Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-76/2/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 76 2 i Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the Gaussian pole transition for a large gamma parameter. With and , Taylor expansion givesThe upper semicircle is traversed from left to right, so on the indentation. The minus sign in therefore makes its contribution . The remaining leading integral isAt its Cauchy principal value vanishes by oddness. Differentiating with respect to removes the pole, leaving the Fourier transform of a Gaussian:Integrating from zero givesThis is uniform for bounded real (and extends analytically over bounded complex values where the local contour is continued consistently). Contributions away from the saddle are exponentially small after localization. The bounded shift enters at the next order, not the leading error function. For example, retaining the displayed cubic correction gives as the next term. This also checks the constant and contour sign.
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