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.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 17G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Conjugation by partitions into orbits. Each non-singleton orbit has size divisible by , by the orbit-stabilizer theorem. The singleton orbits are exactly . Since is divisible by , . This set contains , so .
For the deduction we also give the representation-theoretic ingredient behind Burnside's theorem: a nonabelian finite simple group has no nontrivial conjugacy class of prime power size. Here is a proof, so no stronger theorem is being assumed without justification. Suppose has class size . For an irreducible character of degree coprime to , the class sum acts as the scalar , which is an algebraic integer: the class sum has an integer-entry matrix in the regular representation, which contains every irreducible representation, so this scalar is an eigenvalue of an integer-entry matrix. Also is an algebraic integer. Bezout's identity then makes an algebraic integer. All its algebraic conjugates have modulus at most , because character values of a representation are sums of roots of unity. An algebraic integer with this property is zero or a root of unity: the monic polynomials of all its powers have uniformly bounded integer coefficients, so two powers must coincide unless it is zero.
Every nontrivial irreducible representation of a simple group is faithful. If were a root of unity, equality in the triangle inequality would force its representing matrix to be scalar, hence central, impossible. Thus whenever , except for the trivial character of a representation. Orthogonality of the identity column and the column in the character table now givesThis would make an algebraic integer, contradicting the fact that rational algebraic integers are integers. The same proof covers class size directly through triviality of the center.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 19H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a square-free integer or , the ring of integers of the quadratic field is . Square-freeness is the usual convention underlying the first request: congruence alone would not suffice, for example gives the same field as .
Now take the stipulated square-free and put , . For any integral , relative traces to the three quadratic subfields show . Those subfields all have integral bases and their square root, including . Write with integer coefficients.
Its relative field norm to isThus is even, and the constant numerator is divisible by four. Since , these conditions force both even: one odd makes the numerator odd, and both odd contradicts even. They then force to have the same integer parity. Every algebraic integer consequently belongs to the lattice generated byConversely the last generator satisfies and the monic integer equationAll four generators are integral and linearly independent over , so this lattice is exactly , proving this integral basis of an odd biquadratic field containing square root of two without an unproved index assumption.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 19I Solution 2026-10-03
The row orthogonality relations for a character table state that for irreducible characters ,Equivalently, if runs through representatives of the conjugacy classes ,
Fix an irreducible . The sum of the elements in a conjugacy class is central in , so Schur lemma says that it acts in the representation affording by the scalarThis central character value of a conjugacy-class sum is an algebraic integer: the class sum acts by a matrix with integer entries on the regular representation, and is one of its eigenvalues. Also is an algebraic integer because character values are sums of roots of unity.
Row orthogonality with now givesThe right-hand side is an algebraic integer. The left-hand side is rational, and every rational algebraic integer is an integer. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 20G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Put . It is an algebraic integer because it satisfies the monic polynomial . Choose a prime number dividing the square-free integer , and choose a prime ideal of above . Fromand prime ideal factorization, the -adic exponents satisfybecause occurs to exponent one in . Hence divides the ramification index of a prime ideal . If , then , while the equation gives . Thereforeso
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 20G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write and . The field embeddings of into send to , so the field trace isFor the trace pairing , the basis therefore has dual basis
Every element of is an algebraic integer. If and , then is an algebraic integer and its trace is an integer. Thus belongs to the trace-dual lattice of , which is generated over by the displayed dual basis. Since , every such linear combination lies in . Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 20G c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Now let be prime and put and . The Eisenstein criterion applied at gives , while the discriminant of elements of a number field of its power basis iswhere . By the discriminant-index formula for an integral lattice, every prime dividing must therefore be .
Suppose . The finite abelian group is then a nontrivial finite p-group, so it contains an element of order . Consequently there is an such thatwith some not divisible by .
The polynomial is Eisenstein, so total ramification from an Eisenstein polynomial gives a unique prime ideal above with normalized discrete valuationLet be the least index for which . The term has valuation ; every earlier term has valuation at least , and every later term with coefficient prime to has a distinct, larger valuation. The non-Archimedean valuation therefore givesThis contradicts , since an algebraic integer has nonnegative valuation at every prime ideal. Thus , and
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ib Paper 2 9G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Gauss lemma for polynomials states that the product of two primitive polynomials over a unique factorization domain is primitive. In particular, a primitive polynomial in is reducible over exactly when it is reducible over .
Eisenstein criterion says that a primitive polynomialis irreducible over if there is a prime such that , for every , and . To prove it, suppose with both factors of positive degree. After removing contents, Gauss's lemma lets us take primitive. Reduction modulo givesso both reduced factors are monomials of positive degree. Their constant terms are therefore divisible by , making divide , a contradiction.
An algebraic integer is a complex number satisfying a monic polynomial in . Let be one and let be its monic minimal polynomial. The usual proof using polynomial content shows that . The setis the kernel of the polynomial-evaluation ring homomorphism, hence an ideal. Every is divisible by in . Because is monic, polynomial division of by takes place in , and the remainder must vanish by minimality. Thereforewhere is monic and irreducible.
Fortranslation givesThis is Eisenstein at , so and therefore are irreducible over . HenceIrreducibility and Gauss's lemma also show that is a prime ideal of , soIt is not a field. The class of is nonzero but not a unit: reducing further modulo gives a nonzero quotientin which the image of is zero, whereas a unit must remain a unit under every unital quotient map. Thus
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 2 20G b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Suppose that divided the finite index . Then the quotient would contain nonzero -torsion, so there would be withwhere not all are divisible by . Let be the least index for which . Since and , the term is the unique term on the right of least -valuation. ThusBut is an algebraic integer, so anda contradiction. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 20G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
PutUsing , multiplication by on the ordered basis is determined byIts matrix, with these coordinate vectors as columns, isThe characteristic polynomial isBy the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, this monic integer polynomial annihilates , so is an algebraic integer.
LetThe element is also integral because it satisfies the monic polynomial . Hence . Sincethe lattice has index two in . The given power-basis discriminant isso the discriminant-index formula for an integral lattice gives
If , thenBecause is prime, the square can divide only when . Thusso is an integral basis of the cubic field of discriminant minus 307.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 2 20H a ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be an integral basis of . Since each is an algebraic integer, there is an integer matrix such thatThe form a -basis, so .
Products of algebraic integers are algebraic integers, and their traces are rational algebraic integers, hence ordinary integers. Therefore every entryis integral. Part (i) makes the trace Gram matrix nonsingular, so is a nonzero integer.
Let and be the two trace Gram matrices. A change of basis givesTaking determinants yields the discriminant-index formula for an integral latticewhere is the field discriminant. Since is a nonzero integer,Equality holds exactly when , which is equivalent to being unimodular and to being a -basis of . Thus the minimum is the positive integer
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 4 20H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Minkowski's lemma states that if is a full lattice in and is measurable, convex, and centrally symmetric, thenimplies that contains a nonzero point of .
Let be the two real embeddings. The Minkowski embedding of a real quadratic field identifies with a latticeof covolume . Choose a constant satisfyingFor , consider the closed diamondIt is convex and centrally symmetric, and its area isMinkowski's lemma supplies a nonzero whose two embeddings lie in .
For , the arithmetic-geometric mean inequality givesSince the coordinate product is the field norm,Finally, as . No fixed nonzero algebraic integer can occur for arbitrarily large , because its second embedding is nonzero. Consequently the elements obtained along an unbounded sequence of contain infinitely many distinct values. Here denotes the absolute norm, as usual in this inequality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 166 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The product formula says that every satisfiesFirst suppose that is an algebraic integer. Its principal ideal has the prime ideal factorizationTaking the ideal norm givesOn the other hand, the field norm is the product over embeddings, soEquating these expressions proves the formula for algebraic integers. Every nonzero element of is a quotient of two algebraic integers, and multiplicativity completes the proof.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 166 3 c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be the monic cubic minimal polynomial of the algebraic integer , let be its conjugates, and let be the two conjugates of a nonrational . Because the degrees three and two are coprime, the fields are linearly disjoint, andis a nonzero integer.
AssumeFor large this makes bounded. Since is a quadratic algebraic integer, the height-Mahler measure formula givesand therefore . The two remaining factors with are bounded, while the three factors with are . Consequently
We now use the standard effective norm form consequence of Part (b). Forwhere is an integral basis of , the effective norm-form height estimate supplies effective constants , depending only on and , such thatfor every nonzero . Its proof factors , balances a generator using the Dirichlet unit theorem, and applies the Baker lower bound for a homogeneous linear form in logarithms to the linear relations defining ; the coprime degrees and exclude a unit-family degeneracy.
Apply this estimate to . Since , the height inequalities imply . HenceChoose the effective value . The last inequality bounds effectively. The rational integers are already covered by the stronger degree-three Liouville approximation theorem, and the Northcott theorem leaves only finitely many remaining quadratic integers of bounded height. Taking the minimum ofover this effective finite set gives an effective and provesfor every .