Subgroups of cyclic groups are cyclic

Every subgroup of a cyclic group is cyclic, with an explicit generator
Subgroups of cyclic groups are cyclic

Proposition (Subgroups of cyclic groups are cyclic). Let GG be a that is cyclic, meaning G=gG=\langle g\rangle for some gGg\in G (so GG is a ). Let HGH\le G be a .

  1. If GG is infinite cyclic (isomorphic to Z\mathbb Z), then either H={e}H=\{e\} or there exists a unique integer m1m\ge 1 such that H=gmH=\langle g^m\rangle.
  2. If G=n<|G|=n<\infty, then there exists a divisor dnd\mid n such that H=d|H|=d, and moreover H=gn/dH=\langle g^{n/d}\rangle.

Context. This result gives a complete classification of subgroups of cyclic groups: they are completely controlled by divisibility (finite case) or by a single positive integer (infinite case). It is frequently paired with in finite group computations.