Moufang loop

Proposition: Let $Q$ be a nonempty quasigroup.

I) The following conditions are equivalent.

$\displaystyle(x(yz))x$	$\displaystyle=$	$\displaystyle(xy)(zx)\qquad\text{for all }x,y,z\in Q$	(1)
$\displaystyle((xy)z)y$	$\displaystyle=$	$\displaystyle x(y(zy))\qquad\text{for all }x,y,z\in Q$	(2)
$\displaystyle(xz)(yx)$	$\displaystyle=$	$\displaystyle x((zy)x)\qquad\text{for all }x,y,z\in Q$	(3)
$\displaystyle((yz)y)x$	$\displaystyle=$	$\displaystyle y(z(yx))\qquad\text{for all }x,y,z\in Q$	(4)

II) If $Q$ satisfies those conditions, then $Q$ has an identity element (i.e., $Q$ is a loop).

For a proof, we refer the reader to the two references. Kunen in [1] shows that that any of the four conditions implies the existence of an identity element. And Bol and Bruck [2] show that the four conditions are equivalent for loops.

Definition: A nonempty quasigroup satisfying the conditions (1)–(4) is called a Moufang quasigroup or, equivalently, a Moufang loop (after Ruth Moufang, 1905–1977).

The 16-element set of unit octonions over $\mathbb{Z}$ is an example of a nonassociative Moufang loop. Other examples appear in projective geometry, coding theory, and elsewhere.

References

[1] Kenneth Kunen, Moufang Quasigroups, J. Algebra 83 (1996) 231–234. (A preprint in PostScript format is available from Kunen’s website: http://www.math.wisc.edu/ kunen/moufang.psMoufang Quasigroups.)

[2] R. H. Bruck, A Survey of Binary Systems, Springer-Verlag, 1958.

Title	Moufang loop
Canonical name	MoufangLoop
Date of creation	2013-03-22 13:50:29
Last modified on	2013-03-22 13:50:29
Owner	yark (2760)
Last modified by	yark (2760)
Numerical id	12
Author	yark (2760)
Entry type	Definition
Classification	msc 20N05