Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2018/iii/paper-141/3/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 141 3 c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Keep all four relators and all five generators, in the orders and . Under abelianization, these generators become . The Fox calculus rules areFor example, gives the nonzero Fox derivative entries , , , in columns , respectively. After abelianization these are . The full Alexander matrix isThe Fox calculus identity supplies a useful check:Deleting the column, adjacent to the unbounded region across the marked meridian of a knot, givesThus is a representative of the Alexander polynomial of a knot of the figure-eight knot, with its customary ambiguity of multiplication by .
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