Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-algebraic-curves-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/d/solution
Past exam of the algebraic curves course of the University of Oxford 2023 2 d Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Let be any ordering of the three distinct numbers . Set and choose with . The projective transformationhas the required matrix form. As and , substitution givesThe choice is exactly what cancels the coefficient introduced by the change in .
There are no further possibilities for a matrix of the stated form. Its determinant is , so must be nonzero. On it induces the affine change and scales by . It preserves the line , whose three intersections with the plane cubic have -coordinates . Their images must have coordinates . Choosing the two roots sent to determines the affine change and leaves exactly the six orderings above.
For general the six values are distinct. They coincide in some special cases: gives three values, and gives two. In particular, for the value obtained in part (c), the two possible values are . This does not contradict the paper's qualification that there are six for general .
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