Suppose a nonconstant holomorphic map from a connected compact Riemann surface has degree of a holomorphic map two and exactly four distinct branch values of a holomorphic map. The valency theorem forces each of their fibres to contain one ramification point with , a simple ramification point of a holomorphic map. HenceThis determines the genus without recognizing a torus in a drawing.
A concrete realization is the compact Riemann surface obtained by adding the two points at infinity to the even-degree hyperelliptic model given by the algebraic curveProjection to has degree of a holomorphic map two. At a simple zero of , is a local coordinate and , so . At infinity set and : then . There are two points with , , each unramified since is a local coordinate. The four finite roots are therefore all the branch values of a holomorphic map.[ref]
Geometry of Surfaces by Nigel Hitchin (B3a course 2013). Section 3.3, printed pp. 41-43: local coordinates at simple roots, two points at infinity for even polynomial degree, and ramification count
Cell-count schematic for a double cover of the sphere with four simple branch values: four vertices, twelve edges and eight faces upstairs
. Details. Choose a triangulation of a surface on the Riemann sphere with these four branch values of a holomorphic map as vertices, combinatorially the boundary of a tetrahedron. Its counts are . Upstairs, each vertex has one preimage and each open edge and face has two lifts: , giving Euler characteristic . This is a cell schematic, not a geometric immersion of . The Triangulation proof of the Riemann-Hurwitz formula applies the same counting idea after refining a general triangulation of a surface around the branch values of a holomorphic map.[ref]
Geometry of Surfaces by Nigel Hitchin (B3a course 2013). Section 3.2, Theorem 3.2 and its triangulation proof, printed pp. 38-39
Local parameter on a smooth algebraic curve 2026-10-07
At a point of a smooth algebraic curve, its local ring is a discrete valuation ring. A local parameter is a generator of its maximal ideal, equivalently an element of valuation one. It measures the order of a zero of a function or pole by expressing functions as powers of times units. Over the complex numbers its analytic counterpart is a local coordinate vanishing simply at the point. For an elliptic curve in a Weierstrass equation of an elliptic curve, is the standard parameter at the identity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 13 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let . The derivative of the Abelian sum map is most naturally stated using principal parts. The tangent space of the symmetric product of a curve at is , and the tangent space of the Jacobian variety is . With these identifications,Its dual is restriction of holomorphic one-forms to the length- divisor scheme. In particular,The last equality is the Riemann-Roch theorem. These formulas apply to repeated points as well as distinct ones.
Here is a direct proof of the repeated-point Abel differential formula. At a multiplicity- point, choose a local coordinate with . A nearby local divisor is described by the roots , or, without making an ordering choice, by their elementary symmetric functions :These are smooth local coordinates on the symmetric product of a curve, including at the repeated divisor. Under a first-order deformation, minus the logarithmic variation of this defining polynomial is the principal partThe sign can be checked at : moving the point from to gives , and the Abel integral changes by .
Write and its local primitive as . The local contribution to the Abelian sum map is . Newton's identities, linearized at , giveSubstituting in the primitive therefore givesSumming over the support proves the theorem. In particular, a multiplicity- point tests the first coefficients of a holomorphic one-form, not just its value. The residue pairing between principal parts of order at most and differential jets through order is perfect. Thus the annihilator of the derivative is precisely the holomorphic one-forms vanishing to order at least at every , namely .
There is also a sheaf cohomology description that explains its kernel geometrically. The sequencegives a connecting homomorphism . Represent a principal part by meromorphic lifts on coordinate disks; their differences on overlaps give its Čech cohomology class. Under Serre duality, pairing this class with is the sum of the residues of , so is the displayed derivative. Exactness shows that its kernel is , of dimension , in agreement with the tangent directions to the complete linear system of a divisor in Solution 2.
Two consequences will be useful below. If , then has negative degree and no nonzero sections, so is a submersion everywhere. Its image is open, and it is also closed because is compact. Since the Jacobian variety is connected, is surjective. Thus the points generate the Jacobian variety as a group. Together with Abel's theorem, this identifies the degree-zero Picard group with the Jacobian variety: every line bundle has a meromorphic section and thus a divisor representation, injectivity is Abel's theorem, and surjectivity follows from .
For , one can choose distinct points imposing independent conditions on : at each step a surviving nonzero holomorphic one-form has only finitely many zeros, so choose a point where it does not vanish. Their sum has and hence . The derivative has rank there. Consequently is an irreducible subvariety of dimension . This also covers , when and are points.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 13 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Identify with the Jacobian variety using the base point and the translation of Solution 4. A line bundle of degree corresponds to the point for any divisor representation . The Riemann singularity theorem isIn particular, the theta divisor is singular exactly at the degree- line bundles with at least two independent sections. We prove the equality, including the upper bound on multiplicity.
Choose a fixed effective divisor of degree , and a local holomorphic family representing nearby points of . Such a family can be constructed locally from the holomorphic exponential sequence, by varying line-bundle transition functions through exponentials of Čech cohomology representatives. By Serre duality, is dual to , whose degree is , so it vanishes. The Riemann-Roch theorem gives . By cohomology and base change for line bundles on a curve, these spaces form a holomorphic vector bundle of rank . The spaces form another holomorphic vector bundle of rank . Evaluation gives a holomorphic square matrix locally, with exact sequenceConsequently exactly when has a nonzero section, namely on the support of the theta divisor.
At the point , put , the equality being Riemann-Roch theorem. An invertible minor of size persists near this point. Holomorphic row and column operations, or the Schur complement, givewhere is an holomorphic matrix. This is the Schur complement presentation of a theta singularity. Its linear term in a tangent direction is the cup product mapTo see this concretely, vary transition functions of to . A section lifts to precisely when its first-order compatibility equation can be solved; the obstruction is the cocycle . This is . Passing to the kernel and cokernel of gives exactly the derivative of the reduced matrix , proving the assertion without assuming a multiplicity formula.
Before extracting the order of , we verify that is a reduced equation of the theta divisor. Generic points of have by Solution 3. At such a point, both and are one-dimensional. Their nonzero sections have nonzero product . Choose with under Serre duality. The scalar is nonzero, so has a simple zero generically on the irreducible theta divisor. Since its support is exactly that irreducible hypersurface, it defines the reduced divisor. Solution 4 independently proved the same reduced structure for the Riemann theta function. On the smooth ambient Jacobian variety, local equations of the same reduced divisor differ by a nonvanishing holomorphic unit. Hence the orders of the local theta equation and agree everywhere.
Every entry of vanishes at the point, so each term in its determinant has order at least . This proves . To obtain equality, we exhibit an invertible cup-product direction for a line bundle on a curve. Set and , both of dimension . There are distinct points at which evaluation is an isomorphism for : choose them inductively, since a surviving nonzero section has only finitely many zeros. The same holds for . The nonvanishing of each evaluation determinant defines a nonempty open subset of the irreducible variety . Their intersection, also avoiding the diagonals, is therefore nonempty. Choose points in it and local coordinates and compatible trivializations of and at each point.
Let be the connecting homomorphism class of the meromorphic principal parts at these points, with all . The residue form of Serre duality givesIf and are the two invertible evaluation matrices, the matrix of this pairing is , and is invertible. Thus the cup product map is an isomorphism. Along the corresponding analytic parameter line,with nonzero leading coefficient. The order is at most , completing the proof of the Riemann singularity theorem.
This argument also identifies the tangent cone to a theta divisor: its degree- equation is , which is not the zero polynomial. For , the tangent hyperplane is , in agreement with the annihilator description of the derivative of the Abelian sum map. For all first derivatives vanish, proving singularity. In genus the theta divisor is a single smooth point of multiplicity . In genus the effective degree- locus is empty, so there is no singularity statement at a point of it.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 14 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let and be overlapping local coordinates at . A tangent vector has components obeying the chain ruleThe Jacobian matrix is evaluated at the same point, and is invertible. For a smooth curve with , define . Applying the chain rule to gives exactly this transformation law. Thus these components determine a well-defined velocity vector , independent of the chart. Equivalently it is the derivation on smooth functions. The two curve symbols used in the printed first paragraph refer to this same curve.
For real scalars , considerFor sufficiently small positive and negative , both factors belong to , so is a curve in with . The standard matrix exponential properties used here are , , and . The product rule gives . Every such linear combination is therefore a velocity at the identity.
More generally, the inclusion is an embedding, so its tangent map at is injective and linear. The general linear group is open in the vector space of all matrices; its tangent space at is consequently . We identifyEvery tangent vector is the velocity of a curve in a manifold chart, so this subspace is precisely the set of the corresponding matrix velocities. The product construction is consistent with its vector-space operations.
Now use the stated logarithm-chart assumption. Near zero and , the matrix exponential and matrix logarithm are inverse smooth maps, with . Hence for any , belongs to for small : lies in the neighborhood which is the image of the logarithm. For , form the group commutatorMultiplying the exponential expansions givesThe convergent local series therefore gives . For small nonzero , the matrix belongs to the linear subspace . A finite-dimensional linear subspace is closed, so taking its limit provesThis is the matrix commutator from a logarithm chart argument. It identifies as the Lie algebra of a matrix Lie group, with the matrix commutator as its Lie bracket. In particular, no potentially nonsmooth square-root change of parameter is needed to turn the second-order commutator into a velocity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 51 1 f Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A tricritical point occurs when the continuous and first-order transition lines meet. In the symmetric sextic Landau free energy this requires tuning two coefficients, , while stabilizes the potential. For , the zero-field transition lies on and is continuous. For , the coexistence curve is . The order-parameter jump satisfies and shrinks to zero as the tricritical point is approached. The labelled phase diagram below uses as local coordinates; two independent physical controls, such as temperature and composition, can provide these coordinates.
Along the tricritical tuning , the equation of state is . At zero field the ordered solution is , and the critical isotherm has . The inverse magnetic susceptibility is above and below. The minimized singular potential is below, so differentiating twice thermally gives a singularity. These calculations giveThe correlation-length and correlation-function exponents follow from the same quadratic gradient term. A generic path with a nonzero positive quartic coefficient instead has ordinary critical behaviour; observing tricritical powers requires the extra tuning. The sextic coupling is marginal in three dimensions, giving tricritical upper critical dimension three and logarithmic corrections there.
Zero-field sextic Landau phase diagram with continuous and first-order boundaries meeting at the tricritical point, and dashed spinodal limits
. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 309 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
At , the differential of a smooth map defines the pushforward of a vector field byThis is a tangent vector at , and varies smoothly as a section of the pullback tangent bundle. In local coordinates its components are .
For a general smooth map between manifolds, this is a vector field along a map, rather than an intrinsic vector field on all of . A vector field on the image can be defined only if these vectors agree whenever two points have the same image, and the resulting field must also be smooth; a projectable vector field must meet that requirement. For a diffeomorphism, there is no ambiguity and . For example, on and give , with opposite nonzero values at the two preimages of . Thus the source's notation must be read with this qualification.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 309 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
On a branch where are valid local coordinates, the inclusion map is , with . Its differential givesStrictly this is first a vector field along a map on the surface. The displayed formula extends it canonically to a smooth vector field on all of . Its integral curves of a vector field through obey , , , henceThese are circles around the -axis, traversed with angular speed one; points on the axis are stationary. Since , curves starting on the ellipsoid stay there. The local angular chart can expire while the ambient flow map and the geometric curve remain well defined.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 24I Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let denote a hyperplane-section divisor of a projective plane curve. The adjunction formula for a smooth degree- projective plane curve statesSince , this gives the canonical degree of a smooth plane curveCombining this with gives the genus of a smooth plane curve
Homogenization of the affine equation gives the projective completionThis is the plane model y plus x cubed plus xy cubed equals zero of the Klein quartic: after the coordinate relabelling , its equation is .
Its first partial derivatives areIf one of vanishes at a common zero of these three derivatives, the displayed equations successively force all three coordinates to vanish, which is impossible in projective space. If , multiplying the three derivative equations givesagain a contradiction. The Jacobian criterion therefore proves that is smooth.
The rational function defines a rational map of projective varieties . Because is a smooth projective curve, it extends uniquely to a morphismFor a generic finite value of , its fibre is given by the cubicso the degree of a holomorphic map is . The discriminant of a depressed cubic is
At the fibre consists of . Since , the holomorphic implicit function theorem givesso is a local coordinate and has ramification index of a holomorphic map there. Each of the seven distinct roots of gives one double, but not triple, root of the cubic in , hence seven further ramification points of index .
It remains to inspect the points at infinity. They areNear , set and . The equation becomes , so , while has a simple pole. Thus . Near , set and . Now , so andThus has a double pole at and . These calculations are the ramification of the x-coordinate on the Klein quartic after the coordinate relabelling above.
The total ramification contribution isThe Riemann-Hurwitz formula for the degree-three map to the projective line now givesand therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 115 1 Solution 2026-10-03
The exterior derivative is the real-linear degree-one map characterized by on smooth functions, the graded Leibniz ruleand . In local coordinates , write using multi-index notation. Since and hence , the defining rules forceThis proves local uniqueness, and the coordinate formulas agree on overlaps because the same rules are preserved by the pullback of a differential form. They also directly define an operator satisfying all three rules, proving existence.
An exact differential form is a form . Let be the antipodal double covering map and let . For a -form on real projective space, , while the mapping degree of the antipodal map is . ThereforeBy the stated criterion, . The invariant primitive under a finite group actionstill satisfies and descends to a form on . Since pullback through a covering is injective on differential forms, implies . Thus every -form on is exact; this is the top-degree differential forms on even-dimensional real projective space are exact result.
The th de Rham cohomology isthe closed differential forms modulo the exact ones. For the product, let be projection and choose a closed one-form on the circle with . Averaging differential forms over the circle is cochain-homotopic to the identity, so every class has a rotation-invariant representative; if such a representative is exact, averaging a primitive gives an invariant primitive. Every invariant -form has a unique decomposition , andClosedness and exactness are therefore componentwise. Hence the mapis a well-defined bijection , proving the de Rham cohomology of a product with a circle formula.
For an integer , extend to a holomorphic map from the Riemann sphere to itself with . A nonzero finite regular value has distinct preimages, so the degree of a holomorphic map is . At zero the analytic ramification index is . At infinity, use local coordinates upstairs and downstairs: the same holomorphic map becomes , so too. Everywhere else the derivative is nonzero.
Schematic of the sphere power map and its local degree: zero and infinity both have ramification index d
. Details. There are two distinct ramification points and two distinct branch values of a holomorphic map, butFor , the total ramification of a holomorphic map is four, not two. The local-circle panel shows three nearby preimages converging to the single ramification point. For the holomorphic map is the identity and neither zero nor infinity is ramified.
A ramification point is simple when its analytic ramification index is two. Its contribution to total ramification of a holomorphic map is one. In suitable local coordinates, the holomorphic map is ; two nearby preimages merge there. A ramification point with contributes two even though it is just one point.


