Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ia/paper-3/9c/ii/solution

The derivative matrix
is symmetric in . Contracting it with the antisymmetric Levi-Civita symbol gives the curl
Direct differentiation of the scalar potential gives
so . To identify the level sets, use the cross product identity
If , write relative to its direction. Then . Thus each negative level is a circular cylinder with axis and radius . The zero level is the axis itself; positive levels are empty. If , the scalar potential is identically zero, so its zero level is all of space and every other level is empty.

New to topics? Read the docs here!