Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 103 3 v Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the tableau representation supplied by Young seminormal form, stated explicitly in Question 5, or its normalized Young orthogonal form. It constructs the complex Specht module with one basis vector for each standard Young tableau of shape . Its adjacent-transposition matrices imply the content eigenvalues directly.
Indeed, start with and use . On an admissible pair , set , , , and . In the orthogonal basis, is andMultiplication givesFor a nonadmissible swap, and the next content differs by the same , giving the same conclusion. Induction therefore proves . Every content vector of a standard Young tableau, reconstructed as a standard Young tableau in part (iv), is consequently a spectral weight. Together with the reverse inclusion,
An admissible adjacent swap has nonzero off-diagonal coefficient in Young orthogonal form, and the local spectral calculation in part (i) keeps it inside one irreducible representation. Thus implies .
Two standard Young tableaux of one shape are connected by admissible swaps. Regard each as a linear extension of a partially ordered set of cells. Move the first cell of the desired extension to the front of the other extension: every cell it crosses is incomparable with it, since otherwise their order would be forced in both extensions. Repeat after fixing that first cell. Each step swaps consecutive labels in incomparable cells. Such cells lie strictly northeast and southwest of each other, so their contents differ by at least in absolute value. These are exactly admissible swaps.
This also establishes irreducibility of the constructed tableau representations. A submodule is invariant under the commuting and hence under their joint spectral projections; since their weights are distinct, it is a sum of tableau lines. A nonzero off-diagonal coefficient propagates any included line along every admissible edge, and connectivity then includes all lines. Different shapes give nonisomorphic modules, since their content-vector sets are disjoint and content reconstruction determines the shape. Finally, the Robinson–Schensted correspondence gives , and the sum of squares of irreducible degrees leaves room for no other irreducible representations.
Thus within each irreducible module the weights are exactly the tableaux of one shape, so implies . Hence the two equivalence relations coincide.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 111 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the following normalization for Fourier analysis on a finite group. Choose one unitary irreducible representation from each equivalence class, including the trivial representation. For a scalar function , putThis convention uses , rather than , in the Fourier transform on a finite group; it makes the normalized convolution on a finite group preserve multiplication order.
The needed representation theory consists of Maschke's theorem and unitarization of a finite-group representation, together with the Schur orthogonality relations:The regular representation contains copies of each , so . Thus the scaled matrix coefficients , and also their complex conjugates, form an orthonormal basis of all scalar functions on . These facts imply Fourier inversion on a finite group and the Parseval identity on a finite group in the formsand henceIn particular, the transform is an isomorphism onto the direct sum of the matrix algebras , with the displayed weighted Hilbert-Schmidt inner product.
Define the normalized convolution on a finite group bySubstituting and using the group representation identity yields the convolution theorem on a finite groupUnlike normalized convolution on a finite group on an abelian group, this product need not commute. If , then . For left translation of a group function and right translation of a group function and ,For an abelian group, every irreducible representation is one-dimensional; this reduces to Fourier analysis on a finite abelian group with characters relabelled by their inverses. These formulas establish the basic scalar theory, with all normalizations and multiplication orders fixed.
Now suppose every nontrivial irreducible representation has . If is a mean-zero function, its component at the trivial representation is zero. The Parseval identity on a finite group gives, for each other ,Using the convolution theorem on a finite group, the Hilbert-Schmidt norm inequality , and the Parseval identity on a finite group once more gives the product mixing in a quasirandom group estimateWrite for the subset density values of , respectively, and let , be balanced subset indicators. Since both are mean-zero functions, . Their squared norms are and . Also , so the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality yieldsIf , the final bound is strictly smaller than . Thus the normalized number of pairs with is positive. Equivalently,This is the desired conclusion for a quasirandom group; the strict inequality ensures positivity rather than merely a nonnegative lower bound.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 111 4 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Within each fixed unitary irreducible representation, choose the selected right singular vectors to be orthonormal. Their corresponding left singular vectors are also orthonormal, even when a singular value is repeated: choose an orthonormal basis in each eigenspace of and put . Therefore, when ,This is (iv), with the unnormalized Hilbert-Schmidt inner product and the Kronecker delta. No orthogonality of differently shaped matrices is being asserted.
For the unheaded continuation, partition into blocks . ThenThe Schur averaging of rectangular matrices formula isfor any matrix . The average is an intertwiner; the Schur lemma makes it zero for inequivalent irreducible representations, and a scalar multiple of the identity for the same representative. The trace determines that scalar in the latter case.
Apply this with . The Hilbert-Schmidt inner product normalization just proved givesExpanding the squared Euclidean norm now yieldsThus the final identity follows from averaging, although itself need not be the identity. The whole construction is the spectral inverse theorem for the matrix-valued U2 quantity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 302 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A Non-Abelian gauge theory promotes an internal group representation symmetry to a spacetime-dependent transformation and introduces a gauge field so that differentiation transforms covariantly. The symmetry is a gauge redundancy: physically meaningful quantities must be invariant under local changes of field representative. We work in four-dimensional Minkowski spacetime with signature , and use skew-Hermitian matrix generators throughout.
For the compact Simple Lie group , its real Lie algebra has a negative-definite Killing form. Hence is a positive invariant bilinear form on a Lie algebra. Choose a -orthonormal basis , , with . Invariance makes fully antisymmetric. This construction uses the Adjoint representation and works independently of any chosen scalar representation.
Let be a Lie-algebra-valued gauge potential, with the coupling absorbed into this connection. If is the given finite-dimensional irreducible representation of , its Lie algebra representation definesFor a finite local transformation , require and . Differentiating the first equation forces the gauge-field transformation lawThus the gauge potential transforms inhomogeneously; an ordinary derivative alone would leave an uncancelled derivative of .
The commutator of gauge covariant derivatives determines the gauge field strength:The Lie algebra representation preserves the bracket, so this formula holds for any , including a trivial scalar representation. The gauge field strength itself is defined in the gauge algebra. The transformation of the connection impliesIt is therefore covariant, rather than invariant as a Lie-algebra-valued quantity.
For infinitesimal , the same equations give the infinitesimal gauge transformation with an anti-Hermitian connection:Substitution into cancels the terms containing and gives , the gauge covariance of a scalar covariant derivative.
The Yang-Mills theory has Lagrangian densityThis is the Killing-form Yang-Mills Lagrangian. Its sign uses a positive internal form and the stated spacetime signature. In a -orthonormal basis it is . Gauge invariance follows because is invariant under the adjoint group action. Infinitesimally, the variation is proportional toAfter rescaling , the gauge coupling appears in and in the non-Abelian part of the canonically normalized field strength. Squaring that field strength gives cubic and quartic gauge-field self-interactions. An ordinary local quadratic mass term in the gauge potential is not invariant because its transformation contains .
For the scalar field kinetic term, compactness supplies a positive invariant Hermitian form on its representation space. One can obtain it by averaging any positive form with normalized Haar measure, the unitarization of a compact-group representation. Then is unitary for , and is anti-Hermitian. The Yang-Mills theory coupled to an arbitrary scalar representation hasHere is any real gauge-invariant scalar potential, so . For example,is available for every unitary representation, with giving a bounded quartic contribution. Other invariant interactions may exist for particular representations; the potential is not required to depend only on .
The scalar kinetic term is gauge-invariant because both covariant derivatives transform by the same unitary . Infinitesimally its variation vanishes byThe potential is invariant by its defining condition. For a real irreducible representation, use the averaged positive symmetric form instead and write the kinetic term as ; all transformation and invariance arguments remain valid. Expansion of the covariant kinetic term produces both the linear gauge-scalar interaction and the quadratic term needed by local gauge invariance.
The invariant inner products, gauge covariant derivatives and gauge field strength together construct the full theory for every compact Simple Lie group and every supplied finite-dimensional irreducible representation of the scalar fields. Both finite and infinitesimal transformation laws have been included, and every sign follows the same anti-Hermitian convention.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 102 4 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Choose a positive root system for a complex semisimple Lie algebra, with Weyl group and Weyl vector . For a dominant integral weight , let denote its finite-dimensional irreducible representation, and use formal symbols with . Its formal character of a weight module is . The Weyl character formula saysHere , the sign of the product of simple root reflections. The Weyl denominator formula isThe quotient is initially interpreted in the fraction field of the group algebra of the weight lattice; the theorem makes it a finite character.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 103 1 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Work over the complex numbers. The chain has multiplicity-free restriction: each irreducible representation restricts to a direct sum of pairwise inequivalent irreducible representations. This structural fact can be proved before identifying the branching diagram. Indeed, the permitted Olshanskii centralizer lemma makes commutative, since it is generated by the center at the previous level and the commuting element . In each irreducible block this is the endomorphism algebra of the restricted module; a repeated summand would give a noncommutative matrix algebra factor. Thus no identification of the branching graph with Young diagrams is being assumed here.
Successively restricting an irreducible representation gives one-dimensional spaces indexed by paths of irreducible representations from the trivial -module to . Choosing one nonzero vector in each gives a Gelfand–Tsetlin basis. Define the Gelfand–Tsetlin algebra as the subalgebra of acting diagonally in all these bases. The Artin–Wedderburn theorem identifiesUnder this identification the Gelfand–Tsetlin algebra is the direct sum of the full diagonal matrix algebras in the indicated bases, so it is commutative.
To see that it is actually available inside the group algebra, let be the central primitive idempotent selecting the irreducible representation of . For a path the productis the projection onto in its final irreducible representation and is zero in every other final block. These products commute: a center at a higher level commutes with every element at a lower level. The are precisely the diagonal matrix units, and therefore span the proposed algebra.
If an element of the group algebra commutes with every , its matrix preserves every and is diagonal in every block. It already belongs to the Gelfand–Tsetlin algebra. Thuswhich proves that it is a maximal commutative subalgebra.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 103 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the Young–Jucys–Murphy elements in the group algebra . Their joint spectrum isEquivalently one can use the regular representation, which contains every irreducible representation. The commuting elements are self-adjoint in a unitary representation, so there is a simultaneous eigenbasis.
A standard Young tableau has entries increasing along each row and down each column. If entry occupies cell , its Content of a Young-diagram cell is . Define the set of content vectors of standard Young tableaux byThe shape here is a partition of an integer; it is not itself the vector of eigenvalues. For both sets consist of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 103 2 b i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The first Young–Jucys–Murphy element is the empty sum . Applying it to the nonzero simultaneous eigenvector defining a point of the joint spectrum gives . HenceFor the remaining spectral arguments use the following local facts, without assuming the restriction branching rule for a symmetric group: consecutive eigenvalues are distinct; a difference makes act on the corresponding line as ; every other adjacent interchange gives another point of the joint spectrum in the same irreducible representation. These are the local spectral rules for Young–Jucys–Murphy elements. They follow from and the one- or two-dimensional analysis of the two neighboring eigenspaces. They are the appropriate local results used below.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 103 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The local spectral interchanges preserve an irreducible representation, and standard Young tableaux of a fixed shape are connected by admissible adjacent interchanges. Different shapes have different multisets of Young-diagram cell contents. Their elementary symmetric functions in the Young–Jucys–Murphy elements are central: the identityproves this coefficient by coefficient. By the Schur lemma, one irreducible representation cannot therefore contain two different shape classes. The multiset determines a diagram because the counts on its positive and negative diagonals determine its arm and leg lengths at the diagonal cells.
Different irreducible representations cannot share a joint eigenvalue vector: the Gelfand–Tsetlin algebra is generated by the Young–Jucys–Murphy elements, so all its elements would act identically on that vector in both representations, whereas a central primitive idempotent distinguishes their two blocks. Thus distinct irreducibles give distinct shape classes.
The number of irreducible representations is the number of conjugacy classes, each indexed by a partition of an integer. Every spectral vector gives a tableau by the preceding construction. Closure under admissible interchanges makes every shape class that occurs occur in full. The two counts then force every shape to occur, with exactly one irreducible representation per shape. This supplies .
On restricting to , delete the last coordinate. For tableaux of shape , the entry occupies one Removable node of a Young diagram. Grouping by that node gives one copy of the corresponding module; the path decomposition has simple multiplicities. Hence the restriction branching rule for a symmetric group isThe different removable nodes produce distinct partitions. The multiplicity-free structural input defining the Gelfand–Tsetlin basis is distinct from identifying this graph with the graph of Young diagrams.