Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 4 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
A generic linear projection over an infinite field is not enough for the stated arbitrary field . Instead use Noether normalization by weighted substitutions to make the defining polynomial monic in one coordinate.
For , choose an integer at least every exponent occurring in a nonzero monomial of , put , and use the triangular polynomial change of variablesHere because the irreducible polynomial is nonconstant. This is an automorphism, with inverse , . A monomial contributes a highest powerThese weights are all distinct: the exponents are base- digits bounded by . All other terms in the expansion have smaller degree than that monomial's weight. Therefore the highest-degree term in the transformed comes from exactly one original monomial and has a nonzero coefficient in , independent of the other . No assumption about the cardinality or characteristic of enters this argument.
Multiply by the inverse of that coefficient to obtain a monic polynomial of some degree , where . The same construction for simply rescales to be monic over .
The monic polynomial quotient is finite free because division by gives a unique representative of degree less than . Thusas -modules. Uniqueness follows because any nonzero multiple of a monic has degree at least . In particular the map is injective.
The induced morphismis finite, since its coordinate algebra is a finite module, and flat, since tensoring with a finite free module is a finite direct sum of copies of the original module and preserves exactness. This is a finite flat Noether normalization of an affine hypersurface, with the explicit projection coordinates . The construction actually applies to any nonconstant polynomial, not only an irreducible one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 2 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Put and let be the integral closure of in . We first establish the elementary integral extension machinery, and then use the trace pairing to put inside a finite -module.
An integral element satisfies a monic polynomial over the base ring. If its equation has degree , the powers generate as an -module. More generally, adjoining finitely many integral elements gives a finitely generated module: reduce the exponent of each generator using its monic equation. Conversely, if an -submodule of an extension algebra contains , is finitely generated, and is stable under multiplication by , choose generators and write . Multiplying by its adjugate shows that its monic determinant annihilates every , hence annihilates . This finite-module criterion for integrality is the determinant trick.
If are integral elements, the finite -module is stable under , and . The criterion proves that these are integral elements. Thus the integral closure really is a subring. It also proves integral dependence is transitive: if is integral over an integral -algebra , take the finitely many coefficients of its equation, form their finite -subalgebra , and observe that is finite over and therefore finite over . The criterion applies to . In particular, an algebra generated by finitely many integral elements is a finite integral extension, even though an arbitrary integral extension need not be finite.
Choose a -basis of . Each basis element is algebraic over . Ifchoose a nonzero clearing all coefficient denominators. Then satisfies a monic equation with coefficients . Hence all belong to and still form a -basis. This is integral field basis by denominator clearing.
We next prove the trace of an integral element over a normal domain property. For , its images under all -embeddings of into an algebraic closure are integral elements over , because each satisfies the same monic equation. Their sum is integral by the subring property just proved. Since is a separable field extension, that sum is the field trace and lies in . The normality assumption means that is a normal domain, equivalently an integrally closed domain, soThe same conclusion applies to , since is a ring.
The trace pairing of a finite separable field extension is nondegenerate. One can see this directly using the allowed Galois theory: for a primitive element , the embedding matrix of is a Vandermonde matrix in the distinct conjugates of . Its determinant is nonzero, and the trace Gram matrix is its transpose times itself. Nondegeneracy is unchanged by a change of basis.
Let . Its trace-dual lattice isNondegeneracy supplies a trace-dual -basis , with . The coefficient formula givesEquivalently, the matrix has entries in and nonzero determinant ; if , then and the adjugate formula gives . Thus as well. Both descriptions exhibit a finite free ambient -module.
A finite -module is a Noetherian module when is a Noetherian ring, and every submodule of a Noetherian module is finitely generated. Since is an -submodule of , we obtainThis proves finiteness of integral closure in a finite separable extension. The hypotheses have distinct roles: separability makes the trace pairing nonsingular, normality puts integral traces back in , and Noetherianity makes the contained submodule finite. Also , since the integral basis elements span over , and is itself Noetherian because its ideals are -submodules of a finite -module.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 1 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
An integral extension means that every element satisfies a monic polynomial with coefficients in :The Krull dimension is the supremum of the lengths of strict chains of primes:There need not be a finite bound on these lengths.
Here are the prime-ideal facts behind dimension preservation, with their relevant proofs. If a domain is integral over a subdomain and is a field, then is a field: for , a monic equation for , multiplied by a suitable power of , expresses as an element of . Conversely, an integral domain integral over a field is itself a field: a nonzero element has a polynomial equation with nonzero constant term after removing any factor of the indeterminate, and that equation expresses its inverse. Applied to quotients, these observations show that a prime in an integral extension is maximal if and only if its contraction is maximal.
For the Lying-over theorem, localize at . The inclusion remains injective and integral, and is nonzero. Any maximal ideal of contracts to the unique maximal ideal of , by the field criterion just proved. The prime ideal correspondence for localization then gives a prime of contracting to .
For the Going-up theorem, suppose lies over and . The quotient inclusion is integral. Apply Lying-over theorem to the prime ; lifting back gives contracting to .
For the incomparability theorem for integral extensions, suppose contract to the same . After localizing at , both are maximal ideals, because they lie over the maximal ideal of . Their inclusion is therefore equality. The bijection between primes under localization gives .
Now contract a strict chain of primes in . Incomparability theorem for integral extensions ensures that every contraction remains strict, so . Conversely, Lying-over theorem lifts the first member of any finite chain in , and repeated Going-up theorem lifts the remaining members; different contractions ensure a strict chain in . Taking suprema, including the possibility of infinity, givesThis proves that integral extensions preserve Krull dimension.
For the given quotient, put . The relation is monic in , so monic polynomial division gives a unique representative . Thus is injective and is free of rank two as a -module. In particular, is integral over . The one-variable polynomial ring has dimension one: its zero prime is strictly below , and every nonzero prime is maximal because is a principal ideal domain. HenceThis is an instance of dimension of a monic plane hypersurface. No irreducibility or algebraic-closure assumption on is needed; monicity supplies the integral extension in every characteristic.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 1 3 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
An integral extension means every satisfies a monic polynomialTo prove the Lying-over theorem, localize at . The injection remains injective, and is integral over : a monic relation for divided by suitable powers of gives one for . This is a nonzero ring, so choose a maximal ideal of it.
The contraction of to is maximal. To see this directly, a field integral over a subring forces that subring to be a field. For nonzero in the subring, is integral; multiply its monic equation of degree by to express as a polynomial in with coefficients in the subring. Apply this to the integral extensionSince is a local ring with unique maximal ideal , we obtain .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 1 6D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
A sequence of real orthogonal polynomials consists of real polynomials with degree of a polynomial andOrthogonality is relative to the specified inner product, rather than to the ordinary coefficients. A monic polynomial has leading coefficient one, so a monic orthogonal polynomial has the form . In particular, the monic degree-zero polynomial is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 101 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The Laurent polynomial ring is a localization of a ring:The Hilbert basis theorem makes a Noetherian ring, and Localization of a Noetherian ring preserves this property. Thus .
For separating finite Laurent support by an integer weight, take a nonzero Laurent polynomial and let be its finite set of exponent pairs with nonzero coefficients. Choose an integer such thatwhere the maximum is zero if has only one member. Set . If , thenso and then . Consequently all powers of in are distinct. The linear independence of the Laurent monomials prevents cancellation, givingThe choice depends on the finite support of ; a single fixed substitution need not detect every nonzero element.
For Noetherianity of subalgebras of a one-variable Laurent polynomial ring, let be a unital -subalgebra of . If , it is already a Noetherian ring. Otherwise we find a nonconstant and an ambient ring containing such that is a finitely generated module over .
If , choose a nonconstant polynomial in , where . Then is an integral element over , since it satisfies the monic polynomial equationThus is a finitely generated module over , generated by . The case is identical after replacing by .
In the remaining case is contained in neither of these two polynomial rings. There is an element with a positive exponent and an element with a negative exponent. If either already has both, use it as . Otherwise their sum has both, since the positive powers of the first and the negative powers of the second cannot cancel. We obtainMultiplying this identity by gives a polynomial equation for with leading coefficient :Dividing by makes it monic. Similarly, multiplication by gives a monic equation for after division by . Both generators are therefore integral elements over , so is a finitely generated module over .
In all three cases is a Noetherian ring, as a quotient of a one-variable polynomial ring. The subalgebra is also a -submodule, so it is a Noetherian module. Every ideal of is a -submodule of and is therefore finitely generated over , hence over . This proves
For the final request, take the following subalgebra of the two-variable Laurent polynomial ring:Let , an ideal of . We haveas -vector spaces. In particular, the classes of , for , are linearly independent. If had finitely many generators as an -module, their classes would span over , contradicting its infinite dimension. Hence is not finitely generated and is not a Noetherian ring. This illustrates why the preceding result is special to one Laurent variable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 3 17B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
By the Leibniz rule,After multiplication by , the term is , and every other term has lower degree. Thus is a monic polynomial of degree . Direct calculation givesThese are the monic normalization of the generalized Laguerre polynomials with parameter .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 101 2 a i Solution 2026-09-28
A ring extension is an integral extension when every is an integral element over : there is a monic polynomialwith all .
Evaluating arbitrary monic polynomials of successive degrees gives the same determinant as evaluating the monomials of those degrees. The basis-change matrix is triangular with diagonal entries one, so its determinant is one. This permits an orthogonal polynomial basis to replace the monomials in eigenvalue densities.
Weighted Vandermonde determinant 2026-10-07
For a nonnegative weight and monic polynomials of degree , this determinant is . Its square is the product of the weights times the squared Vandermonde determinant. For normalized weighted polynomials it differs by the product of their norm factors.