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ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2013-resit/11/a/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematical methods II course of the University of Oxford 2013 resit 11 a i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
For a twice continuously differentiable function, a finite second-order Taylor expansion about an interior point iswhere , , at that point. A differentiable interior extremum requires . For a strict minimum guaranteed by the quadratic term, the Hessian matrix must be positive definite. Completing the square gives . Thus sufficient nondegenerate minimum conditions areIf , the second-order test is inconclusive; for example has a strict minimum at zero despite a zero Hessian. The finite Taylor argument only needs regularity. The source's infinite Taylor representation additionally needs suitable analyticity: a smooth flat function, such as extended by zero at the origin, has every Taylor coefficient zero there but is positive nearby.
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