Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-number-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/2/solution
Past exam of the number theory course of the University of Oxford 2008 A 2 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Every automorphism fixes zero and one, and preserves sums, products, negatives and multiplicative inverses of nonzero elements. Consequently elements fixed by every member of are closed under these operations and form a field. Artin fixed-field theorem gives for a finite automorphism group.
Here is the fraction field of , with transcendental; its elements are fractions of rational-coefficient polynomials, with nonzero denominator and the usual equality by cross-multiplication. Substitution of or defines an automorphism, each its own inverse. With meaning first apply to a field element and then , its image on is . Iterating gives and then , so its order is three. The relations reduce every word to at most six possibilities, and the six resulting images areThey are distinct rational functions, so the group has six elements. Its faithful permutation action on identifies it with .
For the first fixed field put . It is fixed by , and satisfies over . The degree is exactly two because the nontrivial automorphism fixes that field. The fixed-field degree is also two, soFor the inversion put . It is fixed and satisfies . The same degree argument givesThe source requests polynomial generators in both cases. The second requirement is impossible. If a nonconstant polynomial were fixed by inversion, would equate a Laurent polynomial with highest exponent to one with no positive exponent, a contradiction. Thus the only polynomial invariants of inversion are constants, which cannot generate its nonconstant fixed field. The fixed field of inversion in a rational function field therefore has the second displayed rational-function generator.
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