Integral linear automorphism of the torus 2026-09-29
Every induces a based homeomorphismIts inverse is , and under the lift-endpoint description of the fundamental group of the torus, its induced map on is multiplication by .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 21F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The map is the quotient of by integer translations, andGiven a based loop at , the path lifting theorem gives a unique lift beginning at . Its endpoint lies in . The homotopy lifting property shows that this endpoint depends only on , so defineLifting a concatenation after translating the second lift by the endpoint of the first shows that is a group homomorphism. It is surjective because, for every , the path is a loop whose lift ends at . If a lift ends at zero, it is a loop in the simply connected space and contracts there; projecting the contraction proves that its original loop is null-homotopic. Thus is injective, and the lift-endpoint description of the fundamental group of the torus gives