Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ib Paper 2 2E iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 ib Paper 2 2E ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ib Paper 2 11G ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The annihilating polynomial excludes any free -summand. In a cyclic primary decomposition summand , the same condition requires to divide . Thus , up to a scalar unit, and . The complex dimension of this summand is .
Write . The exponents must form a partition of an integer , giving exactlyThey are distinct module isomorphism types by uniqueness in the structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain; equivalently they are the five possible Jordan block patterns for eigenvalue in dimension four.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ib Paper 2 11G i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain applies because a Euclidean domain is a principal ideal domain. For a finitely generated -module,where the are nonzero nonunits. The free rank and the invariant factors of a finitely generated module are unique, with each determined up to multiplication by a unit. Equivalently, the torsion submodule decomposes into cyclic modules for irreducible , with uniquely determined prime-power elementary factors.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 4 11E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain applies in particular to a Euclidean domain : every finitely generated module has an isomorphismwith each nonzero and a nonunit. The rank of a free module and the invariant factors of a finitely generated module are unique up to multiplication by units; empty sums are allowed. This is the classification theorem being used, without a proof of that theorem.
The rational canonical form theorem states that for a linear operator on a finite-dimensional vector space over any field , there are unique monic nonconstant polynomials such that some basis givesHere, for , the companion matrix has ones on its subdiagonal and last column . The empty matrix covers a zero-dimensional space. Two linear operators have matrix similarity exactly when they have the same invariant factors of a linear operator.
For the proof, make an -module by . It is a finitely generated module, since a vector-space basis also generates it as a module. It is a torsion module: the powers of have linear dependence in the finite-dimensional space , so some nonzero polynomial annihilates every vector. Because is a Euclidean domain, the classification theorem givesThere is no free summand, since a nonzero free module over is not a torsion module. Choose monic generators of the ideals. On , the classes of form an -basis by polynomial division. Multiplication by is exactly in that basis, proving existence. Uniqueness in the classification theorem proves uniqueness of the rational canonical form. Finally, an -module isomorphism is precisely an invertible -linear map intertwining the operators, establishing the assertion about matrix similarity. In particular the characteristic polynomial is and the minimal polynomial is for nonzero .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ib Paper 4 11G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain says that a finitely generated module over a Euclidean domain iswith the rank and nonunit invariant factors of a linear operator unique up to associates.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ib Paper 1 9G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain applies because every Euclidean domain is a principal ideal domain. It says that a finitely generated -module is isomorphic towhere the nonzero nonunits are unique up to multiplication by units. They are the invariant factors.
For , multiplication by is the linear map . Since is finite-dimensional over , is a finitely generated torsion module over the polynomial ring , so it has no free summand. Choosing each invariant factor to be monic givesThe basis of each cyclic summand makes multiplication by a companion matrix. Concatenating these bases therefore puts in rational canonical form.
On , a polynomial annihilates multiplication by exactly when it is divisible by . It follows that the minimal polynomial and characteristic polynomial areThe second identity follows blockwise from the characteristic polynomial of a companion matrix. Since every divides , the product annihilates every cyclic summand. Thus , which is the Cayley-Hamilton theorem.
For the displayed matrix, the given generators of are the columns ofElementary row and column operations over give the Smith normal formConsequently the nonunit invariant factors areand, as a check,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ib Paper 4 9E Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-10-03
Letbe a primitive polynomial. The Eisenstein criterion states that if a prime number satisfiesthen is an irreducible polynomial in , equivalently in by Gauss lemma for polynomials.
To prove it, suppose that with of positive degree. Primitivity and Gauss's lemma let us take such an integral factorisation if a factorisation over exists. Reducing modulo givesBecause does not divide the leading coefficient of , neither factor loses degree on reduction. The polynomial ring is a unique factorization domain, so both reductions are monomials of positive degree. In particular, divides both constant terms and . It follows that dividesa contradiction. This proves the criterion.
For a prime , translate the geometric sum by one:Its leading coefficient is one, every other coefficient is divisible by , and its constant coefficient is , which is not divisible by . It is therefore Eisenstein at . Translation is an automorphism of , soThis is the geometric-sum irreducibility criterion.
The evaluation homomorphismhas image and contains in its kernel. Since is monic, division by in writes every as with . If , then ; the irreducibility of says that is the minimal polynomial of , so . Thus , and the first isomorphism theorem for rings gives
Now take . Then , and the Eisenstein integers areComplex conjugation sends to , so the field norm isGiven , choose integers with . For ,For with , apply this to and put . ThenHence the norm is a Euclidean function, proving that is a Euclidean domain. This is the Euclidean norm on the Eisenstein integers.
Finally suppose satisfies . Make the free abelian group into a -module by definingThis is well-defined precisely because obeys the same polynomial relation as . The module is finitely generated. It is also torsion-free module: if and , multiplication by the conjugate of gives , and the additive group has no nonzero integer torsion.
A Euclidean domain is a principal ideal domain, and the structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain says that a finitely generated torsion-free module over one is free. Thusfor some . Since has free module basis over , comparison of abelian ranks gives . There can consequently be no such matrix when is odd.
If , choose a -basis . Thenis a -basis, and . In this basis the matrix of is a direct sum of copies ofEvery admissible matrix is therefore conjugate in to . Hence there is exactly one conjugacy class for even , and none for odd . This is the classification of integral matrices satisfying the third cyclotomic polynomial.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 1E i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The Smith normal form of an integer matrix is a diagonal matrixfor whichwith and . It exists and is unique.
The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain, specialized to , says that every finitely generated abelian group has a unique invariant-factor decompositionEquivalently, its finite part is a direct sum of cyclic groups of prime-power order.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 125 4 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
If is finitely generated, the structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain immediately makes finite.
Conversely, first replace the given height by a quadratic one. SetCondition (ii) makes this limit converge and givesThus still has finite bounded subsets. Condition (i) also gives a global lower bound for , so . Applying condition (iii) to , dividing by and passing to the limit gives one direction of the parallelogram identity. Applying the same inequality to and , and using , gives the reverse direction. Henceand induction yields for every integer .
Now suppose is finite and choose representatives . Put . For any , write . Nonnegativity and the parallelogram identity giveso, since ,Repeated division modulo therefore reaches the finite set . Reversing the recursion expresses every element of using and the finitely many . This is the height descent lemma, and proves
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 125 5 b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For this curve, the square-class image in the first two-isogeny descent is contained in . All four classes occur: gives , gives , and gives . The isogenous curve isIts image is contained in . Negative cannot occur because for , while and are represented by the identity and . Thus the two image orders are four and two, andgives .
The point has order three because , and has order two, so the rational torsion contains a cyclic subgroup of order six. At the good primes and , direct point counting givesReduction bounds the rational torsion order by their greatest common divisor, namely six, so this is all the torsion. The structure theorem for finitely generated modules over a principal ideal domain now givesThus one may take , , and .