Modular form on a finite-index subgroup Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-14
A modular form on an arbitrary finite-index subgroup is a holomorphic function on the complex upper half-plane, invariant under the weight- slash operator for modular forms, and holomorphic at a cusp at every cusp of a modular group for . If maps infinity to a cusp, choose a genuine translation period with . Then has a convergent series in with nonnegative exponents. A cusp form has zero constant term at every cusp. This definition allows noncongruence subgroups and avoids sign ambiguities in odd weights when a smaller width is defined only modulo the center.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 23 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The central matrices act identically on the complex upper half-plane, so the effective group is . Away from points with nontrivial effective stabilizer, properly discontinuous action supplies ordinary quotient-disc charts. At a fixed point , the coordinate identifies the stabilizer action with a rotation; its invariant coordinate is , where is the effective stabilizer order. These charts give the quotient its Riemann surface structure.
The elliptic stabilizers of the modular group occur only in the orbits of and . They have effective orders two and three. Consequently the analytic ramification indices of the map from the half-plane areThe stabilizers in have orders four and six, but the central factor does not double these indices.
All rational boundary points, including infinity, lie in one cusp of a modular group: a primitive column can be completed to a determinant-one integral matrix taking infinity to . The stabilizer of infinity is generated effectively by , and the coordinate identifies its high horodisc quotient with a punctured disc. Adding fills that disc. This constructs the compactified modular curve from the extended half-plane; it does not use the ordinary subspace topology on the rational boundary.
For compactness use the standard fundamental domain of the modular group. Its part below a fixed height is compact, since its imaginary part is at least . The part above , modulo translation and with the modular cusp added, is a closed disc in the -coordinate. Their images cover the quotient, so it is compact. The same argument with finitely many translates proves compactness for every finite-index subgroup.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 132 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Interpret the printed congruence entrywise in the integer lattice:It then defines the usual level-two principal congruence subgroup of , despite the PDF's ambient . A literal ideal congruence inside would be vacuous because , and would make the asserted conclusion false. The integer-lattice interpretation is essential.
Pass to , which has exactly the same action. Reduction modulo two maps the modular group onto , a group of order six: the reductions of and generate it. Its kernel is , so the index of a subgroup is six. The standard fundamental domain of the modular group has hyperbolic area , and hence the quotient has hyperbolic area .
There are no nonidentity elliptic Möbius transformations in . An integral matrix representing an elliptic Möbius transformation has trace or . Here the trace is even, excluding ; trace zero would give and , impossible. Thus the effective action is a free properly discontinuous group action, and the quotient is a Riemann surface.
A cusp of a modular group is represented by a rational boundary point. Their orbits correspond towhich has elements. They are represented by , or by the three nonzero parity vectors of a primitive numerator-denominator pair. Each width of a cusp is two. A union of six copies of the standard fundamental domain of the modular group gives a fundamental region for this subgroup. Removing small horocycle neighbourhoods of its cusps leaves a compact core. Adding one point at each cusp of a modular group, using the local parameter after moving that cusp to infinity, gives a compact Riemann surface .
For a finite-area hyperbolic surface of genus with cusps, the Gauss-Bonnet theorem gives area . Thus and . A compact genus-zero Riemann surface is the Riemann sphere, by the uniformization theorem. A Möbius transformation sends the three added points to . Restricting it gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 137 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
First establish rational conjugation of finite-index modular subgroups without assuming that is a congruence subgroup. Multiply by a positive integer to obtain an integral matrix , and let . Conjugation is unchanged by this scalar. If , thenThus the principal congruence subgroup is contained in . It has finite index because reduction modulo has finite image. Inside , pullback under conjugation of has relative index at most . ConsequentlyThis argument does not assert that an arbitrary finite-index subgroup contains a principal congruence subgroup.
Use the determinant-normalized slash operatorThe positive real power of the determinant is used; on this reduces to the usual slash operator for modular forms. The automorphy factor identity gives the right-action rule .
A modular form on a finite-index subgroup of integer weight is a holomorphic function on the complex upper half-plane, invariant under this weight- action of , and holomorphic at a cusp at each of its cusps. A cusp of a modular group is a orbit in . If carries infinity to its representative, choose a positive integer with . Such exists by finite index. Then is periodic and has a convergent expansion in near zero; holomorphy means no negative exponents, and being a cusp form means zero constant term. Using an actual translation period avoids possible signs if a smaller width of a cusp is defined only modulo the center, particularly in odd weights.
For cusp holomorphy under rational slash operators, choose with , possible by completing a primitive integer pair to a determinant-one matrix. Then , with . Up to a nonzero constant factor,The imaginary part of the argument tends to infinity with that of , so this remains bounded by the cusp expansion of . It tends to zero if is a cusp form. Moreover is invariant under : for , and the right-action rule applies. Finite index gives a translation period for , so boundedness is a removable singularity at zero in that periodic parameter. This proves holomorphy at infinity. For every other cusp, apply the same argument to the rational matrix , with . Thus all cusp conditions hold, and
For the character twist by rational translations of a cusp form, put and . For , direct conjugation givesIndeed and . Every is therefore -invariant and vanishes at all its cusps by the preceding rational-translate argument. Their finite weighted sum is a cusp form, for every Dirichlet character:
There is, however, a missing primitivity hypothesis in the printed final expansion claim. The exact Fourier expansion of a modular form is alwaysValues of a Dirichlet character on units have modulus one, so . For unit , substitution gives , where is the Gauss sum of a Dirichlet character. For nonunit , this vanishing formula requires a primitive Dirichlet character.
Here is its proof in that case. Choose a prime . Primitivity supplies a unit with : otherwise the character would factor through the surjective reduction to units modulo . Surjectivity follows by lifting a unit and, if needed, adjusting the lift to avoid the additional prime , using the Chinese remainder theorem. Multiplication by fixes because , but multiplies the character factor by a nontrivial constant. Hence . The finite Fourier transform of a primitive Dirichlet character now gives the corrected formulaThe constant is nonzero: finite exponential orthogonality gives , whereas the proved formula makes this . Thus .
For a concrete counterexample to the printed unrestricted claim, take , the principal Dirichlet character, and . The translation sum is , whose coefficient is . Any constant multiple of the proposed odd-index-only series has coefficient zero. Thus the general modularity conclusion is proved, while the claimed simplification is false without the stated extra hypothesis.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 137 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A modular form of integer weight for a finite-index subgroup is a holomorphic function on the complex upper half-plane satisfying for and holomorphic at every cusp of a modular group. Explicitly, for each choose a positive integer with . Then is periodic with period , and its expansion in must have no negative powers. Equivalently it must be bounded as , uniformly in one period. This definition applies to noncongruence subgroups too. If , nonzero forms require even weight.
Put and let . Form the product over left cosetsChanging a representative does not affect a factor. Right multiplication permutes the cosets, so the product is a nonzero level-one modular form of weight . It is holomorphic on the upper half-plane and at infinity, since every factor is bounded there by cusp holomorphy.
Let be the least positive integer with , and write . If is its first nonzero index, the distinct cosets , , give the factors . Their product has leading term a nonzero constant times . All remaining factors are bounded at infinity. Hence , so its level-one order satisfies . Notice that using just the single factor would only give ; the entire translation orbit is needed.
The permitted valence formula for the modular group bounds , because all its other weighted zero orders are nonnegative. Thus . With , the map is injective: a nonzero form in its kernel would have . This proves the dimension bound for modular forms on a finite-index subgroup:
For the dilation assertion, the original PDF states , a product-divisibility condition, rather than the TeX's chain . Use the PDF condition. Put . If , thensince . Therefore, for , either direct substitution or the slash operator for modular forms gives . It is holomorphic on the upper half-plane.
To verify every cusp, take and choose taking infinity to the rational cusp . Then is rational upper triangular, with positive ratio of its two diagonal entries. Consequentlyis a nonzero constant factor times evaluated at an affine map with . The imaginary part tends to infinity, where is bounded. Thus is bounded too. Together with its periodicity this proves cusp holomorphy by the Riemann removable singularity theorem. Hence the oldform by argument dilation satisfies
Finally has index four: reduction modulo three gives a transitive action on the four points of , and is the inverse image of the stabilizer of infinity. Reduction is surjective, since elementary determinant-one matrices generate and lift integrally. The dimension bound gives .
The normalized Eisenstein series and the oldform both belong to this space. Their Fourier expansion of a normalized Eisenstein series starts asA linear relation between them has zero constant term only if its two scalars sum to zero; its coefficient then forces both scalars to vanish. They are independent, proving the weight-four modular forms on Gamma 0 3 description
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 137 3 a Solution 2026-09-28
The modular curve isGive it the quotient topology on and adjoin one end for each cusp of a modular group. At a point with trivial effective stabilizer, the quotient map identifies a sufficiently small disk with a chart. At an elliptic point with cyclic stabilizer of order , choose a disk coordinate centered there; then descends to a quotient coordinate. At a cusp represented by and having width , a punctured neighborhood is described byand adjoining fills in the cusp. These charts make a compact Riemann surface.
Weak modular form 2026-10-05
Here a weak modular form is a holomorphic function on the complex upper half-plane satisfying the weight- transformation law, with no growth condition at any cusp of a modular group. This convention differs from weakly holomorphic modular forms, which are required to be meromorphic at the cusps. At level one, translation invariance gives a Laurent expansion on the punctured unit disc, possibly with infinitely many negative powers.