In mathematics, more specifically in the field of group theory, a solvable group or soluble group is a group that can be constructed from abelian groups using extensions. Equivalently, a solvable group is a group whose derived series terminates in the trivial subgroup.
Historically, the word "solvable" arose from Galois theory and the proof of the general unsolvability of quintic equation. Specifically, a polynomial equation is solvable by radicals if and only if the corresponding Galois group is solvable.
A group G is called solvable if it has a subnormal series whose factor groups (quotient groups) are all abelian, that is, if there are subgroups {1} = G0 < G1 < ⋅⋅⋅ < Gk = G such that Gj − 1 is normal in Gj, and Gj/Gj − 1 is an abelian group, for j = 1, 2, …, k.
Or equivalently, if its derived series, the descending normal series
where every subgroup is the commutator subgroup of the previous one, eventually reaches the trivial subgroup {1} of G. These two definitions are equivalent, since for every group H and every normal subgroup N of H, the quotient H⁄N is abelian if and only if N includes H(1). The least n such that G(n) = {1} is called the derived length of the solvable group G.