Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ii/paper-4/10g/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 10G c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Both forms have discriminant of a binary quadratic form . The reduction algorithm for a positive definite binary quadratic form gives and for a reduced positive definite representative. Enumerating givesThe second and fourth forms are imprimitive and represent only even integers. Every odd prime represented by a form of discriminant of a binary quadratic form must therefore be represented by or .
For a prime , quadratic reciprocity givesEvery prime has this symbol equal to one and hence is represented by one of the two primitive forms, by part (b). But an odd prime represented by and different from three is , so these primes must be represented by . Similarly, primes have both symbols equal to , and are represented by , since a prime represented by is . Both residue classes are coprime to 15, so Dirichlet theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions proves each form represents infinitely many primes.
New to topics? Read the docs here!