conjugace

Conjugace is a term used in several disciplines to describe a linking, pairing, or transfer between entities. The exact meaning depends on the field, but all senses share a notion of connection or correspondence.

In linguistics, conjugace refers to verb conjugation—the set of inflected forms a verb can take to express person, number, tense, aspect, mood, and voice. Systems vary by language; for example, Czech uses distinct forms for jsem, jsi, je, jsme, jste, jsou to mark person and number.

In mathematics, conjugace covers several related ideas. In group theory, two elements a and b are conjugate if there exists g with gag^{-1} = b; their set forms a conjugacy class. Complex conjugation maps each complex number z to its conjugate z̄. Matrix conjugation (similarity) relates A and B by B = P^{-1}AP, describing the same linear transformation in different bases.

In biology, conjugace refers to bacterial conjugation, a mechanism of horizontal gene transfer. A donor cell carrying a conjugative plasmid, such as an F plasmid, forms a direct connection via a sex pilus to a recipient cell, transferring DNA and potentially spreading traits like antibiotic resistance.

In chemistry, conjugace describes conjugation, including electron delocalization across alternating bonds in conjugated systems and the concept of conjugate acid–base pairs in acid–base chemistry. Conjugation influences molecular stability, color, and reactivity.