Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 2 3G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Every discrete additive subgroup of has the form for linearly independent vectors, with or . A full translation lattice has , and conversely every such integer span is a discrete cocompact subgroup. This classifies planar lattices up to a choice of basis.
A frieze group is a discrete group of planar Euclidean isometries whose translation subgroup is infinite cyclic and has finite index. Consider the glide reflection . Its square is translation by , whereas every odd power reverses orientation. Therefore , but none of its translation elements generates the whole group: they form the index-two subgroup .
To realize exactly this frieze group, repeat a small scalene triangular motif at the points , reflecting the motif when is odd. Choose the motif with three distinct side lengths and no internal symmetry. The displayed pattern has glide reflection symmetry and translation period , but no pure horizontal reflection or vertical mirror. Distinct side lengths force any symmetry to preserve corresponding vertices, which rules out extra motif permutations; the sequence of heights then leaves exactly the powers of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ii Paper 1 11F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A frieze group is a discrete subgroup of Euclidean isometries whose translation subgroup is generated by one nonzero vector and has finite index. A plane crystallographic group is a discrete subgroup of Euclidean isometries with a rank-two translation lattice of finite index; equivalently its action has a compact fundamental region.
Here are three frieze groups, with explicit generators. The translation alone gives . Adding the vertical reflection in mathematics gives , the infinite dihedral group, since . Instead adding the horizontal reflection in mathematics gives , since . Their translation parts are exactly and their point parts have respectively one, two and two elements.
For plane crystallographic groups, let and . These generate . Adding the half-turn gives , with inversion on both translation generators. Adding the quarter-turn gives , with and . These are the translation, half-turn and square-rotation wallpaper groups. Integer translation vectors and a finite point part make each group a discrete subgroup; the unit square meets every orbit, establishing a cocompact group action.
For the final claim, suppose a Euclidean isometry has order five. An orientation-reversing planar isometry has finite order only when it is a reflection in mathematics, so is a rotation through , , about some centre. Write for its linear rotation part. If is a nonzero translation, conjugation gives . Thus contains translations by and by , where .
For a primitive fifth root , dividing by gives . Hence is irrational. The pigeonhole principle, applied to fractional parts of in equal intervals, gives integers with . Consequently contains nonidentity translations by tending to the identity. This contradicts the discrete subgroup hypothesis. There is no element of order five. This argument needs only the given nonzero translation, not a rank-two lattice.
