Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-analytic-number-theory-and-elliptic-curves-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/b/5/a/i/solution
Past exam of the analytic number theory and elliptic curves course of the University of Oxford 2009 B 5 a i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
A differential is invariant under formal translation ifas an identity of formal power series. Setting gives . Consequently every invariant differential of a formal group law, if it exists, must have the form . In particular there can be only one with constant coefficient one.
Existence follows directly from associativity. Differentiatewith respect to at zero, obtainingEvery displayed is a unit in a ring, soThis is precisely invariance of . ThusNormalization means its constant coefficient is one. This proves both existence and uniqueness over an arbitrary commutative ring, without division by any integer.
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