Orthogonal projection residual 2026-10-14
An orthogonal projection residual is the difference between a vector and its orthogonal projection onto a linear subspace . It is orthogonal to every vector in , so for all . The Gram-Schmidt process uses such residuals to remove directions already represented by earlier basis vectors.
This is an optimality condition as well as a geometric description. No permitted change within can remove a further orthogonal component of . In the preceding dot product example, is perpendicular to the line spanned by .
The selected inner product matters. Keep and the same line, but use the weighted Euclidean inner product with . The projection coefficient and residual becomeNow , although . The orthogonality is with respect to , so it need not look perpendicular in the ordinary drawing. The squared weighted error isThe weighted optimum reduces the first-coordinate error from to , at the cost of increasing the magnitude of the second-coordinate error from to . The weights express which errors are more costly.
Changing the inner product changes the closest point: a circle and a weighted error ellipse touch the same permitted line at different points
. Details. In linear least squares, residual orthogonality to the column space is expressed by the normal equations for linear least squares. With a weighted Euclidean inner product, the corresponding real-matrix equation is . This makes the choice of error measurement part of the mathematical model, rather than merely a plotting convention.
Orthogonal trajectory 2026-10-18
An orthogonal trajectory intersects every regular member of a specified family of plane curves at a right angle. If eliminating the family parameter gives its tangent slope , the dot product of the two tangent directions gives the orthogonal slope wherever both slopes are finite and nonzero. Vertical and horizontal tangent directions are interpreted geometrically. For the family with , eliminating gives , and the orthogonal trajectories satisfy . For these are ellipses; for they are circles.
Orthogonal vectors Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Two vectors are orthogonal when their inner product is zero.
For real Euclidean vectors, the inner product is the dot product, so and are orthogonal: . For nonzero Euclidean vectors, this means their angle is . The zero vector is orthogonal to every vector, although it has no direction or defined angle.[ref]
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/18-06-linear-algebra-spring-2010/resources/lecture-14-orthogonal-vectors-and-subspaces/. Strang, MIT 18.06, Lecture 14: orthogonal vectors and subspaces
In an abstract inner product space, orthogonality always refers to its chosen inner product. For example, the weighted inner product makes and orthogonal, since . Their ordinary dot product is , so their arrows are not perpendicular in the usual Cartesian coordinate system. The algebraic definition also applies to functions, where arrows need not be available.
Paired coordinates of a symplectic basis 2026-10-14
Write vectors in a symplectic basis as and . Their coordinate vectors and the matrix of a bilinear form areHere is the identity matrix, and denotes transpose. The ordering matters: interleaving the basis as instead gives a block diagonal matrix with blocks . Some conventions reverse every , giving instead. Always check the displayed pairing convention.[ref]
Symplectic Geometry. §1.1, p. 83: e-then-f basis and its block matrix; the coordinate formula follows by bilinearity
Over the real numbers, each summand is the signed area of a parallelogram in the coordinate plane. For and , the two signed areas are and , so although the vectors are linearly independent. The cancellation concerns the symplectic form; it does not assert that their dot product vanishes. Over a general field, the same determinant formula is algebraic, without a signed geometric interpretation.
Parabolic coordinates 2026-10-18
The displayed three-dimensional parabolic coordinates use and an azimuthal angle . Their coordinate tangent vectors have pairwise zero dot products, with scale factors of orthogonal coordinates and . The Jacobian determinant is . Constant or gives a family of confocal circular elliptic paraboloids; the coordinate system degenerates on the axis where . For example, fills the cap , whose rim is the unit circle and whose vertex is .
Let and choose an auxiliary vector with . Its component perpendicular to is . Then all solutions of the Cartesian equation of a plane areThe two free directions are nonzero, perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to , so they span its two-dimensional orthogonal complement. This proves completeness as well as direct substitution. If , then . If the dot product is nonzero, another complete form is .
For , write and choose either signed branch , with . These two branches cover the roots of the squared dispersion relation. The group velocity of an internal gravity wave isIf instead the positive-frequency root is chosen for both signs of , set and multiply the displayed components by , away from the cusp .
Taking the dot product with the wave vector givesThus the group velocity, which describes the travel of a narrow wave packet and its energy, is perpendicular to the wave vector, and hence perpendicular to the phase velocity . This is the internal-wave phase and group velocity geometry. It also follows from phase-group orthogonality for degree-zero dispersion: the frequency depends only on the direction of , not its magnitude. For , the group velocity is zero, consistent with the stationary extremum .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2001 ia Paper 1 1C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Using the Levi-Civita symbol and the contraction of two Levi-Civita symbols, the th component of the vector triple product isThus the triple-product identity is .
Apply this with the unit vector to obtain . Dot products and scalar multiplication are linear in , so . Its matrix representation isThe fixed-vector equation is equivalent to . Since , all its solutions are . Also . Every vector decomposes as , with orthogonal to . Hence is the orthogonal projection onto the plane through the origin normal to : it fixes that plane and removes the perpendicular component.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 1 8D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A vector space over the real numbers is a set with an addition making it an abelian group and a scalar multiplication by satisfying, for scalars and vectors , the identities , , and . A vector subspace is a nonempty subset closed under addition and scalar multiplication; a proper vector subspace is one unequal to . A spanning set is a set whose finite linear combinations give every vector of . A basis is a linearly independent spanning set. The dimension is the number of vectors in a basis, or its cardinality when the basis is infinite.
The sum of vector subspaces and their intersection of vector subspaces areBoth are vector subspaces: addition and scalar multiplication preserve the displayed forms or simultaneous membership. The intersection of vector subspaces is never empty because .
For the two given hyperplanes, adding and subtracting their defining equations gives and . HenceThese two nonzero vectors are orthogonal, and consequently form an orthogonal basis of the intersection of vector subspaces. Put and . Direct substitution gives , . Their dot products with vanish, and . Each defining equation of or is one nonzero linear constraint in four variables, so each vector subspace has dimension three. Thus each space has the indicated orthogonal basis:The last four vectors are nonzero and mutually orthogonal, so they are a basis of . They lie in , proving . The dimension identity is therefore verified numerically:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 3 11A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
In Einstein summation convention, the curl of a cross product has componentsThe second line uses the contraction of two Levi-Civita symbols; the last uses the product rule. These components prove the curl of a cross product identity, including both divergence and directional-derivative terms.
Now apply that identity to . On the orientable surface, , , and . Differentiating gives . Taking a dot product with in the curl of a cross product formula therefore gives, on ,Only tangency on the surface is needed; no claim is made that the extension is tangent away from it. The right side is the surface divergence of the tangent vector field.
With the boundary oriented according to Stokes theorem, cyclic invariance of the scalar triple product giveswhere is the outward conormal of a surface boundary. Thus Stokes theorem provesThis is the surface divergence theorem for a tangent field.
For the disc in the plane, take and . The field is tangent on the disc, and . The contraction is , so the surface integral is . On the positively oriented circular boundary, and , so the boundary flux is . Both sides agree.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 3 12A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the product rule for the divergence of the vector field :The two dot products cancel. Apply the divergence theorem with outward unit normal vector to obtain Green's second identity:Smoothness of the functions and boundary supplies the regularity needed for the divergence theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 3 5E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Using Einstein summation convention and the contraction of two Levi-Civita symbols,This proves the vector triple product identity directly from the Levi-Civita symbol and Kronecker delta.
Define the scalar triple product by . Its expression is unchanged by cyclically relabeling the three indices: a three-cycle has positive sign. ThusIn particular, let . Since the three vectors form a basis, their determinant is nonzero, so their reciprocal basis vectors are well defined. Cyclic invariance and vanishing of a scalar triple product with repeated vectors giveTo calculate the new scalar triple product explicitly, apply the already proved vector triple product identity with :Consequentlyso the reciprocal vectors also form a basis. Taking the reciprocal basis of that basis now givesThe same cyclic calculation gives and , proving reciprocal basis involution.
Finally, write . Taking a dot product with isolates . Applying the same argument to the reciprocal basis, whose reciprocal is the original basis, gives the two sets of coordinates:No orthonormality assumption is needed; the reciprocal basis is what makes these coordinate-extraction formulas work.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 3 6E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Set . The sum condition then gives and , and their dot product isTherefore . Since , this is a strictly positive squared radius. The complete solution isEvery choice of unit vector satisfies both conditions, and every solution has this form. The endpoints lie on the sphere with center and radius , and their midpoint is . They are therefore opposite ends of one diameter of that sphere.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 ia Paper 3 6E b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Translate one vertex of the tetrahedron to the origin and denote the other vertex vectors by . Translation preserves edge vectors and their dot products. We may label the two known perpendicular pairs of opposite edges of a tetrahedron as the pairs represented by and . Their orthogonality givesHence all three pairwise dot products have the same value . The third pair satisfiesso the third pair of opposite edges is also perpendicular.
Expanding squared lengths using the dot product givesThus the sums of squared opposite-edge lengths are equal. These two conclusions are the basic identities for orthogonal opposite edges of a tetrahedron.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 30 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be distinct elements of a finite field , with . The Reed-Solomon code consists of the evaluation vectorsEvaluation is an injective linear map: a nonzero polynomial of degree at most cannot vanish at all distinct points. Thus the dimension is . The same bound on polynomial roots shows that every nonzero codeword has Hamming weight at least . Conversely, choosing any evaluation points and taking their product of linear factors gives a polynomial whose evaluation vanishes at exactly those points. Its Hamming weight is . HenceFor completeness, deleting coordinates from a linear code of minimum Hamming distance is injective on codewords, since two words with the same retained coordinates would differ in fewer than positions. Therefore , giving the Singleton bound . The Reed-Solomon code attains this bound and is a maximum distance separable code. Multiplying individual coordinates by nonzero field elements changes neither the dimension nor the Hamming weight, so the same proof applies to a generalized Reed-Solomon code.
To specify the generator polynomials of a cyclic code unambiguously, use the primitive cyclic Reed-Solomon code convention. Put , choose a primitive element of a finite field , and setExponents are taken modulo . This generator polynomial is a monic polynomial of degree dividing , so the dimension is . It agrees with the evaluation formIndeed, at a defining exponent , a monomial contributes the finite geometric series . Its exponent lies between and , so the sum vanishes: but its th power is one. Every displayed evaluation vector therefore lies in the cyclic code, and both spaces have dimension , proving equality. The narrow-sense choice is the ordinary unweighted evaluation linear code on all nonzero field elements.
The duality of primitive cyclic Reed-Solomon codes now follows directly. A vector in has coordinates , while a vector in has coordinates , with . Their dot product is . Every appearing exponent is between and , so every such finite geometric series is zero. The two spaces are orthogonal and their dimensions sum to , givingThus the full cyclic family is closed under dual codes. The offset matters: the dual code of the narrow-sense linear code generally has offset zero, rather than one.
For arbitrary evaluation points, the precise statement is closure of generalized Reed-Solomon codes under duality. If , put and . Lagrange interpolation shows whenever : this sum is the coefficient of in the interpolation formula for . Taking with and proves orthogonality of and . Comparing dimensions gives equality with . An unweighted evaluation linear code at arbitrary points need not have an unweighted evaluation dual at the same points; the multiplier form and the cyclic offset formula resolve that convention issue.
For the length-, dimension- linear code, choose and as in the field table. Then andThe field characteristic is two, and the table gives . In the basis , the four roots are represented by . Their elementary symmetric functions areThe repeated terms in cancel because the field characteristic is two. There are no alternating minus signs in this characteristic, soFor example, the coefficient vectors in ascending order are , giving the required single powers of .
For the length-, dimension- linear code over , take the table's primitive element of a finite field and again . The four roots are . Expanding in givesThusThe coefficients are reduced modulo , including the constant term .
A suitable two-error-correcting Reed-Solomon code over is precisely the first linear code:Two distinct codewords cannot both be within Hamming distance two of a received word, because the triangle inequality would put them at distance at most four. Thus this linear code corrects any two symbol errors. Its generator polynomial has four consecutive defining zeros of a cyclic code, and its dimension and exact minimum Hamming distance have already been proved.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2002 iii Paper 49 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be kinematic pressure, with the resting hydrostatic part subtracted, and let be the buoyancy perturbation about background buoyancy . The nonrotating inviscid Boussinesq equations, with no buoyancy diffusion, areHere the third equation is mass conservation for incompressible flow, and the last expresses buoyancy conservation following a parcel. Linearization about rest removes the products of disturbances. For a plane internal gravity wave proportional to , the resulting Linearized Boussinesq equations becomeWith and , the first and third equations give . Substitution in vertical momentum and buoyancy gives the dispersion relationSince the velocity is the time derivative of the displacement field, . Thus the complete buoyancy polarization of a plane internal gravity wave isBoth velocity and displacement are perpendicular to the wavevector; pressure and velocity are in quadrature with buoyancy and displacement.
For upward/rightward phase velocity, choose and . Differentiating this dispersion relation gives the group velocity, while the vector phase velocity points along the wavevector:Their dot product is zero and . Draw from the tip of : the right-triangle geometry of internal-wave velocities has horizontal hypotenuse . This hypotenuse is distinct from the horizontal phase velocity .
At an instant with real complex amplitude , write . The spatial fields areThe constant-phase lines of an internal gravity wave slope down to the right, with . Buoyancy maxima lie a quarter wavelength from pressure maxima; the oscillating displacement and velocity run along the phase lines. The group velocity points down and right along them, despite upward/rightward motion of the wave phase.
Internal-wave buoyancy, displacement, pressure and velocity fields, with downward energy propagation and the phase/group-velocity right triangle
. Details. Let , using horizontal averaging over a wavelength. This is the displacement pseudomomentum of an internal gravity wave, whose sign convention is opposite to . For complex coefficients, . The above wave polarization consequently givesSince , these obey . With weak kinematic viscosity, each leading monochromatic velocity component satisfies , . The dissipative term is therefore , so the supplied averaged balance reduces toFor constant and a steady wave envelope, . As is proportional to squared wave amplitude, viscous attenuation of an internal gravity wave givesHere , so amplitude decreases below a source at : the source is above the receiving level. The same conclusion follows directly because downward group velocity carries energy from the source downward. Upward phase velocity does not locate the source.
For a slowly varying mean shear flow , the local intrinsic frequency is . A local WKB approximation uses , with varying vertical wavenumber and group velocity. The appropriate transported quantity is wave action, or horizontal wave pseudomomentum ; its vertical flux has viscous loss, and the changing polarization factors must be retained. In particular, is no longer constant.
Near a critical level of an internal gravity wave, , so and . The damping per vertical distance, of order , grows rapidly. The waves are strongly attenuated over a narrow altitude range and transfer momentum to the mean flow there or before reaching the critical level. The inviscid WKB approximation eventually fails; viscosity and possibly internal-wave breaking regulate the small scales.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ia Paper 1 5B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A positive, counterclockwise rotation takes the standard basis vectors and to and . These images are the columns of its rotation matrix, soIt fixes the origin, preserves the dot product and has determinant one.


