Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 50 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For , define the Adjoint representation of a Lie algebra by . The Jacobi identity gives, for every ,Thus preserves brackets and is a Lie algebra representation. Its Killing form isUsing the representation identity and the cyclic property of the trace,The Killing form is also symmetric by cyclicity.
In a basis , write . The lowered structure constants satisfyThe first expression is antisymmetric in and the second in . These transpositions generate all permutations, so is totally antisymmetric.
An invariant subspace of under its Adjoint representation of a Lie algebra is exactly an ideal of a Lie algebra: . A simple Lie algebra has no nonzero proper ideal, proving the adjoint representation is irreducible.
Put . The same trace calculation proves invariance of the Trace form of a Lie algebra representation:Because the are anti-Hermitian, is a real symmetric bilinear form. The Killing form of a simple compact Lie algebra is negative definite. Define a real linear map by . Invariance of both forms implies that commutes with every , while symmetry makes self-adjoint for the positive inner product . By the spectral theorem, its real eigenspaces are invariant under the Adjoint representation of a Lie algebra. Irreducibility forces a single eigenvalue, so and . This also avoids the extra care needed when applying the complex form of the Schur lemma to a real vector space.
The kernel of is an ideal of a Lie algebra. It cannot be all of : a trivial representation of dimension greater than one is reducible. Simplicity therefore makes faithful. For every nonzero ,Hence the positive trace index for a compact simple Lie algebra givesin the adapted basis.
For the cubic trace tensor of a Lie algebra representation, the identityexpands toSet , , , . Cyclicity of converts to and to . Thus the invariance identity for a cubic trace tensor is
For the final contraction, it is important to keep the specified index-raising convention. In the adapted basis write . Then , while raising the last two indices with gives . Total antisymmetry and the definition of the Killing form implyOnly the antisymmetric part of in contributes, soConsequently the Killing-normalized contraction of a cubic trace tensor isThe negative sign printed in the last requested identity is incompatible with raising indices by the inverse Killing form. The opposite sign is obtained if one instead defines the lowered structure constants using the positive Euclidean metric, a different convention from the one specified.
For a concrete check, take the two-dimensional representation of with , where the are Pauli matrices. ThenTheir contraction is , confirming the positive sign with and providing a counterexample to the printed sign.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 50 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Take a local gauge transformation acting on the adjoint field by . The connection convention is compatible withIndeed, differentiating gives the extra commutator , exactly cancelled by the inhomogeneous term in the transformed gauge potential.
For a direct proof of the Yang-Mills gauge transformation of curvature, put and . Differentiation givesSubstituting into the Yang-Mills field strength cancels all terms involving and leavesThis direct calculation also applies when the adjoint action has a kernel.
Expand . The mixed second derivatives of cancel in pairs. The first-derivative terms from differentiating cancel the terms from . The remaining sum isby the Jacobi identity. Thus the gauge-theory Bianchi identity is
For the variation of the Yang-Mills action, write . Differentiating the curvature gives . Invariance of the Killing form impliesThis is invariant integration by parts for a gauge covariant derivative. Using symmetry of the Killing form, antisymmetry of , and compactly supported variations,Since the Killing form of a semisimple Lie algebra is nondegenerate and the variations are arbitrary, the Yang-Mills equations are
For the constant Yang-Mills theta term, symmetry under exchanging the two antisymmetric index pairs givesup to the boundary variation of the Yang-Mills theta term. Contracting the gauge-theory Bianchi identity with makes the last integrand vanish. Therefore a constant theta term does not alter the bulk Yang-Mills equations: . Its variation is a boundary term, so this conclusion uses compact support or boundary conditions that remove that term.
Finally apply to the gauge-theory Bianchi identity, obtainingThe adjoint covariant derivative obeys . Commute past the other derivative. The differentiated divergences vanish by the Yang-Mills equations, leavingIn the last line the second commutator needs its sign tracked carefully: directly,Thus the simplified sum gives the covariant wave equation for the Yang-Mills field strengthAll spacetime derivatives and index manipulations here use the fixed flat metric.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 64 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The components of a moment map satisfyThus . A Hamiltonian moment map additionally has coadjoint equivariance,Here the right side evaluates on as . With that convention its infinitesimal form is . Some definitions reserve “moment map” for this equivariant version; choosing Hamiltonians for every generator first gives a weakly Hamiltonian action.
To derive the obstruction, compare the two antihomomorphism identities:On connected , nondegeneracy of makesa constant alternating bilinear form. The two Jacobi identities implyReplacing by changes to . Thus vanishing of this class in Lie algebra cohomology is the precise moment-map equivariance obstruction. In particular a connected group with permits constants to be chosen so that the component Poisson algebra is the Lie algebra. A locally effective action makes this realization faithful; otherwise it realizes the quotient by the infinitesimal kernel. The linear span of the components has the Lie brackets; the entire algebra of polynomial products of them is, of course, larger.
A useful sufficient condition is semisimplicity, which can be proved here without assuming the desired equivariance. Let be the nondegenerate Killing form and define by . Invariance of and the cocycle identity giveso is a derivation. Choose uniquely by . Since , cyclicity of trace givesHence and . The shift removes the obstruction. This proves semisimple moment-map equivariance; for connected infinitesimal equivariance integrates along its one-parameter subgroups to group equivariance. It does not claim that arbitrary symplectic actions of arbitrary groups have moment maps.
For the Kepler calculation, put and work on , since the Hamiltonian is singular at the origin. The Hamilton equations areThe angular momentum therefore obeysFor the Runge-Lenz vector,The vector triple product identity gives . Thereforeand the terms cancel. Since , this proves
The conserved quantities consequently generate transformations preserving energy. Their brackets give the Kepler dynamical symmetry algebra. On , define as a function on that whole open region. Because Poisson commutes with both vectors, its brackets areWith one obtains two commuting algebras:Thus the negative-energy algebra is . On , using instead changes the last bracket to , yielding , with rotations and boosts. At zero energy the brackets of conserved functions on the characteristic orbit quotient give , with commuting .
There are two global qualifications. First, an energy hypersurface carries a presymplectic form: its restricted two-form has characteristic direction . At , the literal vector fields of need only commute modulo , since differentiating still produces an term. On nonzero-energy regions the energy-dependent normalization above gives an exact Hamiltonian Lie algebra; one must differentiate that normalization before restricting to a level. Second, completeness is required for a global group action. The collision-excluded Kepler phase space need not have complete hidden-symmetry flows, so the brackets establish local actions (or the appropriate simply connected covers), not an unconditional global action on every unregularized trajectory. Collision regularization supplies the familiar global bound-motion symmetry; this distinction is developed in math.berkeley.edu/~alanw/277papers00/tang.pdf . It does not change the three energy-dependent Lie algebras just derived.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 64 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A principal bundle with structure group has a smooth free right -action, each fibre is a single orbit, and it is locally equivariantly isomorphic to . A representation defines the associated vector bundleLocal sections of identify with , and changes of section act by on the fibre coordinates.
A principal bundle is trivial if and only if it has a global smooth section. Given , the map is an equivariant isomorphism : freeness and transitivity give its unique inverse on each fibre, and local trivializations make that inverse smooth. Conversely a product bundle has section . This proves principal bundle trivialization by a global section. A contractible paracompact base is a sufficient condition for triviality of such a bundle; local sections alone are insufficient on a general base.
A manifold is parallelizable when its tangent bundle is trivial, equivalently when it possesses a global smooth frame. The circle is an example, with its nowhere-vanishing unit tangent field. The sphere is another: regard it as the unit quaternions. At a unit quaternion , the three tangent vectors are independent and smoothly depend on . Quaternion multiplication preserves the norm, so these form an orthonormal frame. This gives the quaternionic left-invariant frame on the three-sphere.
For any Lie group of dimension , choose a basis of . Left translations defineThese fields are smooth; at every , the differential of the diffeomorphism is invertible, so they are a basis of . Hence every Lie group manifold is parallelizable, as in parallelization of a Lie group by left translations.
For a real semisimple Lie group, let be the Killing form. It is nondegenerate and invariant under the adjoint action. Left translating gives a bi-invariant pseudo-Riemannian metric. For left-invariant fields, the Koszul formula reduces toThus . The curvature convention of Question 1 givesTo obtain the Ricci tensor, trace the linear map . Since ,This proves the Killing-form Einstein metric construction for every real semisimple group. If is compact semisimple, is positive definite and its Ricci tensor is , giving a Riemannian Einstein metric. For a noncompact semisimple group the general Killing-form construction is indefinite. Thus the unrestricted assertion is understood in the pseudo-Riemannian sense appropriate here; positive definiteness is not obtained by simply taking in the noncompact case.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 52 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a finite-dimensional Lie algebra, the Killing form is defined using the Adjoint representation on the algebra itself, rather than the given Lie algebra representation :The Jacobi identity gives . Using the cyclic property of the trace,The same trace identity makes the Killing form symmetric. For a basis , the lowered structure constants of a Lie algebra are . Antisymmetry of the Lie bracket gives , while invariance gives . The two adjacent transpositions generate every permutation, proving the antisymmetry of Killing-lowered structure constants: is totally antisymmetric, even if the Killing form is degenerate.
A semisimple Lie algebra has no nonzero solvable ideal; equivalently, its solvable radical is zero, or, in characteristic zero, its Killing form is nondegenerate. A real compact Lie algebra is the algebra of some compact Lie group, equivalently an algebra admitting a positive-definite invariant bilinear form on a Lie algebra. For a real semisimple Lie algebra the compactness criterion from the Killing form says precisely that is negative-definite. A compact algebra with a nonzero abelian center has a degenerate Killing form, so the semisimplicity qualification matters.
For a semisimple Lie algebra, let denote the inverse matrix of . Its Casimir operator in isThis contraction is independent of the chosen basis. To prove centrality directly, put . Invariance gives , hence . The Lie algebra representation property and the product rule for a commutator now giveIndeed, the coefficient of in this expression is . Thus for every . No irreducibility of is required.
The matrix units obey . Consequently the general linear Lie algebra hasFor its Killing form, write and , so that . Left multiplication acts identically on each of the columns, and right multiplication identically on each of the rows. Thus . The diagonal coefficient of on is , giving ; the other mixed trace is identical. This proves the Killing form of the general linear Lie algebra:The scalar matrices form a nonzero central abelian ideal, so is not semisimple for any . More explicitly, the radical of the Killing form is , since vanishing against every forces by nondegeneracy of the trace pairing. For , take . Then , whereas a positive-definite invariant inner product would make every adjoint map skew and hence give . Therefore is not compact when . For the allowed exceptional value , the abstract abelian algebra is a compact Lie algebra, being isomorphic to the algebra of ; the particular matrix group is nevertheless noncompact. This distinguishes compactness of an algebra from that of a chosen group realizing it.
For the final algebra, the printed basis specifies strictly upper triangular matrices. If and , the first term in can be nonzero only when , and then is strictly upper triangular; the second can be nonzero only when , and then is strictly upper triangular. Bilinearity proves closure under the Lie bracket. To compute its own Killing form, grade by the positive integer . Bracketing with any basis element increases that degree whenever the result is nonzero. In a basis ordered by degree, all adjoint maps are strictly triangular, as are their products. Every such product has zero trace, so the Killing form of a nilpotent Lie algebra vanishes here. Therefore the subspace denoted by a prime in the PDF isThis is the defined radical of the Killing form, not the derived algebra; for both and this radical are zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 52 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Covariance of the fundamental gauge covariant derivative requires for every column . Expanding the left side and cancelling gives . Therefore the necessary and sufficient Yang-Mills gauge transformation isIn operator notation . Expanding its commutator on an arbitrary column shows : the second derivatives cancel, as do the terms containing a single derivative of . Conjugating this identity proves the gauge field strength transformationThus the gauge field strength transforms homogeneously even though the potential has an inhomogeneous derivative term.
For the adjoint scalar field, write and . Differentiating the inverse matrix givesThe extra terms cancel, proving for the adjoint covariant derivative. Its curvature is obtained by another direct expansion:where the Jacobi identity combines the last two terms.
For the equations of motion take compactly supported variations, and assume , as required by the Lagrangian coefficient. Invariance of the Killing form impliesIndeed, the two connection terms sum to . This is the gauge-covariant integration by parts identity. The needed variations areAntisymmetry of the gauge field strength combines its two variation terms. Applying gauge-covariant integration by parts to the action givesHere fixes the sign of the scalar current. Since the Killing form is nondegenerate on a semisimple Lie algebra, independent variations give the coupled Yang-Mills equations and scalar equationEquivalently, . These signs use the stated Minkowski metric, with upper spatial derivatives .
It remains to verify every equation for the static Bogomolny equations. The hypotheses imply and , so the temporal gauge equation is automatically zero. The gauge-theory Bianchi identityfollows, for example, from the Jacobi identity for the fundamental gauge covariant derivatives, using their commutator . Define . Contracting the gauge-theory Bianchi identity with gives . The Bogomolny equations say , so implies . In the static configuration , verifying the scalar equation.
For the spatial gauge equation, use and . The Bogomolny equations, the curvature commutator proved above, and the contraction of two Levi-Civita symbols givesince . This is exactly . Thus the static first-order Bogomolny system satisfies all four gauge equations and the scalar equation, with no extra ansatz or boundary assumption needed for this local implication. This is the mechanism by which Bogomolny monopole equations imply Yang-Mills-Higgs equations.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 3 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Work with a complex semisimple Lie algebra and its root system in the real span of the roots of a root system. The Killing form induces a positive definite inner product on this real root space, after the usual identification with the dual of the real span of the coroots. For each root , its Weyl reflection isThe Weyl group is . The structural facts being used are that these reflections preserve the finite root system, that the roots span , and that the reflections in the simple roots already generate . Thus is finite: it acts faithfully as permutations of . Equivalently, it is the normalizer of the Cartan subalgebra modulo its centralizer in the associated adjoint group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 3 3 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a finite-dimensional Lie algebra, the Killing form is the symmetric bilinear formIn the root-space decomposition of this semisimple Lie algebra, acts as zero on the abelian Cartan subalgebra and as multiplication by on . For , their product thus acts as multiplication by on each root space. Every root space here is one-dimensional. Taking the trace over the two-dimensional Cartan subalgebra and the eight root spaces provesFor a general weight decomposition the trace would include the corresponding weight multiplicities; the root multiplicities are one in the semisimple setting here.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 3 3 v Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The PDF's specified five-by-five diagonal matrix is , so and . In the root sum for the Killing form, the two short roots contribute , the two short roots contribute zero, and the four long roots each contribute one. ThereforeThis computation uses the original PDF matrix; the converted TeX incorrectly gives its dimensions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 49 1 Solution 2026-10-14
For a finite-dimensional Lie algebra, write for its Adjoint representation. The Killing form is the symmetric bilinear formThe Jacobi identity gives . Using the cyclic property of the trace,Thus it is an invariant bilinear form on a Lie algebra. If , the adjoint matrix has entries . Its trace product yields the structure constants of a Lie algebra formulaA semisimple Lie algebra has zero solvable radical, equivalently no nonzero solvable ideal. In characteristic zero, the Cartan criterion for semisimplicity characterizes it by nondegeneracy of its Killing form. A real compact Lie algebra is the Lie algebra of a compact Lie group, equivalently one admitting a positive-definite invariant inner product. For a real semisimple algebra, the compactness criterion from the Killing form says compactness is equivalent to negative-definiteness of . An abelian compact-type algebra has zero Killing form, so this last characterization specifically concerns the semisimple case.