Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 49 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
At a target , local polynomial regression fits a polynomial of degree at most by weighted least squares:Define the response vector , the design matrix by for , and the diagonal matrix by . The normal equations for linear least squares giveThis formula assumes the local polynomial Gram matrix is invertible. It is invertible whenever at least distinct sites have positive weights: a nonzero degree- polynomial cannot vanish at all of them. With fixed , a nonzero continuous regression kernel, and , this condition holds eventually at the target points considered here. Using weights instead gives exactly the same fit.
Use the usual unit-integral normalization . A regression kernel need not intrinsically have unit integral, but multiplying all weights by a positive constant leaves local polynomial regression unchanged. With unnormalized raw moments the interior coefficient below is ; the version written using alone requires this normalization. A zero regression kernel cannot define an estimator.
Write the local moment sums asThe local constant estimator is . Since the errors have zero mean, its bias of an estimator is the corresponding weighted average of . By the second-order Taylor expansion, uniformly for contributing sites with ,where . This uniform remainder follows from uniform continuity of on . Nonnegativity of the regression kernel therefore giveswhenever tends to a positive limit and .
For fixed interior , the moment approximations give , , and . The hypothesis makes , so the odd-moment contribution is negligible at second order. ThusThe symmetry of the regression kernel is what removes the first-order interior bias of an estimator.
At , the rescaled observation window is truncated to . Put and . Symmetry, nonnegativity, and unit mass give . The supplied moment approximations already imply the leading boundary bias of local constant regression:To retain the second-order term rigorously, we need slightly more precise control of the first moment. The rescaled grid has spacing . Each truncated function has bounded variation, because is continuously differentiable on its support. The Riemann sum error is bounded by this variation times the grid spacing: summing the oscillation bounds on the grid cells provesEndpoint cells, including the omitted site at zero, contribute the same error order. ConsequentlyBoth discretization errors are under . The preceding Taylor expansion therefore proves the second-order boundary expansion for local constant regression:Equivalently, expanding the derivatives about zero givesIn general the truncated first moment is nonzero, so the boundary bias of an estimator has order , although it can be smaller when or the omitted part of the regression kernel carries no mass.
For local linear regression, the polynomial reproduction property of local polynomial regression removes the constant and linear terms exactly. Let . Its effective kernel weights areso , , andAt either an interior or the specified boundary target, is asymptotic to a positive constant times . At the boundary that constant is , the mass squared times the variance of the continuous normalized truncated regression kernel. Moreover , as follows by bounding in the window. Thus the Taylor remainder still contributes , even though some effective kernel weights may be negative. In particular,At an interior point this coefficient reduces to by symmetry and normalization. Hence local linear regression has bias at both interior and boundary points; its linear reproduction removes the generic order- boundary term.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 6 3 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write , and let denote a matrix unit. The diagonal Cartan subalgebra consists ofFor a diagonal matrix, . Substituting into the symplectic relation shows that the following are root vectors:The zero weight space is spanned by . The symplectic equation pairs the remaining entries exactly as in this table; the displayed vectors and the are independent and span the algebra. This proves the root-space decompositionThere are roots of a root system, each with one-dimensional root space, giving .
The upper triangular root vectors select preciselyThe simple roots of this Cn root system areIndeed, the positive roots of a root system have expansionsThese expansions also identify the highest root:Normalize the coordinate inner product by . The simple coroots are for and . Solving gives the fundamental weightsIn the sum of the positive roots of a root system, the pair contributes , and the long root contributes another . Therefore the Weyl vector isThese are the Positive-root data for Cn.
For , the finite Dynkin diagram is a chain of vertices. The bonds between and for are single. The last bond is double, with its arrow pointing from the long root toward the short root . For the Extended Dynkin diagram, add at the other end, doubly bonded to , with arrow toward . The following Cn Dynkin diagrams include both ends and the low-rank cases.
Finite and extended Cn Dynkin diagrams with arrows toward the short roots and separate rank-one and rank-two cases
. Details. At , there is just the root and one finite vertex. The affine Cartan matrix is ; its two vertices have equal root length, so the double bond has no arrow.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 3 12A b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be rotation through about , and let be rotation through about . These generate the order-six dihedral group with relationsnamely . We specify its order explicitly because dihedral notation has two conventions. It is a proper finite subgroup of the full axial rotation group.
To see that it is sufficient, write a general matrix in blocks . Commutation with forces , since a nontrivial planar -degree rotation fixes no nonzero planar vector. Its planar part is , with nonzero sine, so must commute with and has the form . Commutation with again kills . Hence this six-element subgroup has precisely the required invariant tensors.
It is also smallest by order. Groups of orders are cyclic: a nonidentity element has order dividing the prime group order by Lagrange theorem. For a cyclic rotation subgroup, the nonzero antisymmetric tensor representing cross product with its rotation-axis direction is invariant, so it cannot force the symmetric form above. The trivial subgroup plainly imposes no constraint. A group of order four is either cyclic or has three nonidentity elements of order two; in the latter case they commute, since and also equals . Commuting distinct half-turns in three dimensions have perpendicular axes: conjugation by one half-turn must preserve the other's axis, and a distinct preserved axis lies in its perpendicular plane. In the specified axial group, their three axes are consequently and two perpendicular horizontal directions. In coordinates along them every diagonal matrix is invariant, including one with unequal horizontal entries. Such a group again does not force the required form.
Thus the smallest subgroup has six elements, generated by the axial -degree rotation and one horizontal half-turn. It is the smallest axial rotation group forcing second-rank transverse isotropy; conjugating the horizontal axis gives equally valid choices.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 2 6 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A real Lie group is a group equipped with a finite-dimensional real smooth manifold structure, conventionally Hausdorff and second countable, for which multiplication and inversion are smooth.
Its tangent space at the identity is defined by smooth curves through : two curves represent the same tangent vector when their derivatives in a local chart agree at zero. For , left translation determines the left-invariant vector fieldThe commutator of these derivations on smooth functions is another left-invariant vector field, so define the Lie bracketThis construction supplies the Lie algebra structure. In a Matrix Lie group, and differentiating the two fields gives .
For the special linear group, differentiate the determinant along a curve through . Expansion of the determinant, or its differential , givesThe determinant differential is surjective at , so the level set has tangent space equal to its differential's kernel. Equivalently, every tangent matrix has zero trace, and every zero-trace matrix supplies a curve of determinant . Hencewith the matrix commutator bracket. The same calculation over gives the complex special linear Lie algebra ; as a real group, the complex group has that space viewed as a real Lie algebra.
The matrix exponential is the everywhere-convergent serieswhose inverse matrix is . The matrix logarithm is locally defined near byThese maps are inverse on suitable neighbourhoods of zero and , giving a logarithmic chart of a matrix Lie group. A logarithm is not a globally single-valued inverse of the exponential.
Every invertible complex matrix nevertheless has at least one matrix logarithm. Put it in Jordan normal form. For a block , and , choose any complex scalar logarithm of and setThe finite logarithm and exponential identities in the nilpotent variable give . Combine the blocks and conjugate back. Thus the exponential map is surjective on , by existence of a logarithm for every invertible complex matrix.
A connected counterexample is . It is connected: polar decomposition of an invertible real matrix writes each element as , with and positive definite symmetric of determinant one; is connected and is connected to through .
But belongs to this group and is not for any real . Such an would commute with . Since has two distinct real eigenvalues, direct commutation makes a real diagonal matrix. Its exponential has positive diagonal entries, a contradiction. ThereforeThis is an exponential-surjectivity obstruction from distinct negative eigenvalues; connectedness does not eliminate the obstruction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 2 11E c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For the general linear group over , choose a nonzero first column in ways and a second column outside its span in ways. ThusSince and , the residue has order three. The nine diagonal matrices , with , form a subgroup isomorphic to . It is an abelian group and a Sylow subgroup for . Every other Sylow subgroup for is conjugate to it by the Sylow theorems, hence is also Abelian.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 326 3 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For the quadratic case, write and . Since is an orthogonal matrix, the quadratic proximal term becomes . The subgradient optimality condition givesAll , so each diagonal entry is positive, including when . Multiplying by the inverse diagonal matrix givesThe proximal operator of Poisson data fidelity separates pointwise. At each , the scalar optimality equation on isSince , the two roots have opposite signs. Only the positive root is admissible in the logarithm:The negative root is outside the effective domain. The second derivative of the proximal objective is positive, establishing the unique pointwise minimizer. The integral formula is understood on the function spaces where these quantities are admissible.
Finally, for , positive and negative minimizers obey and , respectively. At zero the subdifferential condition is . Combining these cases yields soft thresholding:Thus supplies all three requested closed forms.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 3 2E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
A subgroup of a group is a normal subgroup when for every , equivalently . The quotient group has the left cosets as elements, with , identity and inverse . Normality makes this multiplication independent of representatives.
The first isomorphism theorem for groups says that for a group homomorphism , its kernel of a group homomorphism is normal andThe image is taken with the induced group operation; surjectivity onto all of is not required.
For the given upper triangular matrices, take diagonal entries:The target is a direct product of groups, with multiplication of nonzero real numbers in each coordinate. Indeed the product of two such matrices has diagonal , proving the group homomorphism property. Any pair of nonzero diagonal entries is attained by a diagonal matrix, so is surjective. Its kernel of a group homomorphism consists precisely of the matrices with , namely . Hencewith coordinatewise multiplication, not addition on .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 1 28K a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Conditional on , the holding time has an exponential distribution of rate , and after that holding time the next state is with transition probability . The memoryless property of exponential random variables and the Markov property of therefore make a continuous-time Markov chain.
Moreover , so . The strong law of large numbers gives almost surely, hence and the process is nonexplosive. Its Q-matrix isEquivalently, if is the diagonal matrix with entries , then
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 1 40C c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The Householder-John theorem states: if is Hermitian positive definite and is also Hermitian positive definite, then is invertible and
Now let be real symmetric positive definite and tridiagonal. For the Jacobi splitting, and . Positive definiteness of implies every diagonal entry is positive, so is positive definite. Introduce the alternating-sign diagonal matrixTridiagonality givesSince is orthogonal, is positive definite whenever is. Both hypotheses of the Householder-John theorem hold, and hence the Jacobi iteration matrix satisfies . Therefore the Jacobi convergence for a symmetric positive-definite tridiagonal matrix follows.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 2 39C d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Each coordinate of the transformed vectors evolves independently because and are diagonal matrices. Reorder the unknowns by collecting the th components across all grid columns:Then system (3) splits into the uncoupled systemswhereThus the original problem reduces to one discrete sine transform followed by independent tridiagonal solves and an inverse sine transform.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ia Paper 1 6A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
If with , thenso every eigenvalue is real. If and , thenDistinct eigenvalues therefore have orthogonal eigenvectors.
The normalized eigenvectors form an orthonormal basis, so the matrix satisfies and is unitary. Withthe equations say , hence . This is the finite-dimensional unitary diagonalization of a normal matrix.
A unitary conjugate of an arbitrary diagonal matrix need not be Hermitian: and give . It is Hermitian exactly when all diagonal entries of are real.
For the displayed matrix, one valid decomposition isThe columns are orthonormal eigenvectors, so direct multiplication gives .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 2 41C c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The matrix from part (a) is Hermitian positive definite, while the real diagonal matrix is Hermitian. The stated product theorem, or similarityshows that every eigenvalue of is real. Hence every eigenvalue of is real; this is the real spectrum of a positive-Hermitian times Hermitian product.
Moreover, is invertible and has rank , so for the matrix has nonzero real eigenvalues. If is one of them, the corresponding mode of the semidiscrete equation has eigenvalue . The explicit Euler method has amplification factorfor every . Therefore the explicit Euler discretization is unstable, as in explicit Euler instability on a nonzero imaginary eigenvalue.
Matrix similarity transports commuting operators: with ,By ii, all such matrices are thereforeFor completeness, matrix multiplication givesThe parameterization is injective, since matrix multiplication by and recovers the parameter diagonal matrix. Thus there are infinitely many choices. Already the distinct scalar matrices , , give an infinite family.
Write and . Because is a diagonal matrix,Thus exactly when for every . The three eigenvalues are distinct, so every off-diagonal entry of must be zero; diagonal entries are unrestricted. Consequently the centralizer of a diagonal matrix here isEvery displayed matrix indeed commutes with , since diagonal matrices multiply entry by entry on the diagonal.
By the spectral theorem for real symmetric matrices, there is an orthogonal matrix such thatFor clarity, the diagonalization can also be justified recursively. The characteristic polynomial has a complex root of a polynomial by the fundamental theorem of algebra. By ii its eigenvalue is real; taking a nonzero real or imaginary part of an associated eigenvector in gives a real eigenvector, which can be normalized. Its orthogonal complement is invariant, because . Restriction to this linear subspace is again symmetric, and induction on dimension gives an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors.
All by ii. The permitted invariance of determinant and matrix trace under change of basis, applied to the diagonal matrix, yields
The same matrix similarity preserves being a diagonalisable matrix. If is a diagonal matrix, thenTherefore is a diagonalisable matrix whenever is, and the converse follows by interchanging . Thus they are either both diagonalisable matrices or neither is. In fact the previous part shows that one invertible factor suffices.
The real spectral theorem states that a symmetric matrix has an orthonormal basis of real eigenvectors, and hence is a diagonalisable matrix. Here is a proof in this setting.
For , the quadratic form attains a maximum on the unit sphere, by compactness and the extreme value theorem. Choose a unit maximizer and put . For any , the Rayleigh quotient along has a maximum at , soThe last equality uses and . Thus is orthogonal to every , so .
The orthogonal complement is an invariant subspace, because for ,The restriction of to is again symmetric with respect to the induced inner product. By mathematical induction on dimension, it has an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors; adjoining gives one for . If has those basis vectors as columns, then is a real diagonal matrix and .
Since , the vector is an eigenvector with nonzero eigenvalue . The assumption also makes , so the kernel has dimension . Choose its basis .
The vector is outside this kernel. Hence is a basis of consisting of eigenvectors, with corresponding eigenvalues . In that basis, is the diagonal matrixThis proves that is a diagonalisable matrix, including the case .
False. Take the diagonal matrix and its eigenvectors , . Their sum is mapped to , which is not a scalar multiple of that sum. More generally, need not have the form when .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 1 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge 2008 Paper 1 18 a iii Solution Created 2026-10-18 Updated 2026-10-20
Take the diagonal matrix . Multiplying on the left retains the first row of , while multiplying on the right retains its first column. ThusTheir entries differ, so this is an explicit example of noncommuting matrices.
