Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 1D ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be the generating involutions. If , set and . Then , so its order of a group element is at least two or infinite, andTherefore generate the group and satisfy the required dihedral inversion relation. If , the group is and gives its permitted degenerate description. This proves the two-involution characterization of a dihedral group without excluding either or the infinite dihedral group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 1D i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The two-involution characterization of a dihedral group uses the extended convention that includes and the infinite dihedral group; the two generators need not be distinct. Put and . The inversion relation givesIf , both are involutions and generate the original group. If , then and the group is ; choose the same nonidentity element twice. Thus two elements of order two generate the group, including the degenerate case allowed here. The distinction between square equal to the identity and order of a group element exactly two is essential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 7D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Lagrange's theorem says that, for a finite group and subgroup ,Here is the number of left cosets. Every lies in . If and meet, write ; then , so . Hence the left cosets partition . The bijection makes each coset have elements. Adding their cardinalities proves Lagrange's theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 8D b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Write the Heisenberg group element as . Matrix multiplication and inversion giveAll matrices have determinant one. They contain , are closed under multiplication and inverses, and inherit associativity from matrix multiplication; hence they form a subgroup of .
Two such matrices commute precisely when . Requiring this for every forces . ConsequentlyThe map is a surjective group homomorphism to the additive group , with kernel of a group homomorphism . Equivalently, it gives the explicit quotient group isomorphismIt is well-defined because multiplying by a central element changes only . It is injective because equal imply that the quotient of the two matrices is central, and surjectivity follows by taking . This also proves the needed instance of the first isomorphism theorem directly.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 2 6 Solution 2026-10-06
A real Lie group is a finite-dimensional real smooth manifold with a group structure whose multiplication and inversion are smooth. Its tangent space at the identity element is the vector space of velocities of smooth curves through . For the general linear group it identifies with . The matrix exponential and local matrix logarithm areThe exponential is globally defined, and each matrix is invertible with inverse . The logarithm here is a local map near ; it is not a globally defined inverse on every real invertible matrix. The differential of at zero is the identity, and the two power series are inverse locally.
For a general , the assumed Exponential map of a Lie group with has a smooth local inverse by the inverse function theorem, giving a local exponential chart. Define the Lie bracket from local group commutators byFor small the group commutator lies in that chart. More explicitly, the map is smooth and has . Its mixed second differential at is a bilinear map of , proving bilinearity. Swapping the two group elements inverts the commutator, and near . Thus and . In the matrix group, expansion to the mixed term gives the familiar commutator .
For , let and define the Adjoint representation of a Lie group by . It is smooth and satisfies . Its derived representation is . Naturality of the Exponential map of a Lie group under conjugation givesAt , the derivative of the logarithm of the commutator is : the derivative of multiplication at adds tangent vectors, and . Differentiate in to concludeTo prove the Jacobi identity without assuming it in the bracket construction, first establish that the differential of a Lie group homomorphism preserves Lie brackets. For a homomorphism , the allowed exponential identity gives locally. Apply this identity to the group commutator and take the mixed derivative to obtain . In particular givesApplying both sides to yields . Rearranging with antisymmetry provesNeither injectivity of nor the existence of a global logarithm was used.
Finally let be a normal Lie subgroup of , with its corresponding Lie algebra . For each , conjugation restricts to , so its differential preserves : . Differentiate along to get for every and . Thus the Lie algebra of a normal Lie subgroup is an ideal of a Lie algebra. The assertion concerns a subgroup carrying the corresponding Lie-subgroup structure, for example any closed subgroup; no arbitrary abstract subgroup is being assigned a tangent space.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 3 15F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For a finite group , subgroups , and a complex group representation of , the Mackey restriction formula isChoose one representative of each double coset . The conjugate subgroup representation is a representation of on the same vector space, with . Restriction of a representation keeps the vector space and restricts the acting subgroup. induced representation is , and analogously for each subgroup of . The displayed isomorphism is an isomorphism of -representations. These definitions specify every summand and its subgroup.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 3 5D i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
No such nonabelian group exists. Every element, including the identity, satisfies , so . For any ,Therefore the group is an abelian group. This proves that a group of exponent two is abelian without any finiteness assumption.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 1 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The free product is obtained by taking disjoint copies of the elements of the two groups as generators and imposing precisely their internal multiplication relations. Equivalently, if with disjoint , thenA nontrivial free product has both factors different from the trivial group.
The normal form theorem for a free product says that every element has a unique expressionwhere the empty expression represents the identity. The are called syllables in a free product. Thus nonempty alternating products cannot be the identity, and the natural maps of the factors into the free product are injective.
For existence, multiply adjacent syllables from the same factor and delete identity syllables until the word alternates. Each change uses a defining relation and decreases the number of syllables. To establish uniqueness without assuming that these reductions are confluent, let be the set of alternating nonidentity syllable sequences, including the empty sequence. For , define a permutation of by prepending , multiplying into the first syllable if it belongs to , and deleting it if that product is the identity; for , do nothing.
The multiplication law inside gives for , and . This can be checked at the first syllable: if a product deletes it, the next syllable belongs to the other factor and is treated as a new first syllable. Hence the defining relations give a group action of on . An alternating word sends the empty sequence to its own syllable sequence. Two such words representing the same group element induce the same permutation, and therefore have identical sequences. This proves the normal form theorem for a free product.
The universal property of a free product states that, for group homomorphisms , there is a unique group homomorphism extending both. Explicitly,The internal multiplication relations are respected because each is a group homomorphism, so this assignment descends from words to the presented group. Alternatively, multiplication of two normal forms is concatenation followed by precisely those internal relations, which do not change its value in . Uniqueness holds because the two factors generate the free product.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
In a nontrivial free product, nonidentity elements from different factors satisfy , since these are distinct alternating normal forms. Such a group is not an abelian group, whereas the free abelian group is abelian.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 5 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For and , defineThe normal form theorem for a free product giveswhere map to . To see injectivity, expand an alternating word in and powers of . The conjugating factors commute with the lattice syllables, so each intervening nonidentity lattice syllable stays nonidentity in the expanded free-product normal form.
Its intersection with is the free group with basisThis follows by moving all factors to the right; the zero-exponent lattice remainder characterizes membership in the kernel.
The required isomorphisms are specified on the three generators byandEach source and target has the same presentation , and each displayed assignment identifies its three abstract generators. Hence these are genuine isomorphisms, not merely maps of generating sets.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 6 a 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
If in , its image is the identity in the output group, so . The equations then give and for every , hence . Therefore , and the relation gives . Since the normal closure of is , every is . The remaining identifications make every equal to as well. All output generators vanish, provingThis proves collapse even when the original group itself is nontrivial.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 6 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
An isomorphism-invariant Markov property of finitely presented groups has two finitely presented witnesses: a group with , and a group which cannot embed in any finitely presented group having . In symbols,The second condition is an obstruction to embedding, stronger than merely saying that itself fails the property.
Let be a fixed finitely presented group with unsolvable word problem for a group. Form the finitely presented free product . Given a word in the generators of , apply part (a) to this and , and output the finite presentation ofIf in , it is also in , so is trivial and has . If in , its image stays nontrivial in the free product , and embeds in . Therefore embeds in , which cannot have . We have the effective equivalenceAn algorithm recognizing whether an arbitrary finite group presentation has would decide the unsolvable word problem for a group . This contradiction proves the Adian–Rabin theorem: no Markov property of finitely presented groups is algorithmically decidable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 6 d ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Part (c) shows that every finitely presented group embeds in a finitely presented group with no nontrivial finite quotients of a group. Consequently this property also has no possible forbidden witness . ThereforeBoth properties have positive witnesses, for example and the trivial group respectively. It is the required embedding obstruction that fails in each case.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 104 6 d i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Every finitely presented group embeds in by . This direct product of groups is finitely presented: combine finite presentations of the factors and add the finitely many cross-commutation relations between their generators. Projection onto gives a nontrivial finite quotient of a group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 119 5 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
First supply the unlettered preliminaries. Assuming the relevant categorical limits and colimits exist, limits of shape commute with colimits of shape when for every functor the canonical mapis an isomorphism. To construct this map, for each compose the limiting projections with the th colimit injections. They form an -cone, giving a map into the right-hand categorical limit; these maps form a -cocone, giving the comparison. This specifies the actual comparison required for commutation of limits and colimits.
A group regarded as a one-object category has its group elements as arrows, with composition given by multiplication. A functor from it to the Category of sets is a group action. For a -set , a cone consists of a map into whose values are fixed by every . Hence its categorical limit is the set of fixed points of a group action. A cocone is a map out of constant on orbits of a group action; its universal quotient is the orbit set. Thus
A diagram in a category is a set with commuting group actions of and . Its limit–colimit comparison isCommutation makes stable under . The comparison is always injective: if two -fixed representatives are in the same -orbit in , they already determine the same orbit in .
For surjectivity under the finite coprime hypotheses, let be an -orbit fixed setwise by . Its size divides by the orbit-stabilizer theorem. Since the group actions commute and is transitive on , all -orbits inside have the same size : the bijection identifies the -orbits of and . Thus divides , while the orbit-stabilizer theorem also gives . The orders are coprime, so . Every point in is therefore -fixed, and lies in the image of . We have proved commutation of fixed points and orbit quotients for coprime groups:The bijection is the canonical comparison and is natural in the set with commuting group actions, so it proves the requested commutation of limits and colimits in the Category of sets.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 120 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The regular language is nonempty because it represents every element of the group. Find any accepted word using Breadth-first search in its finite-state automaton. If is the empty word, it already represents the identity.
Otherwise begin with and repeatedly apply the linear-time multiplication in an automatic structure to the lettersThese letters belong to by symmetry of the alphabet. All intermediate words lie in , and the final word representsHence an identity representative can be constructed effectively:This is a finite preliminary computation depending only on the fixed automatic structure for a group; it uses no test for whether an arbitrary word represents the identity.