Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-fourier-analysis-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/2/b/i/solution

For real , the Sobolev space consists of those tempered distributions whose Fourier transform is represented by a locally square-integrable function and for which
This is the Sobolev norm used here; inserting the fixed factor gives an equivalent convention.
For the constant function , Fourier inversion at zero gives
A nonzero Dirac delta distribution cannot be represented by a locally square-integrable function. Indeed, if represented , choose a test function with , and put . On a fixed compact interval containing their supports, Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives
Thus . Every Sobolev space requires local square integrability of the Fourier transform, regardless of how negative is. Therefore
The zero constant function belongs to every Sobolev space.

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