Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2018 / iii / Paper 137 / 2

Write $x=g^{-1}h$ and $S(x)={\sum }_{\chi \in \hat{G}}\chi (x)$, where $\hat{G}$ is the character group of a finite abelian group. The Fundamental theorem of finitely generated abelian groups writes the finite group $G$ as a product of cyclic groups. A character of a cyclic group factor of order $r$ is determined by an arbitrary $r$th root of unity, so $|\hat{G}|=|G|$. This description also shows that the characters separate points: if $x\ne 1$, a nonzero coordinate of $x$ is detected by a character $\psi$ with $\psi (x)\ne 1$.

Multiplication by $\psi$ permutes $\hat{G}$, soFor $x\ne 1$ this forces $S(x)=0$. For $x=1$ every summand is one. Since $\chi (g{)}^{-1}\chi (h)=\chi (g^{-1}h)$, the character-sum cancellation lemma givesAll character values are roots of unity, so inversion here is also complex conjugation. This is the finite-abelian version of character orthogonality.

Extend each Dirichlet character periodically to all integers by setting $\chi (n)=0$ when $\gcd (n,N)>1$. Its Dirichlet L-function is initially the absolutely convergent Dirichlet seriesThe group $(\mathbb{Z}/N\mathbb{Z}{)}^{\times }$ has $\phi (N)$ elements. Part (i) gives, for every integer $n$, including nonunits,For a nonunit both sides are zero, because the fixed class $a$ is a unit. Interchanging the finite character sum and the absolutely convergent Dirichlet series therefore provesThis is Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters applied to a residue-class indicator. Any meromorphic continuations of the two sides agree by uniqueness of analytic continuation.

The original PDF has the summation condition $\gcd (n,N)=1$; the TeX's $\gcd (n,n)=1$ is a transcription error. There is also an actual missing hypothesis in the PDF's coefficient formula: that simplified formula requires a primitive Dirichlet character. We first derive a formula valid for every character, and then show both the primitive specialization and a counterexample to the unrestricted version.

For $k>2$, the character-twisted Eisenstein series converges absolutely and locally uniformly on the complex upper half-plane. On a compact subset, $|mz+n|$ is bounded below by a positive constant times $(m^2+n^2{)}^{1/2}$, and the corresponding two-dimensional lattice sum converges. Changing $n$ to $n+mN$ provesThe condition $\chi (-1)=(-1{)}^k$ makes the terms for $(m,n)$ and $(-m,-n)$ equal. The terms with $m=0$ contribute $2L(\chi ,k)$, and all other terms are twice the sum over $m\ge 1$.

For $\mathrm{Im}w>0$, the cotangent identity andgive, after $k-1$ differentiations,Differentiation is justified by locally uniform convergence. This is the cotangent partial-fraction Fourier kernel.

Write $n=a+Nt$, with $a$ running through the unit classes modulo $N$, and define the finite Fourier transformHere $g(\chi )$ is the Gauss sum of a Dirichlet character.
Applying the kernel with $w=(mz+a)/N$ yieldsThe double series converges absolutely: $|S_{\chi }(r)|\le \phi (N)$ and the exponential decay controls ${\sum }_{m,r}{r}^{k-1}{e}^{-2\pi mr\mathrm{Im}z/N}$. Grouping the terms with $mr=n$ proves the general Fourier expansion of a character-twisted Eisenstein series:

If $r$ is a unit modulo $N$, substitution $a\mapsto r^{-1}a$ gives $S_{\chi }(r)=\chi (r{)}^{-1}g(\chi )$. Suppose now that $\chi$ is primitive and $r$ is a nonunit. Choose a prime $p\mid \gcd (r,N)$. Reduction of units modulo $N$ onto units modulo $N/p$ is surjective. Primitivity means that $\chi$ is nontrivial on its kernel, so there is a unit $u\equiv 1(\mathrm{mod}N/p)$ with $\chi (u)\ne 1$. Since $ru\equiv r(\mathrm{mod}N)$, substitution by $u$ forces $S_{\chi }(r)=\chi (u{)}^{-1}{S}_{\chi }(r)$ and thus $S_{\chi }(r)=0$. This proves the finite Fourier transform of a primitive Dirichlet character identity, and consequentlyThe inverse-character notation in the question is understood to mean $\overline{\chi }(r)$, extended by zero on nonunits; literal inversion of $\chi (r)=0$ would be undefined.

For a counterexample without primitivity, take $N=2$, the principal character, and $k=4$. Then $S_{\chi }(r)=(-1{)}^r$, so $g(\chi )=-1$ but $S_{\chi }(2)=1$. At $n=2$, the general formula gives $c_2=7A_4/8$, whereas the printed simplified formula, interpreted as zero on nonunits, gives $-A_4/8$. Hence the printed coefficient formula is false for arbitrary imprimitive characters; the general boxed formula above supplies the correction.