Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 4 4 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write , , and use the commutative transfer idealsThe target fixed algebra is commutative, because makes every -fixed element of central in .
The Brauer morphism and relative trace identity isIndeed let act on by left multiplication in the trace sum. Its fixed cosets are exactly with ; every other orbit has size divisible by . After Brauer projection the contributions on each such nonfixed orbit are equal, so they cancel. Fixed cosets give precisely the right-hand side. Since the Brauer projection of is all of , this proves a surjection .
We use the trace criterion for defect groups: a block idempotent belongs to exactly when its defect group is conjugate into ; among these, exactly when its defect group is up to conjugacy. The criterion can be read from the class-sum basis: if thenThis coefficient is nonzero exactly when is a Sylow -subgroup of . Thus is spanned by classes whose class defect is conjugate into , and the kernel of its Brauer projection is the sum of the corresponding proper-subgroup transfer ideals. The block version follows by refinement of the central idempotents in these ideals.
For clarity, the refinement fact needed here is primitive idempotents under a surjection of commutative Artinian ideals: a surjection between ideals of commutative Artinian algebras bijects the primitive idempotents in the module source whose images are nonzero with the primitive idempotents in the target. Decompose the algebras into local factors. An ideal in a local Artinian factor either contains the identity and is the whole factor, or lies in its nilpotent maximal ideal and has no nonzero idempotents. A surviving local factor has a local quotient, so its identity remains primitive. This proves the stated refinement fact without imposing nilpotence on the entire kernel.
The primitive idempotents in are the block idempotents with defect conjugate into , and the surviving ones have defect . Applying refinement to the surjection above givesThis is the Brauer morphism on a defect transfer ideal; the target is the transfer ideal , not the entire fixed center of an associative algebra.