Additive quotient group $\mathbb{Q}/\mathbb{Z}$ is isomorphic to the multiplicative group of roots of unity

Be canonical!

You have a morphism of groups $ex:\mathbb R \to S^1: r\mapsto e^{2i\pi r} $, where $S^1$ is the multiplicative group of complex numbers with $\mid z\mid=1$. This morphism is surjective and has kernel $\mathbb Z$.
[The wish to have kernel $\mathbb Z$ instead of $ 2\pi \mathbb Z$ dictated the choice of $ex(r)=e^{2i\pi r}$ instead of $e^{ir}$].

Restricting the morphism to $\mathbb Q$ induces a morphism $res(ex):\mathbb Q\to S^1$ with kernel $\mathbb Q\cap \mathbb Z=\mathbb Z$ and image $\mu_\infty\stackrel {def}{=} e^{2i\pi \mathbb Q} \subset S^1$.
The crucial observation is that this image is $\mu_\infty=\bigcup_n \mu_n$, where $\mu_n$ is the set of $n$-roots of unity $e^{\frac {2i\pi k}{n}}\quad (k=1,2,...,n)$.
Hence $\mu_\infty$ is the set of all roots of unity i.e. the set of complex numbers $z \in \mathbb C$ with $z^n=1$ for some $n\in \mathbb N^*.$

Applying Noether's isomorphism you finally get the required group isomorphism (be attentive to the successive presence and absence of a bar over the $q$ in the formula) $$Ex: \mathbb Q/\mathbb Z \xrightarrow {\cong} \mu_\infty:\overline {q}\mapsto e^{2i\pi q} $$

A cultural note
This elementary isomorphism is actually useful in quite advanced mathematics.You will find it, for example, in Grothendieck's Classes de Chern et représentations linéaires des groupes discrets.


To prove it is a bijection, one can use rather "primitive" methods. suppose that:

$f\left(\frac{p}{q} + \Bbb Z\right) = f\left(\frac{p'}{q'} + \Bbb Z\right)$,

then: $e^{2\pi ip/q} = e^{2\pi ip'/q'}$, so $e^{2\pi i(p/q - p'/q')} = 1$.

This, in turn, means that $\frac{p}{q} - \frac{p'}{q'} \in \Bbb Z$, so the cosets are equal. Hence $f$ is injective.

On the other hand, if $e^{2\pi i p/q}$ is any $q$-th root of unity, it clearly has the pre-image $\frac{p}{q} + \Bbb Z$ in $\Bbb Q/\Bbb Z$ (so $f$ is surjective).

One caveat, however. You haven't actually demonstrated $f$ is a function (i.e., that it is well-defined, although if you stare hard at the preceding, I'm sure it will come to you).


Define $\,f: \Bbb Q\to S^1:=\{z\in \Bbb C\;:\;|z|=1\}\,\,,\,f(q):=e^{iq}\,$ , show this is a homomorphism of groups, find its kernel and use the fist isomorphism theorem.