= Solution
All <graphs> here are finite and simple. For the <strong graph product> $G\boxtimes H$, two distinct <graph vertex> pairs are adjacent if in each coordinate the entries are equal or adjacent. Use $G^{\boxtimes m}$ for its <strong graph power>; the exam's $G^m$ means this product power, not the distance-based <graph power>. The <Shannon capacity of a graph> is
$$
\boxed{c(G)=\sup_{m\ge1}\alpha(G^{\boxtimes m})^{1/m}
=\lim_{m\to\infty}\alpha(G^{\boxtimes m})^{1/m},}
$$
where $\alpha$ is the <independence number>. Products of <independent sets> are independent, so $a_{r+s}\ge a_ra_s$ for $a_m=\alpha(G^{\boxtimes m})$. To see why the limit exists, fix $r$ and write $m=qr+s$, $0\le s<r$. Then $a_m\ge a_r^q$, using $a_s\ge1$ and $a_0=1$, so $\liminf_m (\log a_m)/m\ge(\log a_r)/r$. Take the supremum over $r$; the reverse upper bound holds termwise. This proves the required form of <Fekete lemma>. For the empty <graph> on no <graph vertices> one <sets> <graph capacity> zero separately.
Associativity of the <strong product> gives
$$
c(G\boxtimes G)=\lim_m\alpha(G^{\boxtimes 2m})^{1/m}
=\left(\lim_m\alpha(G^{\boxtimes 2m})^{1/(2m)}\right)^2
=\boxed{c(G)^2}.
$$
An <orthonormal representation of a graph> assigns a real <unit vector> $u_v$ to each <graph vertex>, with $u_v\perp u_w$ whenever distinct <graph vertices> $v,w$ are nonadjacent. Adjacent <graph vertices> need not receive orthogonal <vectors>. A handle is a <unit vector> $h$. The handle formulation of the <Lovász theta function> is
$$
\vartheta(G)=\inf_{\{u_v\},\,\|h\|=1}\max_v\frac1{|h\cdot u_v|^2},
$$
with a zero denominator giving infinity. Representations may use any finite-dimensional Euclidean space. This is the usual <Lovász number> in its orthonormal-representation formulation.
For an <independent set> $I$, the <vectors> $u_v$, $v\in I$, are mutually orthonormal. Directly,
$$
0\le\left\|h-\sum_{v\in I}(h\cdot u_v)u_v\right\|^2
=1-\sum_{v\in I}|h\cdot u_v|^2.
$$
If $T=\max_v|h\cdot u_v|^{-2}$ is finite, every summand is at least $1/T$, giving $|I|\le T$. For a <strong power>, use the <vectors> and handle
$$
u_{(v_1,\ldots,v_m)}=u_{v_1}\otimes\cdots\otimes u_{v_m},\qquad
h_m=h^{\otimes m}.
$$
Their <norms> are one. Nonadjacency of two distinct words means a coordinate has distinct nonadjacent entries, so the corresponding tensor <inner product> has a zero factor. The handle <inner products> satisfy
$$
|h_m\cdot u_{(v_1,\ldots,v_m)}|^2=\prod_{i=1}^m|h\cdot u_{v_i}|^2\ge T^{-m}.
$$
Applying the preceding calculation gives $\alpha(G^{\boxtimes m})\le T^m$. Taking roots, then the infimum over representations and handles, proves
$$
\boxed{c(G)\le\vartheta(G).}
$$
This is the <tensor-product capacity bound from an orthonormal representation>, and the displayed projection calculation supplies <Bessel inequality> explicitly.
For $C_5$, label <graph vertices> by $\mathbb Z/5\mathbb Z$, with edges at differences $\pm1$. The five words
$$
\{(j,2j):j\in\mathbb Z/5\mathbb Z\}
$$
are independent in its strong square: a difference $\pm1$ in the first coordinate produces a nonedge difference $\pm2$ in the second, while a first-coordinate difference $\pm2$ is already a nonedge. Hence $c(C_5)\ge\sqrt5$.
\Image[/past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/iii/paper-14-pentagon-code.png]
{title=Five independent words in the strong square of the pentagon}
For the matching upper bound <set> $\rho=1/\sqrt5$, $h=(0,0,1)$, and
$$
u_j=\left(\sqrt{1-\rho}\cos\frac{2\pi j}5,
\sqrt{1-\rho}\sin\frac{2\pi j}5,\sqrt\rho\right).
$$
Each <vector> is unit. For a nonedge, the angle difference is $\pm4\pi/5$, and
$$
u_j\cdot u_{j+2}=(1-\rho)\cos(4\pi/5)+\rho=0,
$$
because $\cos(4\pi/5)=-(1+\sqrt5)/4$ and $\rho=1/\sqrt5$. Thus these <vectors> form an <orthonormal representation>. The handle has $|h\cdot u_j|^2=\rho$, giving $\vartheta(C_5)\le1/\rho=\sqrt5$. Together the two bounds prove the <pentagon capacity code> result
$$
\boxed{c(C_5)=\vartheta(C_5)=\sqrt5.}
$$
Back to article page