Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 24I b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write a polynomial by its coefficients. Evaluation of and of each first partial derivative at is polynomial in these coefficients and in the coordinates of . Consequently the bad incidence locusis Zariski closed, and is Zariski open. Here a hypersurface is regarded as smooth at an ambient point outside it automatically.
In fact is empty. For homogeneous of degree , the Euler homogeneous function theorem saysIf , its left side is zero while its right side is , which is nonzero because . Thus every nonzero level is covered by the smoothness of a nonzero homogeneous level set, andwhich is certainly nonempty and Zariski open.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 24I a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For an affine variety with vanishing ideal , its Zariski tangent space at isThe dimension from minimum tangent dimension is
Now let with irreducible. The Strong Hilbert Nullstellensatz gives , soIts dimension is at least , and it is exactly wherever .
It remains to find such a point in positive characteristic . If every partial derivative of were the zero polynomial, every exponent occurring in would be divisible by . Since the algebraically closed field is perfect, all coefficients have th roots and would be a th power, contradicting irreducibility. Thus some partial derivative is nonzero. If the gradient nevertheless vanished at every point of , the Nullstellensatz would imply . This is impossible because . The smooth point on an irreducible hypersurface in positive characteristic therefore exists, and
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 22F c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Normalize the mutually orthogonal eigenvectors so that is an orthonormal sequence. If did not tend to zero, some subsequence would satisfy . For distinct indices in this subsequence, orthogonality givesThus would have no Cauchy subsequence, contradicting compactness of . Therefore the orthogonal eigenvectors of a compact operator satisfy
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 22F b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let , which is compact. Every in the unit ball of the continuous dual space restricts to a function on . These functions are uniformly bounded and equicontinuous, sinceBy the Arzelà-Ascoli theorem, every sequence in the unit ball has a subsequence that converges uniformly on . Along this subsequence,The continuous dual space is complete, so converges in norm. Every sequence in the image of the unit ball therefore has a convergent subsequence, proving the forward direction of the Schauder theorem for compact operators:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 22F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
A bounded linear operator is a compact operator when the image of the closed unit ball has compact closure, equivalently when every bounded sequence has a subsequence for which converges.
Each is compact because its image lies in a finite-dimensional subspace. Let be the unit ball and fix . Choose with . Since is relatively compact, it has a finite -net . For each , choose with ; thenThus is totally bounded. Its closure is complete because is a Banach space, so it is compact. This proves the norm-closedness of compact operators and hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 21H e Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Triangulate and . By the Simplicial approximation theorem, after subdividing the domain, a continuous map is homotopic to the realization of a simplicial map . Since , the image of lies in the -skeleton of the target triangulation and therefore misses an interior point of every -simplex. A sphere with one point removed is homeomorphic to the Euclidean space , which is contractible. Hence , and therefore , is homotopic to a constant map. Thus
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 21H d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The Simplicial approximation theorem states that if is a finite simplicial complex, is a simplicial complex, and is continuous, then for some there is a simplicial approximation to .
The target open stars form an open cover of , so their inverse images under form an open cover of the compact metric space . The Lebesgue number lemma supplies such that every subset of diameter below lies in one inverse image. Choose so large that every vertex star in has diameter below ; this is possible because its diameter is at most twice and the mesh tends to zero.
For each vertex choose a vertex of such thatIf span a simplex, a point in its relative interior belongs to all their open stars. Its image belongs to all the open stars of , so these target vertices span a simplex. Thus extends to a simplicial map , and its defining inclusion says exactly that approximates . This proves the theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 21H c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
A simplicial map is a simplicial approximation to whenfor every vertex , where denotes the open star in a simplicial complex.
Fix in a simplex with vertices , retaining only vertices with positive barycentric coordinate at . Then for every , so lies in every . The vertices and the vertices carrying the barycentric coordinates of consequently span a common simplex of . Both and lie in its convex realization. The straight-line homotopy from a simplicial approximationis therefore well-defined and continuous, with endpoints and .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 21H b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 21H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For every nonempty simplex of , let be its barycentre. The first barycentric subdivision has the as vertices, andis a simplex exactly when, after reordering, . Its realization is the same polyhedron as that of . The iterated barycentric subdivision is defined by
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 20G c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Put and . The maximal real subfield of the fifth cyclotomic field is . The roots of unity in a rational cyclotomic field show that the roots of unity in are exactly .
Let . For every embedding ,Thus the kernel of the logarithmic unit embedding implies that is a root of unity. Since conjugation acts trivially modulo the prime element , we have . Among the tenth roots of unity this excludes the elements , so . Squaring is a bijection on this group of order five, so choose a root of unity with . Then is fixed by conjugation and is therefore a unit of .
The units of the quadratic field Q square root of five are , where . Absorbing the sign and into proves
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 20G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The conjugates of are . Fromwe obtain, at every nontrivial th root ,The product of the roots is one and . The derivative formula for a polynomial discriminant therefore yields the discriminant of a prime cyclotomic power basis:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 20G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The cyclotomic polynomial of the primitive th root isBy the irreducibility of cyclotomic polynomials, this is the minimal polynomial of over . The prime cyclotomic field degree therefore gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 19I c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The normis a positive integer, because it is the sum of the squares of the multiplicities of the irreducible constituents. The character restriction norm bound and make it at most three. It is therefore , , or .
All three values occur:
- In with , the trivial character remains irreducible on , giving norm .
- For the same pair, the two-dimensional standard representation of the symmetric group restricts to the sum of the trivial and nontrivial linear characters of , giving norm .
- In with its normal Klein four-group , the three-dimensional irreducible representation of the alternating group on four letters restricts to the sum of the three nontrivial linear characters of , giving norm .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 19I b iii Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 19I b ii Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 19I b i Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 19I a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
By character orthogonality, the squared multiplicities are the character inner product norm of the restriction of a character:Since is an irreducible character, its norm on is one, and henceThe omitted summands are nonnegative, so the character restriction norm bound is an equality precisely when
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 15D b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Quantum no-signalling says that, without communicating a measurement outcome, any local trace-preserving operation performed on subsystem leaves all outcome probabilities for measurements on subsystem unchanged; equivalently, it leaves the reduced density matrix unchanged.
The two Bell states are orthogonal. Applying the inverse Bell-state preparation circuit, namely a Controlled-NOT gate from to followed by a Hadamard gate on , givesA computational-basis measurement therefore distinguishes them perfectly, soIf only is accessible, however,Every measurement on consequently has the same outcome distribution under both hypotheses. With equal prior probabilities no information is available, andthe error probability of a random guess.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 15D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Let be Alice's unknown qubit, and label her half of the shared Bell state by and Bob's by . Alice applies a Controlled-NOT gate from the unknown qubit to , then a Hadamard gate to the unknown qubit. The three-qubit state becomesAlice measures her two qubits in the computational basis and sends the two classical outcomes to Bob. Bob applies , recovering with certainty. This is quantum teleportation; Alice never needs to know the state.
For the shared GHZ state, Charlie first applies a Hadamard gate to his qubit. ThenCharlie measures in the computational basis. Outcome leaves Alice and Bob with ; outcome leaves , which either party converts to by applying after Charlie reports the outcome. Thus
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