Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-mechanics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2009/b/5/a/solution
Past exam of the theoretical mechanics course of the University of Oxford 2009 B 5 a Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Split into the two tails and the interval . On each tail has a fixed nonzero sign, so changing variable to produces a nonstationary Fourier integral. Under the usual decay and regularity needed for integration by parts, these pieces are .
Near the nondegenerate stationary point, make the signed local changeIt has at zero and makes the phase exactly . The transformed amplitude tends to . Scale by and use the Fresnel integral to obtainThe tails are smaller than this leading stationary contribution. If , complex conjugation of the Gaussian phase changes the phase correction to and replaces the second derivative by its absolute value:When the leading coefficient is nonzero this may be written as an asymptotic equivalence. For full rigor, continuity of an arbitrary amplitude alone is not sufficient for the stated nonstationary rate, nor does it ensure convergence of an infinite integral. Piecewise differentiability with integrable derivative, bounded variation, or an equivalent localization/decay hypothesis supplies the usual missing assumption. The exponentially decaying beam amplitude below has the required piecewise regularity.
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