Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 166 2 d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Suppose, for a contradiction, that suitable nonzero polynomials vanish at both and . If , then the primitive minimal polynomial divides . The multiplicativity of Mahler measure and the Mahler measure bounded by polynomial length give
If , then, using , this inequality contradicts . Hence is a proper intermediate field of . Its degree divides the prime by the tower law, so . Applying the same argument to is even stronger and gives . Since ,contrary to . At least one of the two proposed values of therefore has no such polynomial relation.