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Exam2020

This document is an examination paper for the BSc and MSci course 6CCM326A Galois Theory at King's College London, Summer 2020. It consists of two sections, with Section A contributing 60% of the total marks and requiring answers to all questions, while Section B allows for the best two out of multiple attempts to be counted. Students are permitted to consult lecture notes and use calculators during the exam.

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robjenkins208
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© © All Rights Reserved
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4 views

Exam2020

This document is an examination paper for the BSc and MSci course 6CCM326A Galois Theory at King's College London, Summer 2020. It consists of two sections, with Section A contributing 60% of the total marks and requiring answers to all questions, while Section B allows for the best two out of multiple attempts to be counted. Students are permitted to consult lecture notes and use calculators during the exam.

Uploaded by

robjenkins208
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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6CCM326A

King’s College London


University Of London

This paper is part of an examination of the College counting towards the award of a degree.
Examinations are governed by the College Regulations under the authority of the Academic
Board.

FOLLOW the instructions you have been given on how to upload your solutions

BSc and MSci Examination

6CCM326A Galois Theory

Summer 2020

Time Allowed: Two Hours

This paper consists of two sections, Section A and Section B.


Section A contributes 60 percent of the total marks for the paper.
Answer all questions in Section A.
All questions in Section B carry equal marks, but if more than two are
attempted, then only the best two will count.

You may consult lecture notes and use a calculator.

2020 c King’s College London


6CCM326A

NOTATION: Throughout this paper Z, Q, R and C denote integers, rationals,


reals and complex numbers respectively.

Unless otherwise indicated, answers must be justified in order to receive full


marks. You may invoke any general results from the lectures.

SECTION A

√
4
A 1. Let K denote the field Q(α), where α = 11.

a) Find the minimal polynomial of α over Q. [2 marks]

b) Describe all the field embeddings τ : K → R. [3 marks]

c) Describe all the field embeddings τ : K → C. [3 marks]

d) State whether K is Galois over Q; briefly justify your answer. [2 marks]

A 2. For each of the following polynomials f in Q[X], determine the structure of the
Galois group Gal(Lf /Q), where Lf is a splitting field of f over Q.

a) f (X) = X 3 + 3X 2 + 6X; [4 marks]

b) f (X) = X 3 − 3X − 1; [4 marks]

c) f (X) = X 3 + 3X 2 + 6X + 3. [4 marks]

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6CCM326A

A 3. Suppose that K ⊂ L is a field extension, and that f is a monic polynomial of


degree n in K[X].
a) State what it means for f to split completely over L. [3 marks]

b) State what it means for L to be a splitting field of f over K. [3 marks]

c) State what it means for f to be separable. [3 marks]

A 4. a) State the Fundamental Theorem of Galois Theory for extensions of finite


degree. (You do not need to define what it means for an extension to be
Galois.) [6 marks]

b) Suppose that L is a finite Galois extension of K, f is a monic irreducible


polynomial in K[X], and α1 and α2 are elements of L such that f (α1 ) =
f (α2 ) = 0. Prove that if G = Gal(L/K),
H1 = { σ ∈ G | σ(α1 ) = α1 } and H2 = { σ ∈ G | σ(α2 ) = α2 },
then H1 and H2 are conjugate subgroups of G, i.e., that H2 = τ H1 τ −1 for
some τ ∈ G. [6 marks]

A 5. Suppose that K = {0, 1, α, β} is a field with 4 elements (where 0 is the additive


identity element of K and 1 is the multiplicative identity element of K), and
that σ is an automorphism of K which is not the identity. Which element of K
is:
a) α + β? [3 marks]

b) α2020 ? [3 marks]

c) σ 326 (α)? [3 marks]

A 6. Suppose that K is a field of characteristic 0.


a) State what it means for a finite extension L to be radical over K, and for
the extension L to be solvable by radicals over K. [4 marks]

b) Let α be a root (in C) of the polynomial X 9 + 6X 6 + 3X 3 − 3 ∈ Q[X].


Prove that Q(α) is solvable by radicals over Q. [4 marks]

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6CCM326A

SECTION B

p3
√
B 7. Let α = 1 + 3, let L be the splitting field (over Q) of the minimal polynomial
of α over Q, and let G = Gal(L/Q).

a) Determine the minimal polynomial of α over Q, and find all of its roots.
[6 marks]
√ √
b) Use your answer to part (a) to show that 3, e2πi/3 and 3 2 are all elements
of L. [3 marks]

c) Deduce from part (b) that G has a normal subgroup H of index 12 in G.


[7 marks]

d) Given that the subgroup H in part (c) contains an element other than the
identity, prove that G has order 36. [4 marks]

B 8. Let F3 = Z/3Z, let L denote the splitting field over F3 of the polynomial
f = X 3 − X − 1, and let α be a root of f in L.

a) Show that f is irreducible in F3 [X], and determine the number of elements


in L and the structure of Gal(L/F3 ). [4 marks]

b) Describe all the roots of f as powers of α, and use the factorization of f


in L[X] to show that α13 = 1. [5 marks]

c) Prove that X 13 − 1 splits completely over L. [3 marks]

d) Prove that the polynomial

X 12 + X 11 + X 10 + X 9 + X 8 + X 7 + X 6 + X 5 + X 4 + X 3 + X 2 + X + 1

factors as a product of four distinct irreducible cubic polynomials in F3 [X],


one of which is f . (You do not need to find the other factors.) [8 marks]

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6CCM326A

B 9. Let K be a field of characteristic 0.

a) State what it means for a finite group to be solvable, and for a finite
extension L to be solvable over K. [4 marks]

b) Suppose that f is an irreducible polynomial in Q[X], the degree of f


is a prime p, and that f has exactly p − 2 real roots. Prove that if L
is the splitting field of f over Q, then Gal(L/Q) is isomorphic to the
permutation group Sp . (You may assume the following two basic facts
from group theory: 1) if the prime p divides the order of a finite group
G, then G has an element of order p, and 2) the permutation group Sp is
generated by σ and τ for any p-cycle σ and 2-cycle τ .) [8 marks]

c) Let α be a root of 3X 7 − 7X 6 − 7X 3 + 21X 2 − 7. Prove that Q(α) is not


solvable over Q. [5 marks]

d) Give an example of an irreducible polynomial of degree 7 over Q with a


root α such that Q(α) is solvable over Q; justify your answer. [3 marks]

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