Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/prelims/mathematics-i/2/b/iii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2021 Prelims Mathematics I 2 b iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Use the linear mapIt is well defined because , and it is a linear map by distributivity of polynomial multiplication. If for a nonzero pair, ii would give a common root of a polynomial of and . The hypothesis therefore implies , so is injective.
By i, the domain and codomain both have dimension : a basis of the domain is for , and a basis of the codomain is . The stated finite-dimensional result makes surjective. In particular has a preimage, proving the degree bound in polynomial Bézout's identity:Indeed, injectivity also proves uniqueness of this pair under the stated degree of a polynomial bounds.
New to topics? Read the docs here!