Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 18 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Put . To specify the Abel map of an algebraic curve into , useThe canonical-class twist is necessary: an untwisted sum has degree , rather than . Let . The Riemann-Roch theorem and Serre duality give and .
On , write for the graph of the th coordinate, , and for projection to . The locally free sheaf has rank ; at repeated points it records values and jets. Evaluation gives a morphism of rank- vector bundlesIts kernel at a tuple is . By the Riemann-Roch theorem, this space has the same dimension as , since both line bundles have degree . Thus its determinant vanishes exactly along . This is also an equality of Cartier divisors with multiplicities: the evaluation complex computes the sheaf cohomology of ; Serre duality identifies its determinant equation, up to an invertible factor, with the defining theta evaluation equation for .
To calculate the determinant line, set . Restriction to the extra graph givesProjection is exact on these finite relative divisors. On , the first term is , where . Taking determinants inductively yields the evaluation determinant on a product of curves:The determinant of the fixed space contributes only a constant line. ThereforeThe diagonal subtraction is essential: ordinary evaluation determinants vanish when columns coincide, whereas restriction to a repeated-point Cartier divisor uses jets. The restriction exact sequences account for those factors in every characteristic.