Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-options-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2005/a/1/solution
Past exam of the options I course of the University of Oxford 2005 A 1 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Use the right-action convention printed in the paper: and . The orbit of a group action and stabilizer areThe identity belongs to , products of elements of fix , and implies . Thus is a subgroup. For ,proving .
The rotational action on the eight vertices of a cube is transitive. Model the vertices as . For any desired sign triple, choose a permutation whose parity makes the corresponding signed permutation matrix have determinant one; it maps to that vertex and preserves the cube. A rotation fixing a vertex fixes the axis through that vertex, the centre and the opposite vertex. It cyclically permutes the three incident edges, giving precisely rotations by . Thus the stabilizer is cyclic of order three.
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