Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/iii/paper-3/6/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 3 6 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A nonzero finite-dimensional representation is a brick module when its endomorphism ring is a division algebra. Over the algebraically closed field , this means : for any endomorphism , an eigenvalue makes noninvertible, hence zero in a division algebra.
For a counterexample to the converse of “brick implies indecomposable”, take the one-loop representation with nilpotent Jordan block . Its endomorphism ring is , a local endomorphism ring of dimension two. It has no nontrivial idempotents, so the module is indecomposable, but it is not a brick.
For the one-arrow quiver, splitting the kernel, image and target complement decomposes any representation into copies of , and . Each has endomorphism ring . Therefore every indecomposable of the one-arrow quiver is a brick.
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