Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-theoretical-physics-i-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/4/e/solution
Past exam of the theoretical physics I course of the University of Cambridge 2022 4 e Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Above the threshold, , the square root in part (d) is real. Both fields oscillate, but the first has envelope and the second . Thus the first is damped and the second amplified.
Below the threshold, set . The temporal factors areThey are nonoscillatory. For nonzero , , so both first-field branches decay and both second-field branches grow. At , one branch is constant; the other is for or for .
At equality, the repeated temporal root gives for the first field and for the second. The full two-field system is generically unstable on both sides because of the amplified sector. This is compatible with its autonomous Lagrangian: the total conserved energy is an indefinite quadratic form, rather than a positive energy forcing every component to remain bounded.
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