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Orbit-stabilizer theorem

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The orbit-stabilizer theorem is a combinatorial result in group theory.

Let G be a group acting on a set S. For any i \in S, let \text{stab}(i) denote the stabilizer of i, and let \text{orb}(i) denote the orbit of i. The orbit-stabilizer theorem states that \lvert G \rvert = \lvert \text{orb}(i) \rvert \cdot \lvert \text{stab}(i) \rvert .

Proof. Without loss of generality, let G operate on S from the right. We note that if \alpha, \beta are elements of G such that \alpha(i) = \beta(i), then \alpha^{-1} \beta \in \stab(i). Hence for any x \in \text{orb}(i), the set of elements \alpha of G for which \alpha(i)= x constitute a unique left coset modulo \text{stab}(i). Thus \lvert \text{orb}(i) \rvert = \lvert G/\text{stab}(i) \rvert. The result then follows from Lagrange's Theorem. \blacksquare

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