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TheoremStatement: Literature-sourcedProof: AI-adaptedSession-authored (Fable 5 assisted)precheck passaudited 2026-08-11
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Every permutation of a finite set is a product of pairwise disjoint cycles, uniquely up to reordering and cyclic rotation

Statement

Every permutation of a finite set is a product of pairwise disjoint cycles, uniquely up to reordering the factors and cyclically rotating the entries within each cycle. The identity permutation has the empty disjoint-cycle decomposition.

Facts & Assumptions

Given: A finite set XX and a permutation σSym(X)\sigma\in\operatorname{Sym}(X); the cyclic subgroup σ\langle\sigma\rangle acts on XX by evaluation.

[L1]

A disjoint-cycle decomposition is a product of pairwise disjoint cycles of length at least 22; its omitted one-cycles are the fixed points (Support, fixed points, disjoint cycles, cycle length, disjoint-cycle decompositions, and cycle type).

[L3]

The cyclic subgroup σ\langle\sigma\rangle is exactly the set of integer powers {σr:rZ}\{\sigma^r:r\in\mathbb Z\} (g={gn:nZ}\langle g \rangle = \{\, g^{n} : n \in \mathbb{Z} \,\}, and every cyclic group is abelian).

[L4]

Cycles with disjoint supports commute (Cycles with disjoint supports commute).

Proof

technique · direct
1.1

The evaluation rule is an action by the Given, and [L3] identifies its orbit at xx as {σr(x):rZ}\{\sigma^r(x):r\in\mathbb Z\}; by [L2] these orbits partition XX.

givenL2L3
2.1

Fix an orbit OO. Since OO is finite, the sequence x,σ(x),σ2(x),x,\sigma(x),\sigma^2(x),\ldots first repeats; bijectivity of σ\sigma makes the first repeated value xx. If the least positive return time is dd, then O={x,σ(x),,σd1(x)}O=\{x,\sigma(x),\ldots,\sigma^{d-1}(x)\} and σ\sigma restricts to the cycle (xσ(x)σd1(x))(x\,\sigma(x)\,\ldots\,\sigma^{d-1}(x)); when d=1d=1, xx is fixed.

step 1.1L1
3.1

The cycles obtained from the non-singleton orbits have pairwise disjoint supports, and their product agrees with σ\sigma on each orbit and fixes every singleton orbit. Their product is therefore σ\sigma; if every orbit is a singleton, this is the empty product.

step 2.1L1L2
4.1

In any disjoint-cycle decomposition of σ\sigma, [L4] allows powers to be taken factor by factor, while every factor except the unique one supporting a given point fixes that point. Thus successive powers of σ\sigma move the point exactly around that factor's support, so the support is the point's intrinsic σ\langle\sigma\rangle-orbit. Hence the factor supports are forced, and the cycle on each support is forced up to its starting point, which is cyclic rotation; only the order of the disjoint factors remains free.

step 3.1L1L2L3L4

Depends on

Used by

Dependency tree · next 3 levels

Direct dependencies and their dependencies through the next three levels: 65 results over 18 levels. An arrow runs from a result to what uses it, and this result sits at the bottom with a heavier outline. Click the chart to enlarge it.

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