Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-distribution-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/1/a/iii/solution
Past exam of the distribution theory course of the University of Oxford 2023 1 a iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
On each interval , , the function is on and on . Its ordinary derivative exists off and is the locally integrable functionAssign arbitrary values at the endpoints. For a test function , split at these corners and apply integration by parts on each piece. The adjacent boundary terms cancel because is continuous, and only finitely many pieces meet the compact support of . HenceThe distributional derivative is exactly the regular distribution of the ordinary derivative defined almost everywhere. There are no Dirac delta distributions in this first distributional derivative: corners change slope, while a jump of the function itself would create a point mass.
New to topics? Read the docs here!