Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/iii/paper-61/2/a/solution

Write , and . Introduce the dressing operator
The given linear integral equation is , and . The appropriate contour and measure must permit differentiation under these integrals and avoid untreated kernel singularities.
For the specified spatial operator, direct differentiation gives
Inside the integral, replace by . It follows that
Apply to . The last term contributes , canceling the right side, so
This is precisely the homogeneous integral equation. Uniqueness of the original inhomogeneous solution implies a trivial homogeneous null space, hence . This calculation is the spatial identity in Cauchy-kernel dressing for the KdV equation.

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