Let be a set, and be a set of permutations of .
As an example, if is a set of permutations of , then the composition is a composition combination of permutations in , and so are , , and more.
%%%%% % DEPENDENCIES % RequiredMacros: \DeclareMathOperator{\syl}{Syl} %%%%% \begin{definition} Let $X$ be a set, and $S$ be a set of permutations of $X$. *If $\sigma$ is a permutation of $X$, we'll use exponential notation to express repeated composition of $\sigma$. This gives us $\sigma^2=\sigma\circ \sigma$ and $\sigma^5=\sigma\circ\sigma\circ\sigma\circ\sigma\circ\sigma$, etc. \begin{itemize} \item We'll use negative exponents when we want to repeated apply an inverse, which gives us $\sigma^{-n}=\left(\sigma^{-1}\right)^n$. \item A composition combination of permutations in $S$ is a composition of the form $$\sigma_1^{n_1}\circ\sigma_2^{n_2}\circ\cdots\circ \sigma_k^{n_k},$$ where $k\in\mathbb{N}$, each $\sigma_i\in S$, and each $n_i\in \mathbb{Z}$ for $i\in \{1,2,3,\ldots,k\}$. \item The span of $S$, written $\text{span}(S)$ is the set of all composition combinations of permutations in $S$. We'll say that the set $S$ generates $\text{span}(S)$. As an example, if $S=\{a,b,c,d\}$ is a set of permutations of $X$, then the composition $a^2\circ b^{-1}\circ c^3$ is a composition combination of permutations in $S$, and so are $d^{-3}$, $b^5\circ a^{-2}$, and more. \end{itemize} \end{definition}