Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2011/ii/paper-4/23h/solution

For a divisor on a smooth projective curve, let , and write . The Riemann-Roch theorem states
where is the genus, is a canonical divisor given by a nonzero rational differential, and the degree of a divisor is the sum of its coefficients since is algebraically closed.
For genus one, a nonzero regular differential has a nonnegative divisor of degree , hence no zeros; therefore . Negative-degree divisors have no nonzero sections. Thus for , , and for .
Choose and . Their unique poles have orders two and three respectively. Distinct pole orders prove linear independence in the following complete list:
Since also lies in the last six-dimensional space, it satisfies
The coefficient cannot vanish because only among the displayed basis has a sixth-order pole available to cancel the leading pole of . Homogenizing gives a plane cubic relation, valid also in characteristics two and three without completing squares or dividing by three.
It remains to prove that the map actually embeds the curve. For , Riemann-Roch gives , for every point , and , including . The first equality makes the linear system base-point-free; the second separates distinct points, and the double-point case separates tangent directions. Therefore is very ample and is a closed immersion into . Its pullback of a line has degree three, so its image has degree three. The displayed cubic equation consequently defines the image, which is smooth because it is isomorphic to . Thus . The affine expression extends across to by the pole orders.

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