Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/iii/paper-125/3/c/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 125 3 c Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Because the canonical height of an elliptic curve is a quadratic form, polarization makesa symmetric bilinear form on the free part of the Mordell-Weil group. If is another integral basis, then and the Gram matrices satisfySince , their determinants agree. Thus the regulator of an elliptic curve is independent of the chosen basis.
Now let be a basis for the free part of . The images span a finite-index sublattice, so modulo torsionfor an integral matrix with nonzero determinant. The height identity givesTaking determinants in the two descriptions of this Gram matrix yieldsTherefore the required formula holds with .
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