Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-59/2/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 59 2 d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For each Fourier mode the equation is . Set . Direct differentiation removes the first derivative and givesFor , the inverse-square term is negligible, and the positive incoming-frequency branch has . ThereforeThe momentum constraint then giveswhere . Thus the scalar perturbation has precisely the required behavior. Conversely, the two constraints imply the potential equation in part (c); reconstructing by the momentum constraint therefore satisfies the energy constraint too. This checks compatibility beyond simply comparing powers of .
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