Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 4 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Let . This polynomial ring is a unique factorization domain of Krull dimension three. For a height-one prime in a unique factorization domain , choose a nonzero element of it and an irreducible factor belonging to . In a unique factorization domain, is prime, so is a nonzero prime ideal contained in . Strict containment would give a chain of length two. ThusIf has height three, it is maximal: any strictly larger proper prime would extend a length-three chain and contradict . The Weak Hilbert Nullstellensatz over the algebraically closed field then givesfor some . This proves both requested generator assertions.
For the monomial curve with exponents three, four and five, putAll three map to zero under the given parametrization, so . Reduce any monomial using , and . Each reduction decreases the sum of the exponents of , so it terminates. Every polynomial has, modulo , the formIts image is . These three terms occupy different exponent classes modulo three, so they cannot cancel. A zero image forces each . ConsequentlyThe quotient is the domain , hence is a prime ideal. It is finite free over , with basis of a module , by the same normal-form argument. Its dimension is therefore one, using that integral extensions preserve Krull dimension. The polynomial-ring height and dimension formula givesFor the generator obstruction, let . Since , we have . The degree-two initial forms of areThey are linearly independent over in . Thus no nonzero constant linear combination of the belongs to , and their classes are independent in . Since the three generators span that quotient,Two global generators would span it by two vectors, which is impossible. This is the initial-form lower bound for ideal generators; it shows why height two does not force two generators, even though height one and height three behave as above.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 101 4 iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The polynomial ring is a two-dimensional unique factorization domain. Let be a prime ideal containing . Since , the prime is nonzero. If it were not maximal, it would have height one, so the height-one prime in a unique factorization domain would give for an irreducible polynomial . Then would divide both and , contrary to the hypothesis. Every prime ofis therefore maximal.
The Hilbert basis theorem makes Noetherian, and it has Krull dimension zero by the preceding paragraph. The Noetherian dimension-zero criterion for an Artinian ring now shows that