If is a group,
then the torsion elements
of
(also called the torsion of
) are defined to be the set of elements
in
such that
for some natural number
, where
is the identity element
of the group
.
In the case that
is Abelian,
is a subgroup and is called
the torsion subgroup of
.
If
consists only of the identity
element, the group
is called torsion-free.