Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-calculus-of-variations-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2010/1/b/ii/solution

Zero is a strict strong local minimizer, and therefore also a strict weak local minimizer. Here , and
For , Taylor's theorem gives . Also and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality give . Therefore
The coefficient is positive. Thus every nonzero admissible with has strictly greater energy, proving that zero is a strict strong local minimizer of a variational integral.

New to topics? Read the docs here!