Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-topics-in-applied-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2008/a/4/d/solution

For the modal matrix , , its trace is always negative:
Its determinant is
The proposed inequality is exactly . It makes the coefficient of positive, while the leading and constant coefficients are already positive. Therefore for every , independent of which discrete wave numbers the domain allows.
A real two-by-two matrix with negative trace and positive determinant has both eigenvalues with negative real part: if they are real they have positive product and negative sum, and if nonreal their common real part is half the trace. Every mode therefore decays, proving linear stability for all domain sizes under the stated sufficient condition.

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