Identity element
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In mathematics, an identity element (or neutral element) is a special type of element of a set with respect to a binary operation on that set. It leaves other elements unchanged when combined with them. This is used for groups and related concepts.
The term identity element is often shortened to identity when there is no possibility of confusion; we do so in this article.
Let (S,*) be a set S with a binary operation * on it (known as a magma). Then an element e of S is called a left identity if e * a = a for all a in S, and a right identity if a * e = a for all a in S. If e is both a left identity and a right identity, then it is called a two-sided identity, or simply an identity.
An identity with respect to addition is called an additive identity (often denoted as 0) and an identity with respect to multiplication is called a multiplicative identity (often denoted as 1). The distinction is used most often for sets that support both binary operations, such as rings. The multiplicative identity is often called the unit in the latter context, where, unfortunately, a unit is also sometimes used to mean an element with a multiplicative inverse.
[edit] Examples
| set | operation | identity |
|---|---|---|
| real numbers | + (addition) | 0 |
| real numbers | • (multiplication) | 1 |
| real numbers | ab (exponentiation) | 1 (right identity only) |
| m-by-n matrices | + (addition) | zero matrix |
| n-by-n square matrices | • (multiplication) | identity matrix |
| all functions from a set M to itself | ∘ (function composition) | identity map |
| character strings, lists | concatenation | empty string, empty list |
| extended real numbers | minimum/infimum | +∞ |
| extended real numbers | maximum/supremum | -∞ |
| subsets of a set M | ∩ (intersection) | M |
| sets | ∪ (union) | {} (empty set) |
| boolean logic | ∧ (logical and) | ⊤ (truth) |
| boolean logic | ∨ (logical or) | ⊥ (falsity) |
| only two elements {e, f} | * defined by e * e = f * e = e and f * f = e * f = f |
both e and f are left identities, but there is no right or two-sided identity |
As the last example shows, it is possible for (S,*) to have several left identities. In fact, every element can be a left identity. Similarly, there can be several right identities. But if there is both a right identity and a left identity, then they are equal and there is just a single two-sided identity. To see this, note that if l is a left identity and r is a right identity then l = l * r = r. In particular, there can never be more than one two-sided identity. If there were two, e and f, then e * f would have to be equal to both e and f.
