Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-4/2/iv/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 4 2 iv Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Choose a finite set of topological generators of and let denote the abstract subgroup it generates. Then is dense in . For an open subgroup , the abstract subgroup is dense in , since every nonempty open subset of is open in . Every coset of meets , so .
Here is the needed Schreier lemma argument explicitly. Choose representatives in for the right cosets , including for , and write for the representative of . The finite setis contained in . For , set , with . Thenand every factor belongs to the displayed finite set. Thus is finitely generated as an abstract group. Its finite generators topologically generate its closure . Every open subgroup of a finitely generated profinite group is finitely generated.
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