A group action π:πΊΓπβπ is called effective or faithful iff the induced homomorphism Ξ¦:πΊβAut(π) is a group monomorphism. group
Equivalent conditions include
ππ=π for all πβπ iff π=π
The terminology refers to the fact that if πΊ acts effectively then πΊ really does represent some group of symmetries of π without redundancy.