Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2022 / ii / Paper 1 / 25H / Solution

For an irreducible algebraic variety $X$ and $p\in X$, the local ring ${\mathcal{O}}_{X,p}$ consists of germs of rational functions regular on a neighbourhood of $p$. If $X\subseteq {\mathbb{A}}^n$ has ideal $I(X)$, its Zariski tangent space is

The given variety is the blowup of the affine plane at the origin. On the chart $W\ne 0$, put $W=1$; then $Y=XZ$, so $(X,Z)$ are free affine coordinates. On the chart $Z\ne 0$, put $Z=1$; then $X=WY$, so $(W,Y)$ are free affine coordinates. These two smooth affine-plane charts cover $V$, hence every point of $V$ is smooth.

If $(X,Y)\ne (0,0)$, the equation forcesConsequently $\pi$ restricts to an isomorphism away from the origin, and is therefore birational. Above the origin, however,so $\pi$ is not injective and cannot be an isomorphism of algebraic varieties. Birationality gives

For any morphism $\phi :V\to V^{\prime }$ with $V^{\prime }$ affine, its restriction to the exceptional curve $E\cong {\mathbb{P}}^1$ is constant: every regular function on a projective line is constant, and the affine coordinate functions of $V^{\prime }$ therefore have constant pullbacks. Since $E$ has more than one point, $\phi$ is not injective. If $V$ itself were affine, its identity morphism would contradict this conclusion, so $V$ is not affine.

Over $\mathbb{C}$, $V$ is not compact in the Euclidean topology: the sequence $(n,0,[1:0])$ has no convergent subsequence. Every complex projective variety is Euclidean compact. Since compactness is preserved by homeomorphisms, $V$ cannot be homeomorphic to a projective variety.

Solved by gpt-5.6-sol high.