Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 314 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the material derivative, and write for specific enthalpy. The ideal magnetohydrodynamic induction equation and Gauss's law for magnetism giveDotting the momentum equation with eliminates the Lorentz force density. Therefore the cross-helicity density satisfiesThe first law of thermodynamics gives for specific entropy , without requiring uniform entropy. ConsequentlySince , the first term on the right is a divergence. This proves the cross-helicity conservation law, with fluxFor the perfect gas used here, .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 344 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Put . The noises required by a joint trajectory are and . Their independent Gaussian white noise weights give the joint path probability of an order parameter and its flux:For the physically reversed path, is time-even and the transport flux is time-odd. Therefore , , andThe common factor includes the two noise normalizations and the midpoint Jacobian determinant. Its calculation must include both relaxation channels. On a finite spatial grid, let and represent the divergence and gradient, with the discrete Laplacian, and let be the Hessian matrix of at the midpoint of time step . Differentiating the two required noises with respect to the next configuration and the interval flux gives the Jacobian matrixUsing the Schur complement, its Jacobian determinant, apart from the path-independent power of , isReversal visits the same midpoint configurations in reverse order, so the product of these factors is unchanged. The joint time-reversal invariance of a path Jacobian therefore involves the complete relaxation operator .
Taking the action difference givesRepeated component indices are summed. The second squared norm sums over both flux indices. This is mixed conserved and nonconserved order-parameter dynamics; reversing the order parameter history while leaving the flux unreversed would give the wrong probability ratio.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ia Paper 2 10B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Writing and differentiating givesIts symmetric second-rank tensor part and antisymmetric second-rank tensor part areTaking the trace makes the two symmetric terms cancel, so the divergence isContracting the antisymmetric part with the Levi-Civita symbol gives the curl
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ib Paper 1 16A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For a velocity potential, . Writing givesIts divergence isThus this potential flow is generally compressible.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 314 3 a Solution 2026-09-28
Since , the vector field has cylindrical componentsThe divergence in cylindrical coordinates is thereforeDirect use of the curl in cylindrical coordinates givesandThus, definingwe obtain
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 9B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
In the homogeneous background, and the physical velocity is the Hubble flowThe comoving coordinate is held fixed by the time derivative in the fluid equation, soMoreover, spatial homogeneity gives . The Euler equation therefore reduces toTaking the divergence in three spatial dimensions givesConsistency with the Poisson equation,then requiresThis is the pressureless, zero-cosmological-constant Raychaudhuri equation, obtained by the Newtonian fluid derivation of the Raychaudhuri equation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ia Paper 3 9A c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Each field has only an azimuthal component and is independent of and . The curl in spherical coordinates therefore reduces toand its component vanishes. The half-angle identitiesshow in both cases that
Apply part (a) with . Thenaway from the origin, explicitly confirming that each resulting curl has zero divergence.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ib Paper 2 5C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ib Paper 3 7C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Choose the polar axis along and write . Sincethe velocity components areTheir divergence isThus the flow is incompressible for .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ib Paper 3 15D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The magnetic field is . The magnetostatic Ampère-Maxwell equation is , so the curl of the curl identity givesA gauge transformation does not change . We may therefore choose the Coulomb gauge by solving the Poisson equation . It follows component by component in a Cartesian coordinate system thatThe free-space Green function of the Laplacian then givesFor a localized steady current density, conservation of electric charge gives ; integration by parts confirms directly that this integral has zero divergence and hence obeys the Coulomb gauge.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ib Paper 4 13C b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let the displayed integrand be . Since it has no explicit dependence on or , the Euler-Lagrange equations for two fields areIts derivatives areThusUsing the Laplacian, gradient, and divergence, these combine into the static Navier-Cauchy equation
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ib Paper 4 13C b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For the displacement gradient tensor specified in the question,while the divergence is . Hence the isotropic linear-elastic energy density isExpanding the square and collecting terms yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ia Paper 3 3B i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 314 1 a Solution 2026-09-25
In a magnetostatic equilibrium, inertia is absent and all forces balance. A force-free magnetic field is the limiting case in which the Lorentz force density vanishes:Thus the current density is parallel to the magnetic field, so for some scalar force-free parameter ,Using Ampère's law in magnetostatics givesTaking the divergence and using both the divergence of a curl is zero and yieldssoThe force-free parameter is therefore constant along every magnetic field line.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 107 2 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Write the flux asAfter expanding the divergence, the principal symbol of a partial differential equation along a candidate solution is determined byOnly the symmetric part contributes to . The problem is elliptic along when for every , and it is strictly elliptic where this quantity is positive for every nonzero . It is uniformly elliptic on a set when constants , independent of the point, satisfyThese definitions separate pointwise positive definiteness from a quantitative lower and upper bound; a degenerate elliptic operator may lose strict ellipticity at some jets.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 310 4 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Taking the divergence of the linear Euler equation and defining the peculiar-velocity divergence givesThe assumption of negligible vorticity ensures that this longitudinal variable captures the velocity perturbation relevant to scalar density growth.
Phase-space flow Jacobian 2026-10-07
The Jacobian determinant of a differentiable characteristic flow map measures its change of volume. The variational equation and the Liouville formula for a fundamental matrix give the displayed formula for a complete smooth field . For kinetic advection with , its divergence is . A zero divergence preserves phase-space Lebesgue measure.
Photon number current 2026-10-06
In an orthonormal tetrad, is the photon number density and is its number flux. Integrating the Boltzmann equation gives when momentum-boundary terms vanish. Collisionless propagation and photon-number-conserving scattering give zero divergence. Photon emission, photon absorption, electron-positron annihilation in cosmology, bremsstrahlung and double Compton scattering generally do not. This is a number current, not an electric charge current: photons are neutral.
For a smooth divergence-free field on , the differential form is closed. The radial homotopy formula gives a global magnetic vector potential with curl . For constant , this reduces to .