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Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 17 1 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the ideal sheaf of . The formal completion of a scheme along has underlying topological space and topological structure sheafThe topology is the adic topology given by the kernels of the projections to the successive infinitesimal neighbourhoods . In the locally Noetherian scheme setting of these examples this is a formal scheme. On a Noetherian affine scheme, with , it is the formal spectrum , where . Thus the completion retains all orders of infinitesimal information normal to .
Here is an open subscheme of . The relevant affine completions arewith the -adic topology. The complement of in the first formal scheme is its formal open . The sections on this open are the completed localization of an adic ring:The same calculation on every smaller principal open subset identifies the structure sheaves, not just their global sections. Equivalently, every infinitesimal neighbourhood of is precisely the restriction to of the corresponding neighbourhood in . By formal completion commutes with restriction to an open subscheme,The isomorphism is canonical and respects the morphisms to .
It would give the wrong answer to replace the formal-open structure sheaf by the ordinary localization of a ring . That ring has a uniform bound on the negative powers of across the coefficients of any one element, whereashas no such bound. This difference between ordinary and completed localization does not obstruct the isomorphism of formal schemes; it explains why the completed localization is essential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 16 5 i by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 15 5 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the standard boundaryless-manifold convention, so is a closed manifold. Its orientation and Riemannian metric determine a unique positive Riemannian volume form taking value one on every positively oriented orthonormal frame. In an oriented atlas it isFor the coordinate invariance of the Riemannian volume form, on an overlap put . Then and . The oriented transition has , so the square root of the metric determinant and the coordinate volume transform together. The local forms therefore agree and define globally.
For real -forms the Hodge star operator is defined byThe pointwise wedge pairing is nondegenerate, so this uniquely defines a smooth map . On an oriented orthonormal coframe, it sends a basis wedge to the signed complementary wedge. Applying it twice gives
For Hodge star eigenvalues on graded differential forms, extend complex-linearly to the direct sum of all form degrees. This interpretation matters: on a fixed degree it is an endomorphism only in middle degree. In positive odd dimension, is even for every , so and only can occur. Both occur, with eigenforms and .
In positive even dimension, is on even-degree forms and on odd-degree forms. Hence and the only possible eigenvalues are . The first two occur as above. For the latter, choose a smooth local orthonormal frame and multiply its first dual differential one-form by a nonzero smooth bump function supported in the chart. This gives a form for which and are independent. For ,Thus all four occur. Consequently, for ,On degree in dimension , the Hodge star has eigenvalues for even and for odd ; signed complementary middle-degree wedges show both occur for . In zero dimensions it is multiplication by the signed unit volume at each point, so only the signs actually present occur.
For Hodge integration by parts in arbitrary degree, let and . The graded Leibniz rule and Stokes theorem on the closed manifold giveUsing the given codifferential and the square of the Hodge star,Thereforewhich proves that is the formal adjoint of . The complex version inserts conjugation in the usual Hermitian inner product.
The Hodge decomposition theorem gives an -orthogonal decompositionwhere is finite dimensional and consists of the harmonic differential forms. Each de Rham cohomology class has a unique harmonic representative. Equivalently, with harmonic projection there is a smooth Green operator of the Hodge Laplacian satisfying .
The solvability condition for the Hodge Poisson equation isNecessity follows from . Conversely the orthogonality condition gives , so solves the Poisson equation for differential forms.
The nonnegativity of the Hodge Laplacian identityidentifies its kernel with closed and coclosed forms. Thus the affine space of solutions of the Hodge Poisson equation isFor completeness, if a closed form is decomposed as , then , and . Hence its cohomology class is represented by . An exact harmonic form must vanish, since . This proves the canonical isomorphism , so the solution set is an affine space whose translation vector space is isomorphic to the requested de Rham cohomology.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 15 4 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the ambient Levi-Civita connection and the one for the induced metric on . The Gauss formula iswhere the second fundamental form is normal. The tangential part of is metric-compatible and torsion-free, so the existence and uniqueness of the Levi-Civita connection identifies it with .
For a normal field , the Weingarten formula defines the shape operator in a normal direction and the normal connection byDifferentiate using metric compatibility to getThe symmetry of the second fundamental form follows from the ambient torsion-free condition:since the Lie bracket of vector fields tangent to is tangent. Thereforeso every normal-direction shape operator is self-adjoint.
The paper uses , so use the Gauss equation with reversed curvature convention. Applying the Gauss formula and Weingarten formula twice givesSubtracting in the stated curvature order yieldsPair with a tangent field and use the defining relation for the shape operator in a normal direction:This is the Gauss equation in the supplied sign convention. If one defines curvature by instead, the two quadratic terms have the opposite signs.
For an orthonormal frame on a surface, positive Gaussian curvature with the convention here is . If the ambient space is Euclidean and is a unit normal, the equation becomesThe Koszul formula determines from the induced metric, and hence determines its Riemann curvature tensor and . Therefore the Gaussian curvature depends only on that metric, even though its expression as a product of principal curvatures appears extrinsic. This is Theorema Egregium.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 15 3 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
An orthogonal structure on a real vector bundle of rank is a choice of local frames whose transition matrices lie in the orthogonal group . In such frames declareOrthogonal transitions preserve this expression, so it defines a smooth positive-definite fiber metric. Conversely, a fiber metric turns any local frame into a smooth orthonormal frame by the Gram-Schmidt process; the resulting transition matrices are orthogonal. The two constructions are inverse, giving the required equivalence.
An orthogonal local trivialization identifies each fiber isometrically with standard Euclidean space. Equivalently, its coordinate frame satisfies . This is local and does not assert the existence of a global frame.
Every real vector bundle over a smooth manifold admits a fiber metric. Choose a trivializing open cover and local Euclidean metrics . The partition of unity theorem for a Hausdorff second-countable smooth manifold supplies nonnegative smooth functions , with locally finite supports contained in the respective cover members, such that . Setextending each weighted metric by zero off its chart. Local finiteness makes this smooth. For every nonzero fiber vector , at least one positive weight gives . Thus is a fiber metric and provides an orthogonal structure.
One definition of an orthogonal connection is that its covariant derivative preserves the fiber metric:for all vector fields and smooth sections of a vector bundle . Another is that its parallel transport along every smooth curve is an isometry between the endpoint fibers.
For the first implication, take parallel sections along a curve. Their covariant derivatives vanish, so the displayed identity makes constant: parallel transport preserves a fibre metric. Conversely, if parallel transport preserves the inner product, choose parallel extensions of arbitrary initial fiber vectors along a curve with prescribed initial tangent . Differentiating their constant inner product gives at the initial point. Since were arbitrary, the connection is metric-compatible.
The equivalent local description is that the connection matrix in an orthonormal frame is skew-symmetric. Writing in an orthogonal trivialization, differentiate to obtainConversely this matrix identity gives the metric-preservation formula by expanding arbitrary sections. It is the orthogonal group connection description of the same condition.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 15 2 Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A -dimensional embedded submanifold has the subspace topology and, near each of its points, a manifold chart identifying it with a coordinate slice . These slice charts for an embedded submanifold give its smooth structure, and its inclusion is a smooth embedding.
A regular value of a smooth map is one for which is surjective at every . If the preimage is nonempty this forces .
The inverse function theorem used here says that if is smooth and is an invertible matrix, then its restriction to a suitable neighbourhood of is a diffeomorphism onto an open neighbourhood of , with smooth inverse.
To prove the regular level set theorem, fix and choose coordinates centred at . The coordinate representative has a rank- Jacobian matrix. After permuting domain coordinates, its first columns form an invertible matrix. DefineIts Jacobian matrix is block triangular with invertible diagonal blocks, so the inverse function theorem makes a local coordinate change. In these coordinates, is precisely the slice with first coordinates zero. Thus it is an embedded submanifold of dimension , withAn empty preimage is harmless; the local assertion is then vacuous.
Three equivalent formulations of orientability of a smooth manifold are: an oriented atlas whose transition Jacobian determinants are positive; a smoothly varying orientation of a vector space on each tangent space; and a nowhere-vanishing smooth top-degree differential form. An oriented atlas gives compatible oriented coordinate frames. A partition of unity glues their positive local top forms, and a nonzero top form declares a frame positive precisely when it evaluates positively on that frame. These constructions prove the equivalence.
For the orientability of a regular fibre, write . The derivative gives a short exact sequence of vector bundlesThis is the reason the normal bundle of a regular fibre is trivial. Choose any fixed positive basis of and an ambient orientation on . Declare a frame of positive whenis positive in , where . Changing a lift adds a tangent vector and leaves the determinant sign unchanged. Local smooth lifts exist because is surjective, so this rule varies smoothly and agrees on overlaps. It gives a global orientation on . Only an orientation of the single vector space was chosen; itself need not be orientable.
Pinned article: Introduction to the OurBigBook Project
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Intro to OurBigBook
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