Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2017/ia/paper-3/9b/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 3 9B b Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For a twice continuously differentiable vector potential , write the curl with the Levi-Civita symbol:The second derivatives are symmetric in , whereas is antisymmetric, so the contraction is zero. Equivalently, writing out the three components shows that each mixed derivative cancels its reversed-order partner. ThusThis is divergence of a curl is zero. The regularity hypothesis is what licenses commutation of the mixed partial derivatives; it must not be omitted for a singular potential without specifying a weaker derivative interpretation.
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