Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / ib / Paper 2 / 11G (Groups, Rings and Modules)

The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain applies because a Euclidean domain is a principal ideal domain. For a finitely generated $R$-module,where the $d_i$ are nonzero nonunits. The free rank $r$ and the invariant factors of a finitely generated module $d_i$ are unique, with each $d_i$ determined up to multiplication by a unit. Equivalently, the torsion submodule decomposes into cyclic modules $R/(P^a)$ for irreducible $P$, with uniquely determined prime-power elementary factors.

The annihilating polynomial excludes any free $\mathbb{C}[X]$-summand. In a cyclic primary decomposition summand $\mathbb{C}[X]/(P^a)$, the same condition requires $P^a$ to divide $(X-2{)}^4$. Thus $P=X-2$, up to a scalar unit, and $1\le a\le 4$. The complex dimension of this summand is $a$.

Write $A_j=\mathbb{C}[X]/((X-2{)}^j)$. The exponents must form a partition of an integer $4$, giving exactlyThey are distinct module isomorphism types by uniqueness in the structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain; equivalently they are the five possible Jordan block patterns for eigenvalue $2$ in dimension four.

Factor $X^3+X=X(X-i)(X+i)$. These factors generate pairwise comaximal ideals, so the Chinese remainder theorem givesThe three copies of $\mathbb{C}$ have different module structures: $X$ acts by $0,i,-i$, respectively. Thus $q(X)$ acts on $(a,b,c)$ as $(q(0)a,q(i)b,q(-i)c)$, making $\Phi$ a module homomorphism.

The inverse, obtained by Lagrange interpolation, isEvaluating at $0,i,-i$ recovers $(a,b,c)$. Conversely, a polynomial whose three evaluations vanish is divisible by $X(X-i)(X+i)$, so these maps are mutual inverses on the quotient module. Three copies with identical trivial $X$-action would not give the required isomorphism.