Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ia Paper 3 7B ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Each element of permutes the three-point set, giving a group homomorphism . To prove injectivity, let an element fix all three points. Conjugate it by the normalizing Möbius transformation from part (i). The conjugate fixes . A Möbius transformation fixing has , and fixing infinity has . It is then ; fixing forces . Thus the conjugate, and hence the original transformation, is the identity. The kernel of a group homomorphism is trivial.
For surjectivity, let and choose any permutation . Let normalize the ordered triple and let normalize . Then sends to , lies in , and induces the chosen permutation. Thus is onto andFor the normalized set, the six Möbius transformations permuting three points are , , , , , and . Conjugating by gives the corresponding six maps for the original set.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ia Paper 3 8D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Let , with . If , then anda composition of a nonzero scaling and a translation. If , rearrange the fraction asThus every Möbius transformation is a composition, in order, of translation by , reciprocal inversion, nonzero scaling by , and translation by . All formulas act on the Riemann sphere, including zero and infinity. The scaling parameter must be nonzero for that factor to be a Möbius transformation.
For three distinct finite points, define the cross-ratio normalizationIt sends to respectively. If , use ; if , use ; if , use . These are the corresponding limits of the same formula and cover all possible triples. Form the analogous normalization of the target triple. Thenhas all three specified images, proving existence. For uniqueness, the quotient of any two such maps fixes the three source points. Conjugating by gives a Möbius transformation fixing . Fixing zero and infinity forces it to be , and fixing one forces . The quotient is identity, so the two maps are equal.
The Möbius transformations permuting three points are therefore in one-to-one correspondence with permutations of the triple. For the normalized set the six maps and their ordered images of areThey realize all six permutations. The action map to the symmetric group is a homomorphism, is injective by the three-point uniqueness proof, and is onto by this list. Hence