Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2020/ii/paper-1/33c/b/iv/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 33C b iv Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Given a solution , construct and hence the smooth matrices and . Let solve the linear ordinary differential equationBecause is skew-symmetric,so is an orthogonal matrix and is invertible. Moreover,It follows thatThus the Lax pair flow is an Isospectral Lax equation: every is similar to and has the same eigenvalues and characteristic polynomial.
Every symmetric function of these constant eigenvalues is a first integral. In particular, the trace invariants of a Lax equationare constant because the cyclic property of the trace givesFor example,is an explicit first integral of equation .
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