Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 11E b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Induct on to prove the stronger assertion that any submodule is a free module of rank of a free module at most . For this is immediate. Project onto the first coordinate by . Its image is an ideal of the principal ideal domain, so .
If , then embeds in the remaining coordinates and the induction hypothesis applies. Otherwise choose with . Put , a submodule of , which is free by induction. For every , there is with , so . If , then ; the integral domain property and give . ThereforeAppending to a basis of proves that is a free module of rank of a free module at most . This proof of the submodule theorem for free modules over a principal ideal domain does not assume in advance that is a finitely generated module.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 106 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Work over the complex scalar field. If , the ideal generated by is proper: otherwise commutativity would make invertible. By Zorn lemma extend it to a maximal ideal . This ideal is closed. Indeed, if its closure were all of , it would contain an element of sufficiently close to to be invertible, since the invertible group is open; a proper ideal cannot contain such an element. Its closure is therefore proper, and maximality gives .
The quotient is a complex unital Banach algebra and a division algebra. The Gelfand-Mazur theorem identifies it with , giving a character of an algebra with . Conversely, the argument in (a) shows that every is in the spectrum. ThusHere, as usual, a unital Banach algebra has a nonzero identity; the zero algebra is excluded.
The holomorphic functional calculus assigns to every function holomorphic on an open neighbourhood of an element . It is a unital algebra homomorphism, sends the coordinate function to , agrees with evaluation of rational functions having no poles on the spectrum, depends only on the germ near the spectrum, and is continuous for uniform convergence on a fixed surrounding contour. Its formula isHere is a finite oriented contour cycle in , with winding number one on the spectrum and zero off . A finite union of suitable polygonal boundary cycles suffices; no connectedness of is required. Such cycles exist by compactness of the spectrum, and the calculus is independent of the choice. The inverse is the resolvent of an element.
For the exponential, use a circle . The uniformly convergent Neumann expansion may be integrated term by term. The scalar Cauchy integral formula gives , provingThis series converges absolutely in the Banach algebra norm.
A character of an algebra is bounded and takes the resolvent to . Applying it inside the contour integral and using the scalar Cauchy formula gives . The character of an algebra description of the spectrum, now applied to , proves the spectral mapping theorem:In particular this spectrum is contained in when .
For the composition rule for holomorphic functional calculus, choose a relatively compact open neighbourhood of whose closure is contained in , and a surrounding contour cycle in with winding number one on . Choose a sufficiently small neighbourhood of with and , and a contour in surrounding the spectrum. The neighbourhoods and cycles may be finite unions, obtained from finite covers of the relevant compact sets. For the function is holomorphic near . Locality and multiplicativity of the calculus giveInsert this in the formula for and interchange the two vector-valued integrals. The scalar inner integral is , soThis proves equality as algebra elements. Equality of their character of an algebra values alone would be insufficient in a Banach algebra with nonzero radical.
Finally, places the spectrum in the open unit disk. On that disk is a holomorphic branch. Its calculus value is the norm-convergent series : one may integrate the uniformly convergent scalar series on a circle with . Since , the composition rule gives the logarithm of an element near the identity formula
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 113 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Take the dual numbers over any field , let , and let send to zero. Its kernel is the nonzero ideal , but both spectra of rings have exactly one point: every prime ideal contains the nilpotent element , and the only prime of is . Consequently the induced map is a homeomorphism for the Zariski topology, although it is not an isomorphism of schemes:More generally, quotienting by a nilpotent ideal gives a nilpotent thickening with unchanged underlying topology. The structure sheaf retains information that the topology alone cannot recover.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 113 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For an affine open subscheme , quasi-coherence gives for an ideal . Define with its usual closed immersion into . On a principal open subscheme , its restriction is , because localization commutes with taking this quotient. These local constructions therefore agree on overlaps and glue.
The resulting underlying closed set is , locally . With inclusion , its structure sheaf isAt a point corresponding to , its stalk is , the local ring of . Thus the glued ringed space is a scheme and is a closed immersion, with ideal sheaf of a closed subscheme exactly . This is the construction of a closed subscheme from a quasi-coherent ideal. If , the construction gives the empty scheme; if , it gives .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 128 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Jacobson radical is , where runs over the maximal right ideals of ; equivalently, it is the intersection of the annihilators of all simple modules. It is a two-sided ideal. A projective module has the lifting property against every surjective R-module homomorphism. A finitely generated module is a projective module precisely when it is a direct summand of a finitely generated free module. An indecomposable module is nonzero and admits no direct sum decomposition into two nonzero submodules.
To calculate the top of an indecomposable projective module, use the right Artinian ring hypothesis, namely the descending chain condition on right ideals. The Hopkins-Levitzki theorem gives finite composition length of the right regular module, hence of its submodule . Also is a nilpotent ideal, and is a semisimple ring. Thus the quotient module is a semisimple module; it is nonzero, since would imply for sufficiently large .
Suppose were not a simple module. A nontrivial direct sum decomposition of this semisimple module would give an idempotent that is neither zero nor the identity. Writing , the lifting property of the projective module gives with . The Fitting lemma for an indecomposable module of finite composition length says that is either invertible or a nilpotent element. Its induced map would then be invertible or a nilpotent element, respectively. Neither is possible for a nontrivial idempotent. Therefore is simple. This argument does not assume that an embedded projective module automatically splits off from the ambient module.
A block of an Artinian algebra is a nonzero two-sided direct summand determined by a primitive central idempotent : cannot be written as a sum of two nonzero orthogonal central idempotents. Its identity is . For a finite-dimensional associative algebra, the blocks of an Artinian algebra give its unique decomposition as a finite product of indecomposable algebras, or equivalently as a direct sum of two-sided ideals.
For the block of S3 in characteristic three, put , , and . The group algebra has basis for . In characteristic three,Consequently is a two-sided nilpotent ideal, , and . A nilpotent ideal lies in the Jacobson radical, and a quotient that is a semisimple ring forces the reverse inclusion. HenceDefine orthogonal idempotents and . They sum to one, so the right regular module decomposes asThe two summands are the indecomposable projectives of S3 in characteristic three. Each direct summand is a projective module, with basis . Its quotient module modulo multiplication by is one-dimensional: the trivial representation for , and the sign representation for . Each is an indecomposable module, since two nonzero direct summands would each have nonzero quotient module modulo , contradicting its one-dimensional top. For additional detail, the successive factors of the radical series of a module are the trivial representation, sign representation, trivial representation for , and the sign representation, trivial representation, sign representation for . Indeed, modulo the relation reverses the -sign, whereas commutes with .
The center of an associative algebra is spanned by the conjugacy class sums , , and . Since and , this center of an associative algebra isIts vector subspace is a square-zero ideal. If is a central idempotent, then and . Thus or and . There is no nontrivial central idempotent, so the whole group algebra is its single block. The two three-dimensional projective modules above are a decomposition of the regular module, not two blocks of an Artinian algebra.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 128 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A right Noetherian ring satisfies the ascending chain condition on right ideals; equivalently, every right ideal is a finitely generated module.
Here is a noncommutative Hilbert basis theorem proof adapted to the stated hypothesis. Set andThe equality follows inductively from , by moving one coefficient past one at a time. These spaces form an exhaustive filtered algebra structure on , with . This does not assert uniqueness of the displayed expressions or the existence of a coefficient-moving automorphism.
For a right ideal , defineEach is a right ideal of . In fact, if and , write with , ; then . Also by right multiplication by . Since is a right Noetherian ring, this ascending chain stabilizes at some .
Choose finite generators for each , , and choose with . These finitely many elements generate as a right ideal. To see this, induct on for . Write with ; then . Put and express . Write with . The differencelies in , so the induction applies. At the remainder is zero. Hence is right Noetherian.
For the quantum torus, take and the convention . Begin with the polynomial ring , which is Noetherian by the Hilbert basis theorem. Adjoining preserves the hypothesis because it commutes with , and gives . Adjoin next. The relation and its inverse coefficient-moving relation give for . Finally adjoin to , where . On a monomial, ; when this is in , and when it is in . The reverse inclusion follows by the same relation. The preceding argument applies at each step, proving the quantum torus is right Noetherian. Nonzero is required for this notation.
For a noncommutative ring, a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring means a proper two-sided ideal such that for two-sided ideals implies or . Equivalently, implies or . This definition does not require to be a noncommutative domain.
Retain the right Noetherian ring hypothesis for the last assertion. More generally, the ascending chain condition on two-sided ideals suffices. We claim that every proper two-sided ideal contains a product of finitely many prime ideals of a noncommutative ring, each containing . If not, choose a maximal counterexample . It cannot be a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring. Thus there are two-sided ideals strictly containing with : add to the two witnesses for failure of the defining condition for a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring. By maximality, both and contain products of finitely many prime ideals of a noncommutative ring containing them. Concatenating these products gives a product inside , a contradiction.
Apply the claim to in a nonzero , obtaining . Every prime ideal of a noncommutative ring contains one of the , by repeated application of the definition of a prime ideal of a noncommutative ring. For the prime radical of a noncommutative ring , it follows thatIndeed, gives , and for every gives equality of the intersections. If , the empty intersection is the whole zero ring and the conclusion is immediate.
The final assertion is false for arbitrary algebras without the preceding chain condition. For example, in the commutative ring the nilradical is , its only prime ideal, but the product of any number of distinct is nonzero. Thus this nilradical is not a nilpotent ideal.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 128 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Put , so an -bimodule is a left -module through . The Hochschild cohomology isEquivalently, the Hochschild cochain complex has and coboundary mapIts cohomology agrees with the displayed Ext functor because the bar resolution of an associative algebra is free over when is a field. The Hochschild cohomological dimension isThe supremum uses all bimodules, not merely the finitely generated one supplied in the question; an unbounded projective dimension is infinity.
An extension in this classification is a square-zero extension of an algebra: a short exact sequence , where and are unital algebras, is unital, and is its two-sided ideal with and induced -bimodule structure equal to the prescribed one. An equivalence of extensions is an algebra isomorphism of the middle terms commuting with the maps and inducing the identity on both and . Arbitrary isomorphisms of middle algebras, or extensions without the square-zero ideal requirement, are not classified by this cohomology group.
Choose a -linear map section with . Its multiplication defectis a normalized Hochschild cocycle: , and associativity in gives . Changing to , where , changes the defect to , since .
Conversely, for a normalized Hochschild cocycle , put as a vector space and defineThe Hochschild cocycle equation is exactly associativity, and is the identity. If , the map , , is an equivalence. Conversely, every equivalence has this form after choosing sections. The normalized Hochschild cochain complex computes the same cohomology as the full complex: in the bar resolution of an associative algebra, the degenerate terms containing an inserted identity form a contractible subcomplex. Passing to the normalized bar resolution of an associative algebra, then applying the Hom functor, gives the same cohomology. Thus every class has a normalized representative. We obtain a bijection between and equivalence classes of square-zero extensions.
For a formal associative deformation, a completion convention is necessary. The usual star product lives on the formal power series moduleThis is the adic completion of a module applied to the ordinary tensor product, rather than literally the ordinary when is infinite-dimensional. For example, lies in but not in the ordinary tensor product, whose coefficient spaces have finite-dimensional span. The two agree when is finite-dimensional. We interpret the printed notation in this standard completed sense; the infinite iteration below requires that interpretation.
A star product is a -bilinear, unital product continuous for the adic topology satisfying associativity of the formIt is a trivial formal deformation if a -linear automorphism continuous for the adic topology , with , satisfies .
If , then . Suppose changes of coordinates have removed all coefficients below order . The order- part of associativity then says . Hence for a -linear map . Its normalization gives , since . Transport the product by :The order- coefficient becomes , and lower coefficients remain zero. Repeating constructs compatible changes of coordinates modulo every . They converge in the adic topology to an invertible fixing , with inverse obtained coefficient by coefficient. The limit product is ordinary multiplication. Therefore every star product is trivial under the completed formal-series convention. In fact, the argument only needs the vanishing of , not all of Hochschild cohomological dimension at most one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose a nonzero . It is an algebraic integer, with monic minimal polynomialIts constant coefficient is nonzero, since otherwise the polynomial would have the root zero and be divisible by its variable, contradicting irreducibility and . Rearranging gives . The expression in parentheses lies in the ring of integers of a number field, so the ideal property gives . Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
By the preceding argument take a nonzero integer . The ideal property gives . If , an integral basis identifies the additive group of with , soThe natural projection onto is surjective. Thus the latter is an abelian group of order at most , provingIn particular the ideal is a full-rank integer lattice; this permits the integral-basis argument in the next part.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose an integral basis of the nonzero ideal . Its rational span is , since it contains a nonzero integer multiple of . The condition gives integers with . Thus multiplication by on has an integer matrix in this basis.
Its characteristic polynomial is monic with integer coefficients. By the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, . On the field , this is multiplication by , so . Hence is an algebraic integer, andThis is the determinant trick for an ideal preserved by multiplication.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 1 19H d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
We prove the conjugate product of a quadratic ideal identity , which applies to the given two-generator ideal without assuming its displayed generators form an integral basis.
The quadratic ring of integers of a number field has a basis over : the vector 1 is primitive, since a rational algebraic integer must be an integer, and extends to an integral basis. Write , with . Let be the least positive integer in and let generate the set of coefficients of in elements of . Its lattice basis can be chosen as , with . Since , comparison of coefficients shows and . Write , and . ThenThe scaled ideal remains an -ideal. From we get , so . The product is generated as an ideal by and is contained in .
Moreover . If a prime divided all three, then and , so would satisfy the monic integer polynomial . It would lie in , impossible because its coefficient in the integral basis is . Bezout identity now expresses one as an integer combination of . Multiplying by , the terms are , , and , all in the product. Hence belongs to it, proving .
The determinant of the lattice basis gives the ideal norm . ConsequentlyIn particular is principal. This does not require the original to be nonzero or the ideal itself to be principal.