Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebra-analysis-and-differential-equations-2-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2012/1/c/solution
Past exam of the algebra, analysis and differential equations II course of the University of Oxford 2012 1 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
For , choose the third standard basis vector . Its first three orbit vectors areThey are linearly independent: their matrix of columns has determinant . They therefore span , proving has a cyclic vector, namely .
For , write where . The binomial theorem gives for every integer . The entire orbit of any lies in , which has dimension of a vector space at most two. Therefore has no cyclic vector in the three-dimensional space. Equivalently, its minimal polynomial is , while its characteristic polynomial is .
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