Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-1-and-differential-equations-1-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/1/a/iii/solution

The same invariant subspaces work for : it acts by on and by on . Its minimal polynomial is therefore the product of the distinct linear polynomials belonging to the nonzero summands. Explicitly,
When , the two candidate eigenvalues are distinct in any field. This is the minimal polynomial of an affine function of a projection.

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