Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 8 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The mod- Iwasawa algebra is the completed group algebrawhere runs through open normal subgroups and the transition maps come from quotient maps. This is the mod- algebra, distinguished from the integral Iwasawa algebra .
Use the stated complete separated negative filtered ring structure, writing and for a nonzero element. In the usual odd-prime congruence-group situation,The dimension-three assertion records the three independent entries of a trace-zero matrix; the argument below only needs the given graded polynomial-algebra property. Completeness and separatedness are with respect to this filtration and follow from the inverse-limit topology for the standard filtration. If , their leading symbols are nonzero, so their product in the graded domain is nonzero. Therefore and . This proves the domain assertion by filtered-graded transfer for complete rings.
For a left ideal , its leading symbols form a homogeneous left ideal of the polynomial ring. The Hilbert basis theorem gives finitely many homogeneous generators; choose lifts . Given , express its leading symbol using these generators, lift the homogeneous coefficients, and subtract the resulting . The remainder is still in and has strictly larger valuation. Repeat. At a stage where the remainder has valuation , the coefficient contribution for has valuation at least . Thus each accumulated coefficient is a Cauchy series, converging to an element of . The remainder tends to zero, and separatedness gives . Hence is algebraically generated by these finitely many lifts; no prior assumption that is closed was used. This proves under the stated filtration hypothesis. The same proof for right ideals also gives right Noetherianity.
For the classical fractions, a left Noetherian domain satisfies the left Ore condition. Here is the common-multiple argument. If two nonzero principal left ideals had zero intersection, the ideals , , would form a direct sum: from a finite relation, its first term lies in , and then cancellation of the nonzero proves the assertion inductively. Their partial sums give an infinite ascending chain, impossible in a left Noetherian ring. Thus , giving common left multiples for every two nonzero denominators. The right-handed argument also applies. Ore localization at all nonzero elements therefore produces the classical division ring of fractions, with expressions or ; every nonzero fraction is invertible.
There is a genuine prime restriction behind the auxiliary hypothesis. For , the matrix is a nonidentity element of of order two. In , the nonzero element satisfies . It is nonzero already in a finite quotient separating from one. Thus the actual algebra is not a domain, and cannot have the supplied separated graded-domain filtration. The intended conclusion applies for odd ; at it instead applies to a suitable deeper torsion-free congruence subgroup, such as the kernel modulo four.