Affine symmetric group (original) (raw)

The affine symmetric groups are a family of mathematical structures that describe the symmetries of the number line and the regular triangular tiling of the plane, as well as related higher-dimensional objects. Each one is an infinite extension of a finite symmetric group, the group of permutations (rearrangements) of a finite set. In addition to their geometric description, the affine symmetric groups may be defined as collections of permutations of the integers (..., −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, ...) that are periodic in a certain sense, or in purely algebraic terms as a group with certain generators and relations. They are studied as part of the fields of combinatorics and representation theory.