Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2026/ib/paper-4/8g/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 ib Paper 4 8G Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For , is real, so is real. The spectral theorem writes positive definite ; taking positive square roots gives . For , eigenvalues are with normalized eigenvectors and , so these columns form a suitable . Finally expand in an orthonormal eigenbasis: the Rayleigh quotient is a weighted average of eigenvalues, bounded above by and attaining it on a top eigenvector.
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