Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 10F a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The algebraic dual map is , defined by . The annihilator of a vector subspace isEvery functional vanishes on , so . Conversely, let . Define a functional on by . It is well defined because two preimages differ by an element of . Extend a basis of to one of and extend the functional arbitrarily, for instance by zero on the extra basis vectors. The resulting satisfies .
This is the dual image and kernel annihilator identity. ThereforeThe basis extension theorem also gives . By the rank-nullity theorem,Apply rank-nullity theorem to both maps, using , to obtainOver , this is the algebraic dual, without complex conjugation; the adjoint operator in part (b) uses the inner products instead.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 116 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the Riemann curvature tensor convention . A Jacobi field is a smooth vector field along satisfyingwhere is the covariant derivative along a curve for the Levi-Civita connection. Differentiating a geodesic variation gives this equation, and conversely every Jacobi field arises from a geodesic variation by varying its initial point and velocity.
Choose a parallel frame along and write . The Jacobi equation becomes the linear systemThe existence and uniqueness theorem for linear ordinary differential equations says that each pair determines exactly one solution on . Addition and scalar multiplication preserve the equation. Thus evaluation of initial position and covariant velocity is a linear isomorphismand the dimension is
For the convexity assertion, use the convex-normal meaning of a geodesically convex open set: its points are joined by a unique geodesic within the set, and the joining geodesic depends smoothly on its endpoints. Equivalently, the appropriate star-shaped restriction of is a diffeomorphism onto the set. The convex-normal-neighbourhood theorem supplies such sets around every point. Mere existence of some minimizing geodesic, without this uniqueness and normality, would not imply the assertion.
Let and . For a Jacobi field with and , differentiating gives the standard differential-of-the-exponential map identityIn a convex normal neighbourhood, is invertible. Therefore a Jacobi field vanishing at both endpoints has and hence is identically zero. The difference of two fields with the same endpoint values consequently vanishes. More precisely, the mapis an isomorphism: it is injective and both spaces have dimension . The constant-geodesic case follows directly from . This uses the convex-normal-neighbourhood theorem, the differential-of-the-exponential map identity, and linear ordinary differential equation uniqueness.
For the special unitary group example, use Jacobi fields from conjugation at a central endpoint. WriteThe endpoints of are and . The latter is central. For every considerConjugation is an isometry for a bi-invariant Riemannian metric, and geodesics of a bi-invariant metric are one-parameter subgroups. Thus is a geodesic variation. Its Jacobi field iswhich vanishes at and because both endpoints are central. Its initial covariant derivative is .
The linear map has kernel equal to the centralizer of an element of a Lie algebra of . Indeed, implies on differentiating at , and that commutation conversely implies . The repeated first two eigenvalues giveAs , rank-nullity theorem givesExplicit independent generators are the fields belonging to , , and . Their initial derivatives are independent because the eigenvalue differences in the and entries are . This also demonstrates directly why the endpoint-value conclusion fails along this geodesic.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 1 8C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write . From the coordinate formula for the cross product,If , this becomesThus gives rank three and a zero-dimensional kernel, while gives rank one and kernel dimension two.
If , then . When , the equations force and , soWhen , again and . These dimensions also agree with the rank-nullity theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 10F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Put . The restriction has image and kernel . By the rank-nullity theorem,Since its image is contained in , this proves the upper bound. Also , giving the rank inequality for a composition:Examples on distinguish the inequalities. Taking gives equality in both. Taking and gives composition rank zero, strictly below the upper bound 1 and equal to the lower bound 0. Taking gives rank 1, strictly above the lower bound 0 and equal to the upper bound 1.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 2 1F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a linear map with a finite-dimensional vector space, the rank-nullity theorem isChoose a basis of the kernel of a linear map and extend it to a basis of . The vectors span the image of a linear map, because the kernel basis contributes zero. If , then belongs to the kernel and is a combination of the ; independence of the extended basis makes every . Thus the image basis has elements and , proving the theorem.
For a rank-two map on , the direct sum occurs for : its kernel is and its image is . It fails for : the kernel is , contained in the two-dimensional image . The rank-nullity theorem fixes the sum of the dimensions, but does not imply zero intersection.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 10F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The dual space here is the algebraic dual space , consisting of every linear functional; no topology or boundedness is imposed. For a basis , define . These are linear functionals satisfying . Evaluating on each gives , proving linear independence. Conversely, for every ,This proves spanning and hence proves, without assuming a dimension theorem, that the dual basis is a basis and .
The canonical bidual evaluation map isIts definition makes no choice of basis and it is linear. If , one coordinate functional is nonzero on , so is injective. For any , choose . Expanding in the dual basis gives , proving surjection explicitly. Thus is an isomorphism.
If is any basis of , its dual basis in exists by the result just proved. Put . These vectors form a basis of , and . Every basis of the finite-dimensional dual is a dual basis, of a uniquely determined basis of .
For a separating subspace of an algebraic dual , choose a basis of . The linear map is injective because separates nonzero vectors. The rank-nullity theorem implies ; but implies . HenceThe zero-dimensional case also has this conclusion.
For , the monomials form an infinite basis, each polynomial using only finitely many of them. The map identifies with all real sequences, because any sequence defines . The linear subspace of finitely supported sequences is proper (it excludes ) and separating (one coefficient functional detects any nonzero polynomial). Thus
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 129 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Work in positive dimension . A cap set has no distinct zero-sum triple. Over the finite field , if two elements of a zero-sum triple agree then all three agree, since . Thus a zero-sum triple in a cap set must be diagonal. We prove the Ellenberg–Gijswijt cap-set bound by the polynomial method in combinatorics, keeping the exponential constant explicit and removing the fixed prefactor.
First prove the needed slice rank of a diagonal tensor over any field. The slice rank of a three-variable tensor is the least number of terms in a decomposition of the forms , , and . A diagonal tensor on a set of cardinality , with every diagonal entry nonzero, has slice rank at most by one slice for each entry. For the reverse inequality, suppose a decomposition has slices in the direction, in the direction, and in the direction, with . LetThe rank-nullity theorem gives . The maximum-support vector in a finite-dimensional subspace lemma supplies with at least nonzero coordinates: choose of maximum support of a vector; restriction must be injective, or adding a nonzero kernel of a linear map element would strictly enlarge that support of a vector. This argument is valid over finite fields, without any assumption that a generic vector avoids all coordinate hyperplanes.
Contract the proposed tensor decomposition in against . The diagonal tensor becomes a diagonal matrix of matrix rank at least . All slices vanish. Each remaining or slice becomes a matrix of matrix rank at most one, so subadditivity of matrix rank gives matrix rank at most , a contradiction. Therefore the slice rank of a diagonal tensor is exactly .
Now, for a cap set , consider the polynomialEach factor is one when its argument is zero and zero otherwise, because the two nonzero elements of have square one. Thus is the indicator function of . Restricted to , it is a diagonal tensor with every diagonal entry one, and its slice rank is .
Every monomial in the expansion has individual exponents at most two and total polynomial degree at most . Consequently at least one of its , , or blocks has polynomial degree at most . Assign each monomial to one such block, breaking ties in a fixed way, and collect assigned terms by the monomial in that block. Each collection is a slice. Ifthere are at most slices in each direction. Thus .
The low-degree monomial count for the cap-set bound follows directly from a weighted sum. Each exponent vector counted by satisfies , soThis supplies its own elementary exponential estimate; no unstated probabilistic estimate is required. Since , we have , but alone would leave a fixed prefactor.
Use Cartesian powers of cap sets to remove that prefactor. The -fold Cartesian product is still a cap set: in each block, a zero-sum triple of its elements must have all three entries equal. Hence . Taking th roots and letting tend to infinity proves the removal of an exponential prefactor by Cartesian powers:The strict middle inequality follows by cubing: . We can therefore takeFor every , a set with cannot be a cap set, and hence contains the required distinct triple. If zero dimension were included, the singleton would be another small-case exception; positive dimension is the convention used here.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ia Paper 1 2A ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The only noninvertible case is . Then is the orthogonal projection onto , soThese dimensions agree with the rank-nullity theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ib Paper 1 1E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The rank-nullity theorem says that for a linear map with finite-dimensional domain, . Apply it to . Its image is and its kernel is , soSince ,Using the preceding identity for both restrictions and rearranging gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 1 11G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Let be the support of the weight- codeword , and let delete all coordinates in . Its kernel consists of codewords supported in . If , then but , so is nonzero in every coordinate of . Over this forces . Hencehas dimension one, and the punctured code has length and rank by the rank-nullity theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ib Paper 1 8F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The rank of a matrix is the dimension of its column space, equivalently the dimension of the image of a linear map represented by the matrix. For , the rank-nullity theorem givesAn injective endomorphism of a finite-dimensional vector space is surjective, hence invertible. By the adjugate matrix identity is invertible when ; conversely, multiplicativity of the determinant shows that an invertible has nonzero determinant. Therefore
Let be the matrix unit with its only nonzero entry at . The following matrices are all nonsingular:Indeed, is an elementary shear when , while is diagonal with one diagonal entry equal to two. Their linear span contains every except initially , because , and it then containsThus spans the -dimensional space and, having members, is a basis. This also covers , when .
Now let be a nonsingular zero-one matrix. If it had fewer than zero entries, at least two rows would contain no zero at all. Those two rows would both be the all-one row, contradicting linear independence. Hence every such matrix has at mostones. The bound is attained. Let be the all-one matrix and setwhere there are initial diagonal ones. If and , the first row equations give , while the last gives . Hence every , so is nonsingular and has exactly ones. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 1 1E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The mapis a nonzero linear functional: otherwise would lie in the radical of a bilinear form, contradicting nondegeneracy. Its kernel is , so the rank-nullity theorem gives . Antisymmetry gives , hence .
Suppose is orthogonal to every vector of . Since , it is also orthogonal to , and therefore toFor a nondegenerate bilinear form, : both sides have dimension one and the latter is contained in the former. Thus , proving that the restriction to is nondegenerate.
The space has dimension and again carries a nondegenerate antisymmetric form. Induction, starting from the zero-dimensional space, shows that is even. Therefore is even. Equivalently, every finite-dimensional symplectic vector space has even dimension.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 3 9E a i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The direct sum consists of pairs with componentwise vector-space operations. The canonical inclusions areFor subspaces , defineThis is surjective, andThe First isomorphism theorem for vector spaces therefore gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 4 1E i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be the matrix unit with its only nonzero entry in row , column . Forone hasThereforeThe matrix units form an eigenbasis, with having eigenvalue . The zero eigenspace consists exactly of the diagonal matrices and has dimension . The rank-nullity theorem now gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 4 8E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
A Hermitian form is a sesquilinear form such thatUse the convention that is linear in its first argument and conjugate-linear in its second. Its matrix in the basis isIf and , then
Since , the coordinate row of each new basis vector is a row of . Direct substitution givesso the new matrix is
The subspace is the radical of . In coordinates it is the kernel of , and the rank-nullity theorem gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 31J Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For points , the restriction of to those points is the set of binary vectorsThe shattering coefficient isThe VC dimension iswith value infinity when arbitrarily large finite sets are shattered.
Now put and suppose that are shattered byConsider the linear mapIf , the rank-nullity theorem shows that is a proper subspace of . Choose a nonzeroand replace by if necessary so that at least one coordinate is positive.
Ask for the labeling that assigns label zero when and label one when ; coordinates with may be labeled arbitrarily. Shattering would supply such thatEvery product is then nonnegative, and at least one is strictly positive. Hencecontradicting . Therefore , provingThis is the VC dimension of a vector space argument.
Finally, a closed Euclidean ball with center and radius iswhereEvery such function lies inwhose dimension is at most . Applying the result just proved gives the VC dimension upper bound for Euclidean balls
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ib Paper 4 8F Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
The rank is and the nullity is . Extending a basis of the kernel to a basis of , the images of the added vectors form a basis of the image, proving the rank-nullity theorem
Since , the upper sum bound follows. Applying it to and interchanging gives the lower bound. For products, the image lies in and is the image under of , giving the upper bound; rank-nullity on that restriction gives
All four bounds are sharp. In a fixed basis, nested diagonal projections attain the product upper bound; placing with the smallest possible intersection with attains its lower bound. Taking on a subspace of dimension attains the sum lower bound, while choosing the two images in general position and avoiding cancellation attains the sum upper bound.
Both upper bounds need not be attainable simultaneously over every field. Over with and both ranks one, necessarily . Then but , below its upper bound one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 115 1 c Solution 2026-09-28
Fix and write for the complementary column indices. Over , decompose and . The equation is equivalent toMatrix inversion is smooth on the invertible matrices, sois a smooth, fiberwise-linear trivialization . The sets cover the base, proving that is a vector bundle of rank . It is the kernel bundle of a constant-rank family of linear maps, and its rank also follows from the rank-nullity theorem.