Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ii/paper-2/2f/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 2 2F a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The planar Brouwer fixed-point theorem says that every continuous map from the closed disk to itself has a fixed point. If a retraction existed, would be a continuous self-map of . At a fixed point , lies on the boundary, where ; this would give , impossible on the unit circle.
Conversely, suppose a continuous self-map has no fixed point. For each , take the ray starting at through , and let be its exit point on . The denominator never vanishes, and solving the quadratic intersection with the circle shows that the exit point depends continuously on . More explicitly, with ,The ray exits beyond or at , so , and when its exit point is . Hence is a retraction. Nonexistence of a boundary retraction and the planar fixed-point theorem are equivalent.
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