Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ib Paper 1 9F c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Taking the matrix trace of the adjugate expansion and using part (b) givesHence . Taking traces in gives, for ,For , the same formula follows by taking the trace of . Iterating the recursion from part (a) also givesConsequently the Faddeev–LeVerrier algorithm isStarting with , this recursively expresses every using only ; these are the Newton identities for the characteristic polynomial.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 142 2 Solution 2026-10-03
For variables , the elementary symmetric polynomial and power-sum symmetric polynomial arePut . Its logarithmic derivative isComparing the coefficient of in gives the Newton identities
The given Bockstein homomorphism is the first Steenrod square. A real line bundle is pulled back from the universal line bundle over , where the degree-one generator satisfies . By naturality,
Apply the splitting principle for real vector bundles, writing the pulled-back bundle as and . The pullback in cohomology is injective, , and the Bockstein derivation rule givesIn , the terms for which the index from already lies in the -element subset give this sum, while each square-free monomial of degree occurs times. Over this yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 142 4 Solution 2026-10-03
For a complex vector bundle , define the kth Adams operation by the kth Newton polynomial in its exterior powers:After applying the splitting principle for complex vector bundles and writing , the Newton identities giveThis formula proves additivity. Applied simultaneously to splittings of and , it also givesThus extends to a natural ring endomorphism of and, for a line bundle,
Write and let . Its reduced K-theory is freely generated by , with , and restriction to the bottom cell sends to a Bott element and the two higher powers to zero. If retracts the bottom-cell inclusion, thenfor some integers . Naturality and the Adams operation on a Bott class giveSince , comparison modulo first in degree and then in degree givesThe first equality makes even. Then is odd, so integrality of forces ; it is also congruent to modulo , so . Consequently
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 3 19H Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be the space of homogeneous degree- polynomials in . For and a column vector , defineSubstitution preserves degree, andso is a continuous representation of a topological group. This is the homogeneous polynomial representation of SU2.
To prove irreducibility, restrict to the diagonal circleThe monomials are its one-dimensional weight spaces, with distinct weights up to our harmless inverse-action convention. If is invariant, Fourier projection along this circle shows that contains a monomial. Differentiating the action of and complexifying gives the operatorsRepeated applications of and connect every monomial to every other one. Hence contains the entire monomial basis, so .
Every is conjugate to with . Reading the eigenvalues on the monomial basis gives the character of the homogeneous polynomial representation of SU2For this iswith the values at obtained by continuity.
For completeness, let be any finite-dimensional irreducible continuous complex representation of . Its restriction to the diagonal circle splits into integral weight spaces. Choose a vector of largest weight . The raising operator kills it, and the commutation relations show that is a nonnegative integer and that successive applications of the lowering operator form a string of weightsTheir span is an invariant copy of ; irreducibility forces it to equal . Thus the classification of finite-dimensional representations of SU2 says
If the eigenvalues of are , then the eigenvalues on are for . Therefore the character of an exterior square isThe exterior square of an SU2 irreducible representation or the Clebsch-Gordan decomposition for SU2 with flip parity givesThe dimensions check the result.
The third elementary symmetric polynomial in the , together with Newton identities, givesFor the five-dimensional representation , the canonical dualityfinishes the decomposition. The weights sum to zero, so is trivial, and every irreducible is self-dual. Consequently
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 142 3 Solution 2026-09-28
The splitting principle for complex vector bundles says that for every complex vector bundle there is a map such that is injective on cohomology andsplits into complex line bundles. Write for the formal Chern roots.
Define the Chern character after this injective pullback byEach homogeneous component is a symmetric polynomial in the with rational coefficients, hence a polynomial in the elementary symmetric functions . It therefore descends uniquely to and depends only on . Seton the Grothendieck group ; additivity under direct sums makes this well defined.
If has roots and has roots , then has roots . ConsequentlyIt also sends the trivial line to , so it is a unital ring homomorphism.
For , a generator of is the -fold exterior product of the degree-two Bott element. The Chern character respects exterior products, and the degree-two Bott element has Chern character equal, up to sign, to the integral generator of . Its -fold product maps to the integral top-dimensional generator. Hence the Chern character on an even-dimensional sphere is integral.
Let the formal Chern roots of be and write . Sinceall lower Chern classes vanish. The Newton identities then reduce toThe degree- term of the Chern character is thereforeIts evaluation on the fundamental class is an integer by integrality of the reduced Chern character. Thusis divisible by , proving the Divisibility of the top Chern number on an even-dimensional sphere.