Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 15G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Use curvature . In the Poincare disc model, hyperbolic lines are Euclidean diameters and arcs of circles orthogonal to the unit circle, with hyperbolic length element . In the upper half-plane model, they are vertical lines and semicircles with centres on the real axis, with . Both displayed hyperbolic metrics are positive scalar multiples of the Euclidean metric, so their angles agree with Euclidean angles. The hyperbolic distance is the length of the joining hyperbolic line segment; explicitly, in the upper half-plane model,In the Poincare disc model it is .
For distinct , a isometry sends their joining hyperbolic line to the imaginary axis, so their images are with . For any continuously differentiable curve joining them,Equality in the first inequality requires everywhere, because the nonnegative difference is continuous. Equality in the second requires to have one sign, allowing zero intervals. Thus equality holds precisely for a monotone reparametrisation of the joining hyperbolic segment. Conversely every such reparametrisation gives equality. For , equality means length zero and the constant curve; monotonicity is understood non-strictly.
Two distinct hyperbolic lines are parallel hyperbolic lines if they are disjoint in the plane and have exactly one common ideal endpoint; they are ultraparallel hyperbolic lines if they are disjoint and have no common ideal endpoint. To prove the common perpendicular of ultraparallel hyperbolic lines theorem, send one line to the imaginary axis. An ultraparallel hyperbolic lines second line can, after reflection if necessary, be written as a semicircle with centre and radius satisfying . A hyperbolic line perpendicular to the imaginary axis must be a semicircle centred at zero, of some radius . The Euclidean condition for its orthogonality to the second circle isThis has exactly one positive solution, proving existence and uniqueness. Conversely, if such a common perpendicular exists, the second line cannot be another vertical line, and the same condition forces , so its endpoints lie strictly on one side of zero and it is ultraparallel hyperbolic lines. This includes exclusion of intersecting lines () and parallel hyperbolic lines ( or another vertical line). The statement concerns distinct lines: a line coincident with itself would have many perpendiculars.
A horocycle in the upper half-plane model is either a Euclidean circle tangent to the real axis from above, with the tangent point as its ideal centre of a horocycle, or a horizontal line , whose ideal centre of a horocycle is infinity. A isometry sending this centre to infinity sends the horocycle to a horizontal line. The hyperbolic lines meeting that horizontal line orthogonally are exactly the vertical lines; therefore the hyperbolic lines orthogonal to a horocycle are exactly those with its ideal centre as an endpoint.
If two horocycles have distinct horocycle centres, the unique hyperbolic line with those two ideal endpoints meets both orthogonally. If they have the same horocycle centre, send it to infinity: both become horizontal lines and every vertical hyperbolic line meets both orthogonally. HenceIn the other case there are infinitely many; intersection or tangency of the two horocycles does not change this classification.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 4F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose a star centre of the open star-shaped set and define the candidate antiderivative by a straight-segment contour integral:For each fixed and all sufficiently small , the filled triangle with vertices lies in . Indeed, the compact segment has a neighbourhood of some positive radius contained in the open set , and every point of this triangle lies within of that segment. The zero triangle integral consequently givesBy continuity, the last integral tends to as . HenceIn particular, this proves the existence of the antiderivative without incorrectly assuming the star-shaped set is convex.
On a general domain, the conclusion can fail. Take and . Every filled triangle contained in has zero boundary integral by Cauchy integral theorem, but the unit circle has integral . An antiderivative would make every closed contour integral zero. This is the period obstruction to a holomorphic antiderivative: the local conclusion of Morera's theorem does not remove the global obstruction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 114 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use integer coefficients. The mapping-torus homology from Mayer–Vietoris works for every continuous map , without assuming that the mapping torus is a fiber bundle. Project to the time circle and choose two open arcs, one containing the seam and one away from it. The inverse image of the seam arc is a mapping cylinder neighborhood with a deformation retraction to its target copy of ; the inverse image of the other arc is a product with a deformation retraction to . Their intersection has two components, each with a deformation retraction to . Label the upper component first. With the convention that the second inclusion in the Mayer–Vietoris sequence has a minus sign, its homology map isIndeed, the upper component includes into the seam neighborhood by the identity, while retracting the lower component across the seam applies . Put and , and replace target coordinates by . The map becomes . Negating gives a direct sum of and an isomorphism. Canceling the latter summands in the long exact sequence yieldsIn particular, there is a short exact sequenceNo splitting of this short exact sequence is assumed at this stage.
For the torus, take the coordinate loops and as the basis of . Their lifts to have endpoint displacements . Applying changes those displacements to its columns, soThis also follows from the identification of the first homology group with the abelianization of the fundamental group. The Künneth theorem gives , with generator the product orientation class. If are the dual degree-one cohomology classes, then evaluates to one on this generator, andThus the degree-two homology map is multiplication by , as in homology of an integer torus endomorphism. The claim that the torus map is a homeomorphism requires to be a unimodular matrix, equivalently an integer inverse or ; nonsingularity over alone would only give a covering map of finite degree. The particular matrix here is unimodular.
For this matrix, andIts kernel is zero and its Smith normal form is , so its cokernel is . The maps on and are zero. Substituting into the short exact sequences, and splitting the degree-one extension because its quotient is free, gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 114 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The ordinary Poincare duality statement here is for a compact manifold without boundary, of dimension , oriented over the field . Its fundamental class induces isomorphismsfor every . For a manifold with boundary the appropriate statement is Poincare-Lefschetz duality with relative groups; the ordinary pairing need not be nondegenerate. Over a field, the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology identifies with the full dual of . The cap-cup evaluation identity and duality therefore makea perfect pairing. Explicitly, a nonzero has a nonzero cap product, and a linear functional on its homology group takes a nonzero value on that product. The same argument in the other variable proves nonsingularity. On the whole graded cohomology, define by taking the degree- part of before evaluation. For a nonzero component choose homogeneous of degree to pair nontrivially with it. All other components contribute zero in degree . This proves that the Poincare duality pairing is a nondegenerate bilinear form on ; it need not be symmetric on all degrees.
Put , so is positive and odd, and orient each by its product orientation. The Künneth theorem gives integral cohomology in degrees zero and , in degree , and zero elsewhere. Its two degree- generators have , equal to its top orientation class, and .
For a connected sum of oriented manifolds, excision and the long exact sequence for deleting a ball show that deleting a ball removes the top homology class and leaves all lower positive homology groups unchanged. The boundary sphere represents zero in the punctured manifold: it is the boundary of its relative fundamental chain. In the Mayer–Vietoris sequence for the two punctured pieces joined along the separating sphere, the orientation class of the connected sum maps onto that sphere's class. The intermediate positive groups are consequently the direct sums of the groups of the two original manifolds. This also covers , where the sphere is a circle and the boundary-class observation is necessary in the middle degree. Iterating and applying the universal coefficient theorem for cohomology givesHere ; under the conventional extension the same formula holds with a zero middle group.
Let be the top cohomological orientation class. The connected-sum pinch map to the wedge of the sphere products gives degree-one projections to each summand. Pull back the two factor classes from summand to obtain . Their product is , since the projection has degree one. Classes from different wedge summands have zero positive-degree cup products, and graded commutativity of the cup product supplies the reversed sign. Thus the full cohomology ring of a connected sum of odd-dimensional sphere products is the graded free abelian group just displayed with multiplicationThe unit is , and times any positive-degree class is zero by dimension. This describes all products, including .
The smooth involution is a diffeomorphism, since it is its own inverse. Its fixed set is closed; discreteness and compactness therefore make it finite. The supplied positivity of makes every fixed point nondegenerate with local index . The Lefschetz-Hopf fixed-point theorem then givesIndeed the degree-zero and top-degree traces are both one, because the manifold is connected and preserves its orientation; the middle degree is odd.
On , the form is a nondegenerate alternating bilinear form by Poincare duality and the oddness of . Thus it is a symplectic vector space of dimension . Naturality and orientation preservation show that preserves , and . For the eigenspaces of a symplectic involution, write : the polynomial has distinct roots over . If and , then , so the two vector subspaces are orthogonal. Each restricted form is nondegenerate, since a vector annihilating its own vector subspace also annihilates the other and hence all of . Their dimensions are therefore even, say , , with . ConsequentlyThis proves the fixed-point congruence for an involution on an odd-sphere connected sum:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 19I b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The real projective plane has fundamental group , while the circle has fundamental group . Apply the Seifert-van Kampen theorem to open neighborhoods of the two wedge summands whose overlap is contractible. This givesChanging the basepoint within this path-connected space gives an isomorphic group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 19I c iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
No, it cannot deformation retract onto a graph. Each sphere contributes a degree- homology class independent of the other two. Attaching circles at points introduces only vertices and edges, soFor example, the cellular chain complex obtained by giving each sphere one -cell and a tree of arcs has three zero-boundary -cells and no -cells. Every graph has zero degree- homology. A deformation retraction would induce a homotopy equivalence and an isomorphism on homology, which is impossible. An ordinary retraction has no such requirement.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 19I c ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Yes, it retracts onto a graph. On each of the three spheres, choose an arc joining the two marked points. A sphere retracts onto this arc: identify it with the vertical meridian parameterized by the height coordinate, and send every point of a given height to the meridian point at that height. This map is continuous and fixes the meridian. Apply these three retractions and fix the lifted circles pointwise; the maps agree at all attachment points. The resulting connected graph has six vertices and nine edges, so its fundamental group is free of rank .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 19I c i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The kernel is a normal subgroup of index , so the corresponding connected covering space is regular with six sheets labeled by . Write , and use right multiplication for path lifting. Above the real projective plane, right multiplication by pairs the labels, giving three copies of its two-sheeted covering space . Each sphere has two marked antipodal points corresponding to its pair , . Above the circle, right multiplication by gives two cycles of length three. Attach their six marked points to the identically labeled points of these three spheres.
The six-sheeted cover: three spheres joined by two lifted circles
. Details. The upper circle follows ; the lower follows . The point paired with is , explaining the reversed lower labeling in the figure. On each summand these are genuine covering maps, and the attachment matches the six lifts of the wedge point. A small neighborhood of that point lifts to six disjoint copies of its neighborhood in the wedge. This verifies the covering space locally, and the action of is transitive, so it is connected. Its stabilizer is , identifying this kernel cover of a real projective plane wedged with a circle.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 23I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a regular parameter , the curvature and torsion of a space curve areThe torsion of a space curve requires . Reparameterize by arc length and set , , . Differentiating the pairwise inner products of this orthonormal Frenet frame shows that its derivative matrix is skew symmetric. Since , defining gives the Frenet-Serret formulasThe fundamental theorem of regular space curves says that prescribed smooth and smooth on an interval determine a unit-speed curve uniquely up to an orientation-preserving Euclidean rigid motion. Solve this frame's linear differential equation with an initial oriented orthonormal frame, then integrate ; uniqueness proves the assertion.
Under the intended convention that the shared parameter is arc length, equality on an open interval gives equal position and equal Frenet frames at one point. Equal give identical differential equations, so uniqueness gives . The printed “regular smooth” hypothesis alone does not establish this convention. Without common arc length, an orientation-preserving smooth change of speed that is the identity on but not elsewhere reparameterizes a circle into a counterexample: both curves have , and agree on , but differ elsewhere as parameterized curves.
For an oriented surface with unit normal , define normal curvature and geodesic curvature . ThusA unit-speed curve is a geodesic exactly when . If also , then , so it is a straight line. A vertical ruling of a circular cylinder is such a geodesic, although the cylinder contains no open piece of a plane. A nonconstant regular straight line cannot be a simple closed curve. Hence no planar patch is required, and such a geodesic cannot be simple and closed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 2 35D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For , put . The spatial metric tensor becomesThe global closed spatial slice is a 3-sphere with ; the original chart covers only a hemisphere, so two charts are needed. A circle at fixed in an equatorial angular plane has circumference . The full spatial volume isIntegrating a single chart without its second copy would give only half this volume.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 18I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Use singular homology with integer coefficients. The Künneth theorem for triangulable spaces gives a split short exact sequence with tensor terms and torsion terms . When one factor's homology groups are free abelian, the torsion terms vanish and the tensor map is an isomorphism.
The circle has and all other groups zero. Inductively, the homology groups of a torus are free, andPascal's identity givesGeometrically the generators correspond to choosing of the circle factors and taking their product, consistent with the cellular model having one -cell for each such subset and cancelling opposite boundary faces.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 29E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The exponent has saddles , with and . Since the integrand is analytic off the origin, deform the contour to the unit circle and rotate . This gives the exact representationThe dominant saddle at is a steepest-descent direction for the method of steepest descent: . Set and expand the analytic amplitude against . Integrating its Gaussian moments gives the leading factor ; the rest of the contour is exponentially smaller than this dominant contribution outside any fixed neighbourhood of the maximum.
To obtain every coefficient efficiently, the integral satisfies , by differentiating and integrating the derivative of . Substitute to get and . Therefore the full asymptotic expansion isHere . For each fixed truncation at , the relative remainder is as . The infinite series is generally divergent, and this all-orders expansion does not purport to resolve exponentially small saddle contributions or their Stokes phenomenon.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 140 6 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the paper's Fubini-Study form normalization , the Hamiltonian vector field convention , and the Lie algebra generator whose circle action is . Write . The normalized moment map for the torus action isThe moment map image is the filled triangleIndeed, the three quantities are nonnegative and add to one, and any such triple is realized by choosing their square roots as homogeneous coordinates.
For the diagonal circle action, a point in the fixed-point set satisfies for every . If , the projective scaling must be one, forcing . If , all coordinates are scaled together. ThereforeBy part (b), the diagonal moment map isThe factor follows from the specified Fubini-Study form, not the integral normalization in the linked general article. For example, in one affine complex coordinate the symplectic form is , whose interior product of a differential form with is . Choosing the generator rescales all moment maps by ; reversing the defining sign reverses their signs. The negative level in parts (d) and (e) uses the convention displayed here.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 140 6 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
On , the diagonal fundamental vector field is nonzero, since the fixed-point set lies at moment map values and . The nondegenerate bilinear form and imply , so is a regular value. By the regular level set theorem, is a three-dimensional embedded submanifold of the four-dimensional Complex projective plane.
At , set . Then for every , so , the symplectic orthogonal complement. This complement is one-dimensional and , givingThus the level set is a coisotropic submanifold, neither an isotropic submanifold nor a Lagrangian submanifold. Indeed an isotropic subspace of a symplectic vector space in dimension four has dimension at most two, whereas . Its characteristic line field is generated by the diagonal circle action.
