Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ii Paper 3 19F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ii Paper 4 20G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 4 20F i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 24 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The idele group is the multiplicative restricted productwith respect to at the finite places of a number field; is the completion of a valued field at the place . Thus each tuple has nonzero components, and all but finitely many finite components are units. Its restricted product topology on the idele group has basic open sets , where is finite and contains the infinite places, and each is open in . In particular is an open subgroup.
Embed diagonally. Take a neighbourhood of one whose finite components all lie in and whose infinite components satisfy in the usual real or complex modulus. A diagonal element there is an algebraic unit . If , then is a nonzero algebraic integer, so its field norm is a nonzero integer. Buta contradiction. Thus is discrete. It is also closed: in a topological group, a subgroup with an isolated identity cannot have an external accumulation point, since quotients of two nearby subgroup elements would approach the identity.
Send an idele to its associated fractional ideal byOnly finitely many exponents are nonzero. This homomorphism is onto, by choosing powers of local uniformizers, and its kernel is . Diagonal elements map to principal fractional ideals. The resulting quotient givesIt is a topological isomorphism when the ideal class group is given the discrete topology, since is open.
Use normalized local moduli: real modulus, squared complex modulus, and at a finite place. The idelic modulus defines , the norm-one idele group. The product formula puts inside this kernel. Every ideal class has a representative in , because an infinite component can be rescaled to correct the modulus without altering its fractional ideal. The compact space therefore maps continuously onto the discrete ideal class group. Its image must be finite, proving is finite.
For the Dirichlet unit theorem, put and . Let count real embeddings and count conjugate complex pairs. Infinite logarithms define a continuous surjectionusing at real places and at complex places. Its kernel is compact: it consists of real signs, complex unit circles, and the product of compact finite-place unit groups. More generally the inverse image of a bounded closed subset of is compact. Since is closed and discrete, its intersection with each such inverse image is finite. Hence is discrete in , and the kernel is a finite group. It is exactly the roots of unity , since every element of a finite multiplicative group has finite order and every root of unity has all local moduli one.
The image of in is an open subgroup, hence also closed, and is homeomorphic to . The assumed compactness therefore makes compact, and its continuous quotient is compact. A discrete cocompact subgroup of a real vector space is a full Euclidean lattice, of rank . Thus , and lifting a lattice basis splits off the free factor:This derives both finiteness and the unit rank from the stated compactness assumption, rather than assuming either conclusion to prove compactness.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 28 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For a finite extension of number fields, the inverse different is the fractional idealThe different ideal is its inverse. The trace pairing is nondegenerate because extensions of number fields are separable, so this definition gives a full fractional ideal. The inclusion shows that is integral.
Write its prime ideal factorization as . For above , with ramification index and residue characteristic , the different exponent and tame ramification theorem saysThe equivalence uses the separability of finite residue-field extensions. In particular, precisely at unramified prime ideals; in the wild case . This theorem does not require a Galois extension. The relative discriminant is the norm of the different ideal:For , this gives .
Now take and . For any prime number , the square-free integer hypothesis makes an Eisenstein polynomial at . It is therefore irreducible, and is a pure cubic number field of degree . Since is an algebraic integer, is an order in a number field. The discriminant of elements of a number field for its basis isFor example, the resultant of and is , and the degree-three sign in the polynomial discriminant is negative. If , the discriminant-index formula for an integral lattice givesOnly prime numbers dividing can therefore divide .
For , the Eisenstein polynomial gives a totally ramified extension of of degree . Thus has a unique prime ideal above , with ramification index and residue-field degree . Since , this is tame ramification, and the different exponent and tame ramification theorem gives . Hence . Comparing with in the discriminant-index formula for an integral lattice yields .
At , use the shifted Eisenstein polynomial of :Because , the constant term is divisible by . Moreover,when : the factors and cannot both be divisible by . The hypotheses therefore give , so the translated polynomial is an Eisenstein polynomial at . The resulting completion is a totally ramified extension of degree , with residue-field degree , and its ramification index is divisible by the residue characteristic. Thus its different exponent is at least .
It follows that . But , soforces and . No prime number divides . We have proved the integral basis of a nonexceptional pure cubic field:Using local Eisenstein polynomials here only establishes the local ramification indices; it does not assume that is already the full ring of integers of a number field.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 1 16H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be the coefficients of . Each is an algebraic integer. The ring is a finitely generated -module: reduce powers of each generator by its monic integral equation. As is monic, is generated over by , so is a finite -module. It is torsion-free as a subgroup of a characteristic-zero field, hence free of finite rank. Multiplication by on it is represented by an integer matrix. Its monic characteristic polynomial, by Cayley-Hamilton theorem, annihilates . Thus is an algebraic integer. This proves the required transitivity of integrality in this setting.
Every root of the monic is also a root of the monic polynomial , and is therefore an algebraic integer. The coefficients of are elementary symmetric polynomials in these roots, hence algebraic integers because algebraic integers form a ring. They also belong to , so belong to . Consequently .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 3 11E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
An algebraic integer is a complex number satisfying a monic polynomial with integer coefficients. Let be the monic minimal polynomial of . It is irreducible over . If is a monic polynomial vanishing at , then divides over . Gauss lemma for polynomials implies that monic rational factors of a monic integer polynomial have integer coefficients. Thus , and its irreducibility over implies irreducibility in .
For with , division by the monic works in , giving with . Since , minimality forces . Conversely each multiple of vanishes at . ThereforeWriting , division by expresses every element uniquely as with integer coefficients. A relation among these powers would be a nonzero vanishing polynomial of degree less than . Hence form a basis of the free module over .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 126 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Hecke operators give a commuting family of arithmetic symmetries of modular forms. They preserve the weight and cusp forms, and diagonalizing them turns the Fourier coefficients of a modular form into multiplicative arithmetic data. Odd weight spaces are zero by the action of ; in weight zero the operators act on constants by . For the substantive theory, fix an even positive weight and , and use the following normalization consistently.
Extend the slash operator for modular forms to byIt is a right action and positive scalar matrices act trivially. Let be the integral matrices of determinant . The determinant-n matrix representatives for Hecke operators for areInteger row operations reduce the first column to , after which a row shear reduces modulo ; uniqueness follows from these same conditions. The Hecke operator isRight multiplication by permutes the left cosets, so is again invariant under the weight- slash operator for modular forms. Each summand is a holomorphic function on the complex upper half-plane, and the coefficient formula below proves holomorphy at a cusp. Thus acts on and preserves . Geometrically, these operators sum over index- sublattices, or equivalently the associated finite-degree correspondences between complex tori; the factors above compensate for the weight's response to lattice scaling.
Write . The sum over is zero unless , in which case it is . Substituting into the displayed definition proves the Fourier coefficients of a composite-index Hecke operator formulawith . In particular, and . At a prime this becomeswhere if .
The Hecke multiplication relations areThey can be checked by applying the coefficient formula twice and regrouping the divisors. More explicitly, coprime indices factor independently, so if . At a prime, separating the terms in the divisor sum according to whether one more factor is available givesIteration gives ; combining the prime factors gives the full relation. Hence all Hecke operators commute, , and the Hecke algebra of modular forms is generated by the together with scalars.
The Petersson inner product on the finite-dimensional cusp form space isThe integrand is invariant and the integral converges because cusp forms decay exponentially at the cusp. The Hecke operators are self-adjoint for the Petersson inner product at level one. To see the underlying adjoint calculation, unfold the finite correspondence for a determinant- matrix and change variable . The invariant hyperbolic measure and the determinant-normalized slash factors transfer from one side of the inner product to . Scalar matrices act trivially, so one can replace by the integral adjugate , which again has determinant . This reverses the correspondence and permutes the same collection of terms, with the same real prefactor . Summing givesCommuting self-adjoint operators on a finite-dimensional inner-product space admit a common orthonormal basis of eigenvectors. Thus has a basis of simultaneous Hecke eigenforms, with real eigenvalues.
A nonzero simultaneous cuspidal Hecke eigenform has : if and , comparison of the first coefficients gives for every , so . Normalize . ThenConsequently the full Fourier series is determined by the eigenvalues, and a simultaneous eigenvalue system has a one-dimensional eigenspace. The Hecke multiplication relations translate intoIn particular the coefficients are multiplicative at coprime indices and are determined by the prime coefficients. This is the elementary multiplicity-one statement for normalized level-one Hecke eigenforms.
The Hecke eigenvalues are algebraic integers. One way to explain the arithmetic input is to use the rational structure supplied by the graded ring . The rational cusp form space has a basis with integral Fourier coefficients, for example from appropriate monomials in . Its subgroup of forms whose entire expansions are integral is a full lattice: a finite initial coefficient map is injective by the valence formula for the modular group, so it embeds this subgroup into a finite-rank integer module. The coefficient formula shows that every preserves this lattice, and therefore has a monic integral characteristic polynomial. Its eigenvalues are algebraic integers. Simultaneous diagonalization also makes their number field finite over ; conjugating the rational coefficient data gives another eigenform, whose eigenvalues are again real by self-adjointness. Thus the coefficient field is totally real.
For a normalized cuspidal Hecke eigenform, define its L-function of a cusp form by . The coefficient relations yield the Euler product of a Hecke eigenformIndeed the prime-power recurrence gives , and multiplicativity assembles these factors. These identities hold analytically in an initial right half-plane, as well as formally. For instance boundedness of on the full complex upper half-plane gives , so suffices for absolute convergence.
The Mellin transform of a cusp-form L-function relates this arithmetic to the modular transformation:Splitting at one and using givesExponential cusp decay makes the last integral entire in . This proves the analytic continuation and functional equation of the L-function of a cusp form, complementing its Euler product. The root number is .
Two examples show the scope of the theory. For even , the Eisenstein series is an eigenform with . This follows from its divisor-sum expansion and the same multiplicativity relations; its associated positive-index Dirichlet series is proportional to . The constant coefficient gives , so an eigenbasis of the cusp space together with gives an eigenbasis of the whole modular-form space. The ordinary Petersson inner product above is only used on the cusp space, where it converges. In weight twelve the valence formula for the modular group gives : cancellation of the first coefficients of two independent cusp forms would give a nonzero form with order at infinity at least two, exceeding . Thus the normalized modular discriminant is a Hecke eigenform; writing gives the Ramanujan tau function relations for coprime and .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose a nonzero . It is an algebraic integer, with monic minimal polynomialIts constant coefficient is nonzero, since otherwise the polynomial would have the root zero and be divisible by its variable, contradicting irreducibility and . Rearranging gives . The expression in parentheses lies in the ring of integers of a number field, so the ideal property gives . Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose an integral basis of the nonzero ideal . Its rational span is , since it contains a nonzero integer multiple of . The condition gives integers with . Thus multiplication by on has an integer matrix in this basis.
Its characteristic polynomial is monic with integer coefficients. By the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, . On the field , this is multiplication by , so . Hence is an algebraic integer, andThis is the determinant trick for an ideal preserved by multiplication.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
We prove the conjugate product of a quadratic ideal identity , which applies to the given two-generator ideal without assuming its displayed generators form an integral basis.
The quadratic ring of integers of a number field has a basis over : the vector 1 is primitive, since a rational algebraic integer must be an integer, and extends to an integral basis. Write , with . Let be the least positive integer in and let generate the set of coefficients of in elements of . Its lattice basis can be chosen as , with . Since , comparison of coefficients shows and . Write , and . ThenThe scaled ideal remains an -ideal. From we get , so . The product is generated as an ideal by and is contained in .
Moreover . If a prime divided all three, then and , so would satisfy the monic integer polynomial . It would lie in , impossible because its coefficient in the integral basis is . Bezout identity now expresses one as an integer combination of . Multiplying by , the terms are , , and , all in the product. Hence belongs to it, proving .
The determinant of the lattice basis gives the ideal norm . ConsequentlyIn particular is principal. This does not require the original to be nonzero or the ideal itself to be principal.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 17G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Let have order in a finite group. In a complex group representation, its matrix is diagonalizable with eigenvalues satisfying . If each with is conjugate to , the character of a representation is constant on these powers. Henceusing the stated integrality of each Ramanujan sum. Therefore is rational. It is also an algebraic integer, being a sum of roots of unity; a rational algebraic integer is an integer. Thus .
In a symmetric group, raising a permutation to a power coprime to its order preserves each cycle length and therefore its entire cycle type. Since cycle type determines the conjugacy class, the hypothesis holds, and all character values of symmetric groups are integers.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 17G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Suppose is an irreducible character of a group of odd order and . Write . Every nonidentity element pairs with its distinct inverse, since there is no element of order . Also . If were nontrivial, character orthogonality with the trivial character of a representation would givewhere is the sum of one character of a representation value from each inverse pair. This is an algebraic integer, so is an integer. Hence is even.
But an irreducible character degree divides the group order, so must be odd. One quick justification of that divisibility is that the central class sum of a conjugacy class acts by the algebraic integer . Its integrality follows from its integer matrix on the regular group representation. Character orthogonality then givesa rational algebraic integer, hence an integer. The parity contradiction proves : the trivial character is the only self-conjugate irreducible character of an odd-order group.