Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 3 5D v Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
No such finite group exists. Cayley theorem embeds every finite group of order into : the left-regular group action sends to the permutation , and this is faithful because the image of the identity element is .
To make every image permutation even, let , with support disjoint from the first letters. For , let for an even permutation and for an odd permutation, and setThe sign homomorphism gives , and commutes with all permutations of the first letters. Thus is a group homomorphism. It is injective by restriction to those letters, and its sign is . ConsequentlyThis is the alternating-group embedding of a finite group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 3 7D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For a group action of a finite group on a set and a point , the orbit-stabilizer theorem iswhere is the stabilizer subgroup. The map is well defined because elements of the same coset act identically on . If , then , so their cosets agree; every orbit point has the form , giving surjectivity. This is a bijection. Lagrange's theorem, for any subgroup , yields the counting formula.
Apply the conjugation action of the finite p-group to its nontrivial normal subgroup . Normality ensures the action stays inside . The singleton orbits of a group action are exactly the elements of . Every larger orbit of a group action has size a positive power of , by the orbit-stabilizer theorem and Lagrange's theorem. ThereforeSince is nontrivial, its order is divisible by . The intersection contains the identity and has cardinality a positive multiple of , so it contains a nonidentity element. This proves the central intersection property of normal subgroups of finite p-groups.
For the proper subgroup , let act by left multiplication on the left cosets . A coset is fixed by every exactly when . Both groups have the same finite size, so this inclusion is equality; the fixed cosets are precisely those with . Hence their number is . All non-singleton orbits of a group action have size divisible by , soSince is proper, is a positive power of greater than one. The fixed-coset count is nonzero, because itself is fixed, and is divisible by . Therefore the normalizer strictly contains :This is the normalizer condition for finite p-groups. The proof also covers , whose action fixes all cosets.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 101 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
An integral domain is an integrally closed domain if every element of its fraction field which is an integral element over belongs to . Explicitly, if satisfiesthen . Thus .
Suppose is a unique factorization domain and is integral, with , , and with no common irreducible element as a factor. Multiplying its monic equation by givesHence divides . Every irreducible element dividing is a prime element, so it would divide , contrary to the choice of the fraction. Therefore is a unit, and . We have proved
The going-down theorem is the following. Let be an integral extension of integral domains with an integrally closed domain. IfthenWe first prove this for a module-finite ring extension and then remove that extra hypothesis. We use the Lying-over theorem, the Going-up theorem, and the incomparability theorem for integral extensions: primes exist over every base prime, prime chains can be extended upwards, and distinct primes over the same base prime cannot contain one another. The Going-up theorem follows by applying the Lying-over theorem to the quotient by the lower prime. These results concern arbitrary integral extensions; none assumes the going-down theorem.
For the finite case, let and . Since is module-finite, is a finite field extension. Take a finite normal field extension containing , obtained as a splitting field of the minimal polynomials of finitely many field generators. The extension need not be a separable field extension. Let be the integral closure of in . Then , and is integral over both and .
We need one auxiliary fact: the finite group acts transitively on the prime ideals of over any fixed prime ideal of . First observe that an element fixed by all of is a purely inseparable algebraic element over . Indeed, all -embeddings of into an algebraic closure extend to -automorphisms of the normal field extension . Hence the minimal polynomial of an algebraic element has only one distinct root. In characteristic zero this says ; in characteristic it says for some .
Now let be primes of over , and suppose is different from every , . By the incomparability theorem for integral extensions, is contained in none of these conjugate primes. The prime avoidance lemma suppliesThe productis fixed by , is integral over , and lies in because one factor is . Choose an exponent equal to in characteristic zero, or a power of in characteristic , such that . Since is an integrally closed domain, . It also lies in , hence in . Because is a prime ideal, some factor lies in . This means , contradicting our choice. Thus for some , proving transitivity. The power accounts for the possible purely inseparable field extension and makes the argument valid in every characteristic.
Lift the prescribed to a prime of by the Lying-over theorem for . Separately, choose a prime over and use the Going-up theorem to find over . Transitivity gives with . ThenContracting to gives with the required contraction. This proves the going-down theorem for the module-finite case.
For a general integral extension , consider and the idealWe claim that is disjoint from . Otherwise, clearing the finitely many denominators in an expression for an element givesThe subalgebra is a module-finite ring extension of , since all its generators are integral elements. Apply the finite case to : there is a prime contracting to . The displayed identity puts in , but . Thus , a contradiction.
Localize further at the multiplicative subset . The extension of is a proper ideal, by the disjointness just proved. Choose a maximal ideal containing it and contract back to a prime ideal of . This prime contains and avoids . Its contraction to lies inside by the prime ideal correspondence for localization, and its contraction to is exactly . This completes the proof of the going-down theorem without any finite generation assumption on .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 1 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
If and belong to different factors, the powers have distinct normal forms of length . Every nontrivial free product is therefore an infinite group, whereas the alternating group is a finite group of order .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 6 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The auxiliary Higman group has no nontrivial finite quotients of a group. One can use this permitted property directly, but there is a short verification. In any finite quotient, let be the order of the image of . Since conjugation sends to its square, must be odd. If some , choose the least prime number dividing any . It is odd. Conjugation by the preceding generator givesThe multiplicative order of modulo is therefore a divisor of . It is greater than one and divides by the Fermat little theorem, so it has a prime divisor smaller than . That prime also divides , contradicting the choice of . Hence every and the quotient is trivial.
Given any finitely presented group , form , and apply part (a) to the word . This word is nontrivial by the normal form theorem for a free product, so the output contains by the embedding already proved.
To check its finite quotients, let be any group homomorphism to a finite group. The image of the copy of is trivial by the preceding property. The identifications make all trivial. Thus the equations give, in the image,Since , this forces for all generators of , including . The defining word then has trivial image, so as well. Every generator of has trivial image. ThereforeThis uses the concrete construction of part (a), not an assumption that arbitrary quotients preserve an embedding of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 1 10E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The Sylow theorems state that if a finite group has order with prime and , it has a subgroup of order , called a Sylow subgroup. Every p-group subgroup is contained in a Sylow subgroup, and all Sylow subgroups for the same prime are conjugate subgroups. Their number satisfiesMore precisely for a Sylow subgroup , where is its normalizer.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 103 4 c i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the averaging linear mapFor a unitary representation of a finite group, is the orthogonal projection onto the invariant subspace , and . Applying this to gives . Since , . The vector is a cyclic vector for a group representation, so its translates span , and every translate also has projection zero. Thus andThis is the cyclic eigenvector obstruction to invariant vectors. Unitarity also gives a direct proof by pairing with an invariant vector and then pairing every translate; the averaging proof makes the role of cyclicity especially transparent.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 137 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Write and , where is the character group of a finite abelian group. The Fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups writes the finite group as a product of cyclic groups. A character of a cyclic group factor of order is determined by an arbitrary th root of unity, so . This description also shows that the characters separate points: if , a nonzero coordinate of is detected by a character with .
Multiplication by permutes , soFor this forces . For every summand is one. Since , the character-sum cancellation lemma givesAll character values are roots of unity, so inversion here is also complex conjugation. This is the finite-abelian version of character orthogonality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 18G b iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Write , where . Forthe derivative isso is a separable polynomial and all its roots in its splitting field are distinct.
Let be the set of these roots. The Frobenius endomorphism and the identitiesshow that is closed under addition and multiplication. It is also closed under additive inverses and, for , inversion. Thus is a finite field. Since splits into distinct linear factors, . The field generated by all roots is therefore itself, so andHence the polynomial characterization of a finite field gives
Now let be irreducible of degree , and let be a root in an algebraic closure. The minimal polynomial of an algebraic element givesso has elements. Its nonzero elements form a finite group under multiplication, of order ; hence . Therefore is a root of , and its minimal polynomial divides every polynomial over that vanishes at . Thus the irreducible factors of a finite-field Frobenius polynomial satisfy
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 19F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Maschke's theorem says that if is a finite group and the characteristic of a field does not divide , then every finite-dimensional -representation of is semisimple.
To prove it, let be an invariant subspace of a representation , and choose any linear projection . Average its conjugates:The scalar exists by the characteristic assumption. Reindexing the sum shows that commutes with every . Since each summand restricts to the identity on , so does ; hence is an equivariant projection onto . Its kernel is an invariant complement, and induction on decomposes into irreducible representations.
The isometry group of is the infinite dihedral groupLet be a nonfaithful finite-dimensional complex representation. Its nontrivial normal kernel contains for some , by the stated hint, so factors through the finite quotientMaschke's theorem decomposes this quotient representation into irreducibles. To bound their dimensions, choose a -eigenvector with eigenvalue in an irreducible constituent. The relation givesso is invariant under both generators. Irreducibility makes it the whole constituent, whose dimension is therefore at most two. This proves the result on nonfaithful representations of the infinite dihedral group.
For the requested representation of , let its generator act on the polynomials of degree at most one by translation:In the basis ,This is a nontrivial Jordan block, so it is not diagonalizable. A direct sum of one-dimensional subrepresentations would make diagonalizable, proving that this nonsemisimple translation representation of the infinite cyclic group has the required property.
Finally, on defineThen and , so these operators define a quadratic-polynomial representation of the infinite dihedral group. In the basis they areHere but , so consists of one size-three Jordan block. If were a direct sum of subrepresentations of dimensions at most two, then would be block diagonal with Jordan blocks of sizes at most two, a contradiction. Thus this representation has the required failure of decomposition.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 151 1 b i Solution 2026-09-28
The product of the finite groups with their discrete topology is a topological group under coordinatewise multiplication and inversion. The compatibility equations defining are preserved by both operations, so is a subgroup. Their restrictions to the subspace topology on are continuous. Hence with its standard inverse-limit topology is a topological group.
Suppose first that is conjugacy separable. If is not conjugate to in , some homomorphism to a finite group sends them to nonconjugate elements. This homomorphism factors through a finite quotient of , so cannot be conjugate to in . Thus
Conversely, suppose this equality holds and is not conjugate to in . Then they are not conjugate in . By the finite-quotient criterion for conjugacy in a profinite group, their images fail to be conjugate in some finite quotient. This is precisely conjugacy separability.
The restriction form of the restriction branching rule for a symmetric group iswhere contains the distinct partitions obtained by deleting one Removable node of a Young diagram. In particular, the restriction is multiplicity-free.
Restrict the alternating expressionThe supplied restriction formula for a Young permutation character, with , says that each term restricts by subtracting one from each possible component. After collecting the alternating sums, this givesIf row has no removable node, part i straightens against the adjacent term with the opposite sign, or makes it zero when two shifted entries coincide. The surviving terms are exactly for . Since and each surviving are partitions, and . We obtainComplex representations of a finite group are semisimple, so equality of characters proves the asserted module decomposition.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ia Paper 3 5E Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A group action of on is a map such that and . The orbit and stabilizer of areFor a finite group, the mapis a well-defined bijection from the left cosets of to . Each coset has elements, so the orbit-stabilizer theorem is
The Cauchy theorem for groups says that if a prime number divides , then has an element of order . To prove it, letThe first entries determine the last, so , which is divisible by . The cyclic group acts on by cyclically rotating the entries; rotation preserves the product condition becauseEvery orbit has size one or . The fixed points are exactly the tuples with . Their number is therefore divisible by . Since the identity gives one fixed point, there is another, and its entry has order .
Now let . Cauchy's theorem gives a subgroup of order . Let act by the conjugation action on the set of subgroups of order . It fixes . If it also fixed , then would normalize ; since , the product would be a subgroup of order , which is impossible. Every other -orbit in therefore has size , soDistinct members of share only the identity and each contributes ten nonidentity elements. Hence , forcing . Thus is a normal subgroup.
Conjugation now defines a group homomorphismBecause , its automorphism group has order . By the Lagrange theorem, the image has order dividing both and , so the image is trivial and lies in the center of . Cauchy's theorem also supplies of order . If generates , then and commute and has order . Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ib Paper 2 9E Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A Sylow subgroup of a finite group is a subgroup whose order is the largest power of a prime dividing . The Sylow theorems say that such subgroups exist, that every -subgroup lies in one, that all Sylow -subgroups are conjugate, and that their number divides and obeys .
For the last congruence, let one Sylow -subgroup act by conjugation on the set of all Sylow -subgroups. Every orbit other than a fixed point has size divisible by . If is fixed, then . They are Sylow subgroups of this normalizer, so they are conjugate within ; because every element of fixes under conjugation, this forces . Thus there is exactly one fixed point and .
Now let have index with . The coset action gives a homomorphismIts kernel is a normal subgroup of the simple group . It cannot be all of , since the action is transitive and nontrivial, so it is trivial. This would embed into , contrary to . Hence no such subgroup exists.
Suppose finally that a group of order were simple. The Sylow count satisfiesand simplicity excludes , so . Conjugation on these six subgroups gives a nontrivial homomorphism , which simplicity makes injective. Its image lies in , because the composite with the sign homomorphism must be trivial. It would therefore be a subgroup of of index , contradicting the result just proved. Thus
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 104 4 a Solution 2026-09-28
A group is residually finite when, for every , there are a finite group and a group homomorphism such that . Equivalently, the intersection of all finite-index normal subgroups of is trivial.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 133 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
Use the injective group homomorphism from part (a). If , its image is an integral matrix . Choose a prime number that does not divide one nonzero entry of . The reduction modulo a prime in an integral matrix group homomorphismthen sends to a nonidentity element. Its target is a finite group, so the composite map separates from the identity. Hence is a residually finite group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 133 2 c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Consider the principal congruence subgroupIt has finite index because is a finite group. It is torsion-free: by part (b), a finite-order element is conjugate to or , while the reductions of and modulo still have orders and , respectively. Hence no nonidentity power in either vertex group reduces to the identity.
It follows that intersects every conjugate of the two vertex stabilizers trivially, so its action on the Bass-Serre tree is free. A group with a free group action on a tree is a free group. Consequently contains the free subgroup of finite index; equivalently, it is a virtually free group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 151 1 Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Let be a projective resolution of the trivial -module. The projective-resolution definition of group cohomology isThis is independent, up to a natural isomorphism, of the chosen projective resolution.
The degreewise natural isomorphismscommute with the coboundary maps. Taking cohomology proves that group cohomology commutes with finite direct sums:
Now restrict from to a subgroup . The group ring is free as a -module, so restriction carries free modules to free modules and projective modules to projective modules. Thus the restricted complex is a projective resolution of the trivial -module. For the coinduced module , the Hom functor adjunction for a coinduced module gives an isomorphism of cochain complexesExplicitly, a map is sent to ; the inverse sends a -linear map to . Taking cohomology proves Shapiro's lemma:
For the conjugation module of a group ring , the basis is the disjoint union of its conjugacy classes. Hence is the direct sum of the integral permutation modules on those classes. The class of a representative is the transitive -set , where is its centralizer. Since is finite, this permutation module is both induced and coinduced from the trivial -module . Applying group cohomology commutes with finite direct sums and Shapiro's lemma yields the group cohomology of a conjugation module:
The symmetric group has three conjugacy classes, represented by the identity, a transposition, and a three-cycle. Their centralizers are respectivelyFor any finite group acting trivially on ,because a group homomorphism sends an element of finite order to an element of finite order, while the additive group of the integers contains no nonzero torsion elements. ThereforeThe periodic resolution of a finite cyclic group alternates the maps and . After applying with the trivial action, these become alternately zero and multiplication by , provingCombining this calculation with the supplied gives
Prime-to-p conjugacy class lemma 2026-10-06
For a finite group with trivial centre of a group and a prime divisor of its order, some nonidentity conjugacy class has size coprime to . Otherwise the class equation would give . Primality is essential: in the symmetric group , neither nonidentity class size is coprime to the composite divisor .