Cyclicity is not finite direct product-closed
This article gives the statement, and possibly proof, of a basic fact in group theory.
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Statement
It is possible to have cyclic groups and such that the external direct product is not a cyclic group.
Proof
An example: the direct product of cyclic group:Z2 and cyclic group:Z2 is the Klein four-group, which is not cyclic.
Stronger statements
In fact, if both and are nontrivial finite cyclic groups and their orders are not relatively prime to each other, or if one of them is infinite, the direct product will not be cyclic. See Direct product of cyclic groups is cyclic iff their orders are relatively prime.