Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2009/iii/paper-59/3/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 59 3 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Given two flags of the same dimensions, choose adapted ordered bases and , so their first vectors span their respective . The invertible map sending each to sends the first flag to the second. Let . Replace the last target basis vector by ; this does not alter any subspace in its flag. The corresponding map has determinant one and still sends every member of the first flag to the corresponding member of the second.
Thus the special linear group acts transitively on every fixed-type flag manifold:The adapted-basis construction is the needed extension of transitivity on nonzero vectors. For an arbitrary subgroup, vector transitivity alone would not justify transitivity on all flags; here the explicit determinant correction proves the stronger claim for the special linear group.
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