Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-year-2-of-the-natural-sciences-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2021/paper-2/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2021 Paper 2 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
For the real decaying Bessel form used here, take . The original PDF has as the last factor in its auxiliary differential equation, although both differentiated factors have argument ; that last argument must also be for the stated Modified Bessel differential equation.
Put . The corrected identity is . Since the field is radial, the radial Laplacian givesAway from the point source this must vanish. For , a constant ratio of to would make a pure power, incompatible with the term of its equation. Therefore both displayed coefficients must vanish:The two orders give the same Modified Bessel function of the second kind: .[ref]
NIST Digital Library of Mathematical Functions. §10.39, equation 10.39.2, equality of the two half-integer orders and their elementary form
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