Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/iii/paper-85/6/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 85 6 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-14
This part proves . If were a finite-dimensional unital module, its action would give a homomorphismThe kernel is a two-sided ideal and is proper because the identity acts as the identity on . A simple ring therefore makes the homomorphism injective. This is impossible: has the infinitely many linearly independent ordered monomials established in part (a), whereas the endomorphism algebra has dimension . Thus simplicity excludes every nonzero finite-dimensional module.
There is also a direct characteristic-zero check: the relation acts as a matrix identity. Taking its trace gives in . In characteristic zero this forces . This agrees with the Weyl algebra has no nonzero finite-dimensional modules criterion, but the injectivity argument proves the requested implication without presupposing characteristic zero.
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