Height bound for a polynomial evaluation Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Let have degree at most in . Thenwhenever the quotient is defined. At each non-Archimedean place, the integral coefficients contribute at most one; at the Archimedean places, the triangle inequality contributes the polynomial length. Multiplying these local estimates and using the product formula gives the claim.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 166 2 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Let be a number field. Its places consist of its real embeddings, conjugate pairs of complex embeddings, and the finite places associated with nonzero prime ideals of its ring of integers of a number field. At a real or complex place use the usual absolute value. If lies over the prime number with ramification index , normalize its absolute value byThese normalizations extend the standard absolute values on .
Write for the local degree of a place. Thus is at a real place, at a complex place, and at a finite place. The Absolute multiplicative Weil height isThe product formula shows that this is unchanged when is replaced by a larger number field containing .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 166 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
The product formula says that every satisfiesFirst suppose that is an algebraic integer. Its principal ideal has the prime ideal factorizationTaking the ideal norm givesOn the other hand, the field norm is the product over embeddings, soEquating these expressions proves the formula for algebraic integers. Every nonzero element of is a quotient of two algebraic integers, and multiplicativity completes the proof.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 166 2 c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
For every ,For , this follows directly fromat each place of a number field. The product formula gives , becauseand this handles negative as well.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 166 2 e Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Write for the polynomial length. The height bound for a polynomial evaluation isprovided the denominator is nonzero. At non-Archimedean places the integral coefficients and ultrametric inequality give the local estimate without an extra constant; at Archimedean places the triangle inequality gives the polynomial length. Multiplication over every place of a number field and the product formula produce the displayed bound.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 166 3 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
For a linear form over a number field , define its height to be the projective height of its coefficient vector:The product formula makes this independent of multiplying by a nonzero scalar.
The Siegel lemma says the following. Let , let be linear forms in variables with , and suppose for every , where . Then there is a nonzero annihilated by all the forms and satisfying
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 166 1 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
One Archimedean form of the Schmidt subspace theorem is as follows. Let be linearly independent linear forms in variables with algebraic coefficients. For every , all nonzero satisfyingbelong to a finite union of proper rational linear subspaces of .
We will also use its finite-place form: if is a finite set of places containing the Archimedean ones and, for each , the forms are independent, then the integer solutions oflie in finitely many proper rational subspaces. The absolute values are normalized so that the product formula holds.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 166 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Choose a number field containing . At every place of , putThe triangle inequality giveswhere at every non-Archimedean place because the coefficients are integers, while at an Archimedean place one may takeRaise these inequalities to the local weights and multiply over all places. The definition of the Absolute multiplicative Weil height and the product formula then giveThis is the height bound for a polynomial evaluation.
Projective height Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
For a nonzero vector over a number field , its absolute projective height isThe product formula makes this unchanged by multiplying all coordinates by the same nonzero scalar. The projective height of a linear form is the projective height of its coefficient vector.