Classification of Finitely Generated Abelian Groups
Classification of Finitely Generated Abelian Groups
Classification of Finitely Generated Abelian Groups
The proof given below uses vector space techniques (Smith Normal Form) and gener-
alizes from abelian groups to “modules over PIDs” (essentially generalized vector spaces).
Smith Normal Form is a reduced form similar to the row reduced matrices encountered in
elementary linear algebra. It is used in number theory to solve systems of linear diophan-
tine (integer!) equations much like row reduced matrices are used to solve linear systems
in elementary linear algebra.
Definition: An abelian group G is finitely generated if there are a finite number of
elements g1 , . . ., gn called generators which generate G:
0 ... 0 0 ... 0