Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/ii/paper-1/19i/b/solution

The complex regular representation has basis and left action
If is the identity, then
so . Thus is a faithful representation.
By Maschke's theorem, the regular representation decomposes as a direct sum of irreducibles,
Its kernel is the intersection of the kernels of the constituent representations:
Each constituent kernel is a normal subgroup of . If is simple, every such kernel is either or . They cannot all be , because then their intersection would be , contradicting faithfulness of the regular representation. Hence some has trivial kernel. Therefore every finite simple group has a faithful irreducible representation of a finite simple group.

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