Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2011/ii/paper-1/18h/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 1 18H i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A field homomorphism fixing is injective, since its kernel is an ideal of a field and cannot contain one. It is also -linear. Equal finite field extension degrees then make it a bijection, hence a -isomorphism.
Equal degrees alone do not ensure that any such homomorphism exists. For example and both have degree two, but a -isomorphism would require a square root of two in . Squaring with rational would give and . Neither nor has a rational solution. Thus the two degree-two extensions are not isomorphic over .
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