Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2006/ii/paper-1/18h/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ii Paper 1 18H Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the splitting field of the separable polynomial. Its Galois group is , acting faithfully on its distinct roots, hence as a subgroup of . An automorphism preserves each root's minimal polynomial. Conversely an isomorphism for roots of the same irreducible factor extends to an embedding of in an algebraic closure, and normality of the splitting field makes the image itself. Thus the root orbits are precisely the irreducible factors' root sets. The action is transitive exactly when the polynomial is irreducible.
If is prime, a transitive action has by orbit-stabilizer, so Cauchy theorem for groups supplies an element of order . Its permutation must be a -cycle. Conversely a -cycle already acts transitively on all roots. This proves the stated equivalence for prime degree.
The factorization theorem modulo a good prime says that if an integer polynomial retains its degree and has square-free reduction modulo , and that reduction's irreducible factor degrees are , its Galois group over contains a permutation with disjoint cycle lengths . Equivalently the finite-field Galois group, generated by Frobenius on the roots, occurs as an unramified decomposition subgroup. The degree-retention qualification matters for nonmonic polynomials.
For the given quintic, Eisenstein criterion at three proves irreducibility. Modulo two it factors asNeither factor has a root in , so both are irreducible, and they are distinct; the reduction is separable. Thus contains an element of cycle type , whose cube is a transposition. It is also transitive of degree five.
To prove that this forces the full symmetric group here, form the graph on the five roots with an edge for each conjugate in of that transposition. The graph is -invariant, and transitivity makes its connected components all the same size. That size divides five; there is an edge, so the size cannot be one. Hence the graph is connected. Transpositions along the edges of a connected graph generate all transpositions (move along a path and conjugate successive swaps), and hence generate . They all belong to , giving
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