A Cayley graph is a visual representation of a group that illustrates its structure and the relationships between its elements. Given a group and a set of generators , the Cayley graph is constructed by taking the elements of as vertices. An edge is drawn between two vertices and if there exists a generator such that .
This graph is directed if the generators are not symmetric, meaning that to is not the same as to . The Cayley graph provides insights into the group’s properties, such as connectivity and symmetry, and is particularly useful for studying finite groups, as it can reveal the underlying structure and help identify isomorphisms between groups. In essence, Cayley graphs serve as a bridge between algebraic and geometric perspectives in group theory.
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