Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ii/paper-4/3g/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ii Paper 4 3G Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For a Euclidean circle with centre and radius , two distinct finite points are inverse when they lie on the same ray from and their distances from have product . Points on the circle are fixed, and and infinity are inverse to each other. In complex coordinates this uniquely defines inversion in a circle byUniqueness follows from the ray and product conditions, including the specified centre–infinity pair; the formula also gives . A circle through infinity is a straight line in the complex plane; its inversion is reflection in that line, fixing infinity. For a line through with direction angle , its formula is .
Thus every inversion is an anti-Möbius transformation, of the form with nonzero determinant. If , write such an inversion as with a Möbius transformation. Since is the Möbius transformation with conjugated coefficients, the product of two inversions is , hence Möbius. Pairing consecutive inversions proves every composition of an even number of inversions is a Möbius transformation.
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