In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, especially
homological algebra
Homological algebra is the branch of mathematics that studies homology (mathematics), homology in a general algebraic setting. It is a relatively young discipline, whose origins can be traced to investigations in combinatorial topology (a precurs ...
and other applications of
abelian category
In mathematics, an abelian category is a category in which morphisms and objects can be added and in which kernels and cokernels exist and have desirable properties. The motivating prototypical example of an abelian category is the category of ab ...
theory, the short five lemma is a special case of the
five lemma
In mathematics, especially homological algebra and other applications of abelian category theory, the five lemma is an important and widely used lemma about commutative diagrams.
The five lemma is not only valid for abelian categories but also w ...
.
It states that for the following
commutative diagram
350px, The commutative diagram used in the proof of the five lemma.
In mathematics, and especially in category theory, a commutative diagram is a diagram such that all directed paths in the diagram with the same start and endpoints lead to the s ...
(in any abelian category, or in the category of
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
s), if the rows are
short exact sequences, and if ''g'' and ''h'' are
isomorphism
In mathematics, an isomorphism is a structure-preserving mapping between two structures of the same type that can be reversed by an inverse mapping. Two mathematical structures are isomorphic if an isomorphism exists between them. The word is ...
s, then ''f'' is an isomorphism as well.
It follows immediately from the
five lemma
In mathematics, especially homological algebra and other applications of abelian category theory, the five lemma is an important and widely used lemma about commutative diagrams.
The five lemma is not only valid for abelian categories but also w ...
.
The essence of the lemma can be summarized as follows: if you have a homomorphism ''f'' from an object ''B'' to an object ''B′'', and this homomorphism induces an isomorphism from a subobject ''A'' of ''B'' to a subobject ''A′'' of ''B′'' and also an isomorphism from the factor object ''B''/''A'' to ''B′''/''A′'', then ''f'' itself is an isomorphism. Note however that the existence of ''f'' (such that the diagram commutes) has to be assumed from the start; two objects ''B'' and ''B′'' that simply have isomorphic sub- and factor objects need not themselves be isomorphic (for example, in the category of abelian groups, ''B'' could be the
cyclic group
In group theory, a branch of abstract algebra in pure mathematics, a cyclic group or monogenous group is a group, denoted C''n'', that is generated by a single element. That is, it is a set of invertible elements with a single associative bina ...
of order four and ''B′'' the
Klein four-group
In mathematics, the Klein four-group is a Group (mathematics), group with four elements, in which each element is Involution (mathematics), self-inverse (composing it with itself produces the identity)
and in which composing any two of the three ...
).
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short Five Lemma
Homological algebra
Lemmas in category theory