Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-calculus-of-variations-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2011/2/b/ii/solution

Here . First restrict . On that slope interval, the second derivative of is . Taylor's theorem gives
The linear term integrates to zero because . Since , the Poincaré inequality yields
The coefficient is positive. Thus zero is a strict weak local minimizer.
For failure of strong minimality, take a triangular bump supported on , with slopes and , and zero outside. Its height is . Almost everywhere its slope is or , so the cosine term has exactly its zero-function value everywhere. The potential term is strictly negative on the bump. Therefore
Hence it is not a strong local minimizer. The derivatives of these bumps stay large, so they do not contradict weak local minimality.

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