Direct sum

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For other uses of the symbol see (disambiguation).

The direct sum is an operation from abstract algebra, a branch of mathematics. For example, the direct sum R R
, where R is real coordinate space, is the Cartesian plane, R2 . To see how direct sum is used in abstract algebra,
consider a more elementary structure in abstract algebra, the abelian group. The direct sum of two abelian groups A
and B is another abelian group A B consisting of the ordered pairs (a, b) where a A and b B . To add ordered
pairs, we dene the sum (a, b) + (c, d) to be (a + c, b + d) ; in other words addition is dened coordinate-wise. A
similar process can be used to form the direct sum of any two algebraic structures, such as rings, modules, and vector
spaces.
We can also form direct sums with any number of summands, for example A B C , provided A, B, and C are
the same kinds of algebraic structures, that is, all groups, rings, vector spaces, etc.
In the case of two summands, or any nite number of summands, the direct sum is the same as the direct product. If
the arithmetic operation is written as +, as it usually is in abelian groups, then we use the direct sum. If the arithmetic
operation is written as or or using juxtaposition (as in the expression xy ) we use direct product.
In the case where innitely many objects are combined, most authors make a distinction between direct sum and
direct product. As an example, consider the direct sum and direct product of innitely many real lines. An element in
the direct product is an innite sequence, such as (1,2,3,...) but in the direct sum, there would be a requirement that
all but nitely many coordinates be zero, so the sequence (1,2,3,...) would be an element of the direct product but
not of the direct sum, while (1,2,0,0,0,...) would be an element of both. More generally, if a + sign is used, all but
nitely many coordinates must be zero, while if some form of multiplication is used, all but nitely many coordinates
must be 1. In more technical language, if the summands are (Ai )iI , the direct sum iI A i is dened to be the
set of tuples (ai )iI with
a i Ai such that ai = 0 for all but nitely many i. The direct sum iI Ai is contained
in the direct product iI Ai , but is usually strictly smaller when the index set I is innite, because direct products
do not have the restriction that all but nitely many coordinates must be zero.[1]

1 Examples
For example, the xy-plane, a two-dimensional vector space, can be thought of as the direct sum of two one-dimensional
vector spaces, namely the x and y axes. In this direct sum, the x and y axes intersect only at the origin (the zero vector).
Addition is dened coordinate-wise, that is (x1 , y1 ) + (x2 , y2 ) = (x1 + x2 , y1 + y2 ) , which is the same as vector
addition.
Given two objects A and B , their direct sum is written
as A B . Given an indexed family of objects Ai , indexed
with i I , the direct sum may be written A = iI Ai . Each Ai is called a direct summand of A. If the index
set is nite, the direct sum is the same as the direct product. In the case of groups, if the group operation is written
as + the phrase direct sum is used, while if the group operation is written the phrase direct product is used.
When the index set is innite, the direct sum is not the same as the direct product. In the direct sum, all but nitely
many coordinates must be zero.

1.1 Internal and external direct sums

A distinction is made between internal and external direct sums, though the two are isomorphic. If the factors are
dened rst, and then the direct sum is dened in terms of the factors, we have an external direct sum. For example,

1
2 2 TYPES OF DIRECT SUM

if we dene the real numbers R and then dene R R the direct sum is said to be external.
If, on the other hand, we rst dene some algebraic object, S and then write S as the direct sum of two of its proper
subsets, V and W , then the direct sum is said to be internal. In this case, each element of S is expressible uniquely
as an algebraic combination of an element of V and an element of W . For an example of an internal direct sum,
consider Z6 , the integers modulo six, whose elements are {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5} . This is expressible as an internal direct
sum Z6 = {0, 3} {0, 2, 4} .

2 Types of direct sum

2.1 Direct sum of abelian groups

The direct sum of abelian groups is a prototypical example of a direct sum. Given two abelian groups (A, ) and
(B, ) , their direct sum A B is the same as their direct product, that is the underlying set is the Cartesian product
A B and the group operation is dened component-wise:

(a1 , b1 ) (a2 , b2 ) = (a1 a2 , b1 b2 )

This denition generalizes to direct sums of nitely many abelian groups.

For an innite family of abelian groups Ai for i I, the direct sum

Ai
iI

is a proper subgroup of the direct product. It consists of the elements (ai ) jI Aj such that ai is the identity
element of Ai for all but nitely many i.[2]

2.2 Direct sum of modules

Main article: Direct sum of modules

The direct sum of modules is a construction which combines several modules into a new module.
The most familiar examples of this construction occur when considering vector spaces, which are modules over a
eld. The construction may also be extended to Banach spaces and Hilbert spaces.

2.3 Direct sum of group representations

The direct sum of group representations generalizes the direct sum of the underlying modules, adding a group
action to it. Specically, given a group G and two representations V and W of G (or, more generally, two G-modules),
the direct sum of the representations is V W with the action of g G given component-wise, i.e.

g(v, w) = (gv, gw).

2.4 Direct sum of rings

Main article: Product of rings

Some authors will speak of the direct sum R S of two rings when they mean the direct product R S , but this
should be avoided[3] since R S does not receive natural ring homomorphisms from R and S: in particular, the map
R R S sending r to (r,0) is not a ring homomorphism since it fails to send 1 to (1,1) (assuming that 01 in S).
Thus R S is not a coproduct in the category of rings, and should not be written as a direct sum. (The coproduct
2.5 Direct sum in categories 3

in the category of commutative rings is the tensor product of rings.[4] In the category of rings, the coproduct is given
by a construction similar to the free product of groups.)
Use of direct sum terminology and notation is especially problematic when dealing with innite families of rings:
If (Ri )iI is an innite collection of nontrivial rings, then the direct sum of the underlying additive groups can be
equipped with termwise multiplication, but this produces a rng, i.e., a ring without a multiplicative identity.

2.5 Direct sum in categories

An additive category is an abstraction of the properties of the category of modules.[5] [6]
In such a category nite products and coproducts agree and the direct sum is either of them, cf. biproduct.
General case : [7] In category theory the direct sum is often, but not always, the coproduct in the category of the
mathematical objects in question. For example, in the category of abelian groups, direct sum is a coproduct. This is
also true in the category of modules.

3 Homomorphisms

The direct sum iI A i comes equipped with a projection homomorphism j : iI Ai Aj for each j and a
coprojection j : Aj iI Ai for each j.[8] Given another algebraic object B (withthe same additional structure)
and homomorphisms gj : Aj B for every j, there is a unique homomorphism g : iI Ai B (called the sum
of the gj) such that gj = gj for all j. Thus the direct sum is the coproduct in the appropriate category.

4 See also
Direct sum of groups
Direct sum of permutations
Direct sum of topological groups
Restricted product
Whitney sum

5 Notes
[1] Thomas W. Hungerford, Algebra, p.60, Springer, 1974, ISBN 0387905189
[2] Joseph J. Rotman, The Theory of Groups: an Introduction, p. 177, Allyn and Bacon, 1965
[3] Math StackExchange on direct sum of rings vs. direct product of rings.
[4] Lang 2002, section I.11
[5] p.45
[6] appendix
[7]
[8] Heunen, Chris (2009). Categorical Quantum Models and Logics. Pallas Proefschriften. Amsterdam University Press. p.
26. ISBN 9085550246.

6 References
Lang, Serge (2002), Algebra, Graduate Texts in Mathematics, 211 (Revised third ed.), New York: Springer-
Verlag, ISBN 978-0-387-95385-4, MR 1878556, Zbl 0984.00001
4 7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

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