Proposition (Semidirect product from splitting). Let

1⟶N→ ι G→ π Q⟶11 \longrightarrow N \xrightarrow{\ \iota\ } G \xrightarrow{\ \pi\ } Q \longrightarrow 1

be an . Suppose the sequence splits, meaning there exists a homomorphism s:Q→Gs:Q\to G (a section) such that π∘s=idQ\pi\circ s=\mathrm{id}_Q; equivalently, GG is a of QQ by NN.

Then:

  1. ι(N)\iota(N) is a normal subgroup of GG and we may identify NN with ι(N)⊲G\iota(N)\lhd G.
  2. Let φ:Q→Aut(N)\varphi:Q\to \mathrm{Aut}(N) be the homomorphism defined by
    φ(q)(n):=s(q) n s(q)−1(q∈Q, n∈N).\varphi(q)(n) := s(q)\,n\,s(q)^{-1}\qquad (q\in Q,\ n\in N).

Then GG is isomorphic to the N⋊φQN\rtimes_{\varphi} Q.

  1. Under this isomorphism, every g∈Gg\in G can be written uniquely as g=n s(q)g = n\,s(q) with n∈Nn\in N and q∈Qq\in Q.
Remarks

Context. This proposition is the standard bridge between abstract extensions and concrete constructions: split exact sequences are exactly semidirect products. The "internal" version is phrased via the inside GG.