Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 4 19H Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
The Mackey restriction formula says, for an -representation ,Frobenius reciprocity saysApplying both with an irreducible character givesThe identity double coset contributes one, and all terms are nonnegative integers. Therefore Mackey irreducibility criterion says that is irreducible exactly when every term belonging to a nonidentity double coset is zero.
Now take . Writeso . For , commutators of with generate , because conjugation sends to and one can choose . Every degree-one character of is therefore trivial on and has the formwhere is a multiplicative character.
The Bruhat decomposition of SL2 over a finite field has two double cosets,and . Conjugation by inverts , soThe only nonidentity Mackey term vanishes exactly when these two one-dimensional characters differ. ConsequentlyThus the trivial character is excluded, as is the unique quadratic character when is odd. All other degree-one characters of induce irreducibly; the induced representations have degree . This is the irreducible principal series of finite SL2.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 ii Paper 4 19J a i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For , the Bruhat decomposition of SL2 over a finite field givesThus has representatives . The identity double coset contributes , whilecontributes an induced representation from the diagonal subgroup. ThereforewhereFor , one has .