Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematical-methods-ii-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015-resit/5/ii/solution

Let and . Its partial derivatives are
so both vanish at and . Evaluating the second derivatives at a point with gives
Therefore the Hessian determinant is . Its two diagonal entries are negative at and positive at . Hence
These are also global extrema: for positive , the factor maximizes the positive value at , and differentiating fixes its positive maximum at . Oddness in supplies the corresponding global minimum.

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