Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/iii/paper-1/5/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 1 5 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose that is not a discrete subgroup. The identity is then an accumulation point of nonidentity subgroup elements: translate any failure of isolation to the identity. Choose with , and use a local exponential chart to write , where and in the real Lie algebra .
Choose a norm on this finite-dimensional vector space. By compactness of its unit sphere, pass to a subsequence with , where . For an arbitrary real , choose an integer nearest to . Then andEvery left-hand element belongs to , including for negative . Closedness gives . Since was arbitrary and , the limit directions of a closed subgroup provide a nontrivial one-parameter subgroup in . Its derivative at zero is , so it cannot be the constant subgroup.
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