Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/iii/paper-118/1/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 118 1 b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The assertion requires . As printed, it also includes , where the nonzero constant function is closed but cannot be the exterior derivative of a negative-degree form. The zero constant is harmless; below we prove the intended positive-degree result.
Set , let , and letThe polydisc is preserved by these dilations. The radial homotopy operator isHere is the interior product of a differential form. For a smooth -form, its pulled-back contraction is , so the integral and its coefficient derivatives converge at zero. The identity for a pullback of a differential form along the radial flow and Cartan's magic formula giveIntegrating yields . The final pullback vanishes in positive degree; since , we have .
Each is a holomorphic map, so its pullback of a differential form preserves bidegree. Contracting with the part of lowers by one, and contracting with its part lowers by one. Therefore the primitive has precisely the permitted types:This is a type-preserving refinement of the Poincaré lemma; when one index is zero, the corresponding negative-degree summand is simply absent.
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