 is isomorphic to Hp or to Mp, and for p=2 to Dih(C4) or to Q8. With the two non-isomorphy statements this gives exactly two isomorphism classes at every prime.

step 1.3step 1.4step 1.5step 5.2step 5.3step 5.4step 6.1cases-exhaustive

Remarks

The parity of p enters twice and in opposite directions. It rules out the exponent-p case at p=2, where it forces commutativity; and it is what allows the correction of the second generator in the exponent-p2 case, since that correction is made with the p-th power homomorphism, which is available only for odd p. At p=2 the correction is not available and the two possible values of b2 produce the two groups of order eight.

Depends on

Used by

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Sources