Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/ii/paper-3/24i/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 24I b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Choose a point . Since , a nonzero regular differential has an effective divisor of degree , so . The Riemann-Roch theorem therefore givesChooseThe rational functions and have their only poles at , of orders two and three respectively.
The seven functionsbelong to the six-dimensional Riemann-Roch space , so they satisfy a nontrivial linear relation. Comparing pole orders shows that the coefficients of both and are nonzero. After rescaling, the relation has the Weierstrass formThe divisor is very ample, so its complete linear system embeds in and the displayed relation cuts out its image; this is the Weierstrass construction from Riemann-Roch in genus one.
Because , completing the square removes the terms linear in , and because , translating removes the quadratic term. Thus the equation becomesSince is algebraically closed, the cubic factors asSmoothness of says that the elliptic-curve discriminant is nonzero, equivalently the three roots are distinct. Hence
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