Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 26 2 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The product defining the modular discriminant converges locally uniformly for and has integral Fourier coefficients. Its logarithmic derivative isTherefore . Comparing the coefficient of gives , orThis also fixes the initial value .
For the Ramanujan tau congruence modulo five, first justify the link between this product and . Question 1 constructs with first coefficient one. Its Serre derivative is in , which vanishes by the valence formula for the modular group: a nonzero such cusp form would contribute at least , since it vanishes at infinity and at . Hence . The product and have the same differential equation and leading coefficient. Equivalently their quotient has derivative zero near and limit one; the identity theorem givesAlso . Its constant coefficient is , so the Serre derivative gives .
Work now in the formal power series ring . The integral expansions give and , because , , and . The two identities reduce toThus , and division by the nonzero element gives . Since the coefficient of in is , we conclude
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 26 2 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The required anomaly cancellation depends on the exact Eisenstein series of weight two lawHere is a way to establish it without assuming that is a modular form. The lattice definition of the completed nonholomorphic Eisenstein series in Question 6 is modular invariant. Its Poisson summation calculation, proved there, gives the finite Laurent coefficient at asThe residue is constant, so is also invariant. This calculation uses only convergent Gaussian integrals and the analytic infinite product, not modularity of that product. Using the Wirtinger derivative , with , differentiation of the locally uniformly convergent series givesDifferentiate to see that transforms with weight two. Substituting yieldssince . This is the weight-two transformation from an invariant Eisenstein limit.
Combine this law with the derivative transformation of a weak modular form proved in part (i). The anomalous terms in cancel exactly, leaving the weight- transformation law. Both functions are holomorphic on the complex upper half-plane, and their Fourier expansions contain no negative powers. Hence the Serre derivative satisfiesIts constant coefficient is ; it need not be a cusp form when is not cuspidal.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 26 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Extend by zero to integers not coprime to , and write for its Gauss sum of a Dirichlet character. We use the analytic branch of that is positive when is positive imaginary. With the convention , the Gaussian Fourier transform and its differentiated version areThe first formula follows by completing the square, first on the imaginary axis and then by analytic continuation; the second follows by differentiating the Fourier transform in . All the functions are Schwartz functions on the real axis.
For completeness, the finite Fourier transform of a primitive Dirichlet character satisfiesFor a unit this is substitution by its inverse. If , primitivity supplies a unit with : otherwise the character would factor through modulus . Multiplication by fixes the additive exponential but multiplies the sum by , so the sum vanishes. This proves the identity also on nonunits. Finite Parseval identity now gives , since exactly frequencies have nonzero character values. In particular this Gauss sum of a Dirichlet character is nonzero.
Apply Poisson summation to each residue class: . Multiply by and sum over . The formulas above give the two character theta transformationsandIn the odd case the prefactor originally reads ; using explains the factor . Opposite parity makes the corresponding series identically zero by pairing . This is why the weight-three-halves series is needed for odd Dirichlet characters.
To deduce the products from these transformations, use two specific primitive Dirichlet characters. The even character takes values on modulo twelve. It is primitive: its values do not factor through six or four, hence through no proper divisor of twelve. Its Gauss sum of a Dirichlet character is . PutThe even transformation gives ; also , since each nonzero term has . Thus transforms as a weight-twelve modular form under the generators of the modular group. It is holomorphic and starts with , so it is a normalized cusp form. The proof in Question 1 shows , giving . In particular has no interior zeros, by the valence formula for the modular group.
The Serre derivative argument in Question 2 gives . Hence . The analytic product is nonzero and has the same logarithmic derivative, since . Therefore is constant on the connected complex upper half-plane; its limit at infinity is one. This proves , without assuming either of the product identities being deduced. Pair the terms in , choosing representatives . Since , we getThis is the Euler pentagonal identity, derived by the character theta proof of the eta product.
For the second product use the odd primitive character , , with Gauss sum of a Dirichlet character . SetThe odd transformation gives and the series gives . Thus is another normalized weight-twelve cusp form, and . Because is nonzero, has eighth power one, so it is constant; its leading coefficient fixes it to one. Pairing positive and negative odd integers now givesSince , the Jacobi cubic product identity follows:All pairings and differentiations take place in locally uniformly convergent theta functions or products on .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 29 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use . For , differentiating the weight- law givesThe transformations of under the generators , and the chain rule for their compositions, giveEquivalently, one can check just in the next cancellation, since they generate the group. Substituting these formulas intocancels the extra term and gives . Both constituents are holomorphic on and have Fourier expansions of a modular form with nonnegative exponents, so is holomorphic at the modular cusp. ThusThis operator is the Serre derivative.
If , then its derivative has constant coefficient zero, while has constant coefficient one. ThereforeFor this vanishes exactly when , proving the claimed cusp form equivalence in the intended positive-weight setting. At weight zero the printed equivalence is false: is a noncuspidal weight-zero modular form, but belongs to . Indeed all weight-zero forms are constants by compactness of . Negative-weight level-one modular forms are zero by the valence formula for the modular group, so there is no further nonzero exception. The transformation and holomorphy conclusion for remains true at weight zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 137 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Write and use the Serre derivative . Translation invariance of and the Eisenstein series of weight two gives .
Differentiate the weight- transformation . The chain rule yieldsThe assumed transformation of the Eisenstein series of weight two givesSubtracting cancels the extra term. Hence . Since and generate the modular group, these two transformations prove the weight- law for all its elements. Holomorphy on the complex upper half-plane follows from the formula.
For the Fourier expansion of a modular form , differentiation gives . The product of the convergent series for and likewise has no negative powers. Thus is holomorphic at a cusp at infinity, and therefore at every cusp of the modular group. Its constant coefficient is . Since , it vanishes exactly when . Consequently
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 137 3 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Apply the Serre derivative in weight twelve to the modular discriminant. The preceding result makes a weight-fourteen cusp form. The vanishing of weight-fourteen level-one cusp forms follows directly from the valence formula for the modular group: a nonzero such form has order at infinity at least one, and forces order at at least one. Thus its weighted number of zeros would be at least , a contradiction. Therefore .
Compare the Fourier coefficients at positive indices using and . This gives . For the Ramanujan tau function, the concise recurrence isAt the sum is empty and both sides are zero; normalization supplies . For instance the next coefficient is .
Ramanujan tau congruence modulo five 2026-10-14
The modular discriminant satisfies , while the Serre derivative gives . Their integral Fourier expansions have and , because . Reducing the two identities gives . The coefficient of in is .
Ramanujan tau function Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
The Ramanujan tau function gives the Fourier coefficients at positive indices of the modular discriminant: , with . The Serre derivative and vanishing of weight-fourteen level-one cusp forms give and hence the convolution recurrence