Whitehead's lemma
Whitehead's lemma is a technical result in abstract algebra used in algebraic K-theory. It states that a matrix of the form
is equivalent to the identity matrix by elementary transformations (that is, transvections):
Here, indicates a matrix whose diagonal block is and entry is .
The name "Whitehead's lemma" also refers to the closely related result that the derived group of the stable general linear group is the group generated by elementary matrices.[1][2] In symbols,
- .
This holds for the stable group (the direct limit of matrices of finite size) over any ring, but not in general for the unstable groups, even over a field. For instance for
one has:
where Alt(3) and Sym(3) denote the alternating resp. symmetric group on 3 letters.
References
- Milnor, John Willard (1971). Introduction to algebraic K-theory. Annals of Mathematics Studies. Vol. 72. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Section 3.1. MR 0349811. Zbl 0237.18005.
- Snaith, V. P. (1994). Explicit Brauer Induction: With Applications to Algebra and Number Theory. Cambridge Studies in Advanced Mathematics. Vol. 40. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN 0-521-46015-8. Zbl 0991.20005.
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