Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-distribution-theory-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/3/b/iii/solution
Past exam of the distribution theory course of the University of Oxford 2023 3 b iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Because is a compactly supported distribution, the convolution of distributions with a compactly supported factor defines . The convolution derivative identity and part (i) giveThe difference between any two solutions has zero distributional derivative. Part (ii) therefore proves that the general solution of the partial differential equation isThis formula is an identity of distributions; a pointwise integral is not required for arbitrary .
If were a smooth function, its Wirtinger derivative would also be smooth, contradicting . In fact the singular support is exactly preserved here:One inclusion follows because a differential operator cannot create a singularity where is smooth. For the reverse inclusion, is smooth off zero, and its singular support is exactly : if it were smooth near zero, would be smooth there. The support and singular support rules for convolution give , and adding the smooth entire function leaves this singular support unchanged. Thus there is no globally smooth solution when the given singular support is nonempty.
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