Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 23F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For a nonconstant holomorphic map between compact connected Riemann surfaces, its degree iswhere is the ramification index of a holomorphic map at . The valency theorem makes this sum independent of . The Riemann-Hurwitz formula is
Write . The map is well-defined and biholomorphic, with . Its fixed points satisfyThey are therefore indexed by , so there are four, as in the negation map on a one-dimensional complex torus.
For each choose a small open disc for which . The projection restricts to a homeomorphismUse followed by a holomorphic coordinate on as a chart on . Choosing instead changes this coordinate by the holomorphic map induced by , so the transition functions are holomorphic. These charts make a Riemann surface and a holomorphic double covering map.
At each omitted fixed point, a centred local coordinate changes by , so the invariant quotient coordinate is . Hence the extension has degree two and exactly four ramification points, each with . Since the complex torus has genus one, Riemann--Hurwitz givesThus , in agreement with the general quotient of a one-dimensional complex torus by negation.