Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 36 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The relevant fixed coordinate subspace is . Let be the first columns of and letThe Gaussian empirical Gram matrix is the empirical second moment with the known mean zero; no subtraction of an estimated mean is involved. For , the ratio under consideration is . Since is a real symmetric matrix, the finite-dimensional spectral theorem givesIndeed, diagonalizing bounds every unit-vector quadratic form by the largest absolute eigenvalue, and a corresponding unit eigenvector attains the bound.
We first construct a unit sphere net from ball covering. Enlarge the numerical covering constant, if necessary, to . Cover the unit ball in with at most balls of radius at most . For each such ball meeting the unit sphere, choose a point of the sphere in it and discard the others. These selected points form a metric net of the unit sphere with radius : any two points in one covering ball have distance at most . This argument ensures that the net points have unit length even if the original covering centers did not.
Take and put , so . For unit vectors with ,Taking a net point for every unit and then a supremum proves the quadratic form net boundIt follows that
Fix . The rows of are independent vectors of independent random variables with the standard normal distribution, and . Their scalar products with are therefore independent variables , soUse the supplied chi-squared concentration inequality with . Its threshold isConsequently . The union bound gives the stronger fixed-subspace estimateThis is Gaussian Gram matrix concentration on a fixed subspace.
Since , we have . Under ,Choose the numerical constant . Then the parenthesis is at least one, so is a valid choice, andThe covering factor is only because the coordinate subspace is fixed. The ambient dimension enters through the assumed sample-size bound.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 44 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Introduce a parameter to keep track of total degree. The power series for the matrix exponential givesSet and , where the commutator is . Expanding a second matrix exponential givesSincethe two expressions agree through total degree two. More explicitly, applying the local matrix logarithm to the first expansion gives . This proves the displayed order of the Baker--Campbell--Hausdorff formula. The Lie algebra is closed under the commutator, so its displayed exponent lies in the same Lie algebra. The expansion is a formal power series identity, or a convergent identity sufficiently near the identity matrix; this argument does not assert unrestricted global convergence.
The next two terms of the Baker--Campbell--Hausdorff formula are the two cubic commutators:Here means total degree at least four in . If one continues by one more degree, the quartic contribution is .
For the Pauli matrices, use the Pauli matrix multiplication lawPut . The antisymmetric term disappears when contracted with , so . Consequently every even power of equals , and every odd power equals . Splitting the matrix exponential into even and odd terms of its power series yieldsThe Pauli matrices are Hermitian matrices, and the components of are real, so . For real , the resulting matrix satisfiesAlso and , so its two eigenvalues are . The eigenvalues of are therefore , whose product is one. Thus is a unitary matrix with determinant one: it belongs to the SU(2) group.
Multiplying the two exact Pauli matrix exponentials, and using , givesIn particular, the term has a minus sign. Its quadratic Taylor expansion isTaking , , the Pauli matrix commutator identity gives . The quadratic exponent in the Baker--Campbell--Hausdorff formula is therefore . In , only the linear part of contributes to through degree two. The anticommutator gives , reproducing the exact product's quadratic expansion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 48 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the minimal four-dimensional Super-Poincaré algebra, with , and commuting translations. Lorentz covariance and closure on the existing supercharges permit onlyThe graded Jacobi identity for therefore givesFor example, with , and , the coefficient is a nonzero multiple of . Independence of the translation generators forces . Its adjoint gives the barred result. Thus every supercharge commutes with four-momentum:Consequently . If has a particular mass-shell condition, the nonzero state has the same one. This gives supersymmetric mass degeneracy within an unbroken physical supermultiplet. The qualification matters: after spontaneous supersymmetry breaking, the chosen vacuum is not annihilated by the supercharges, and its one-particle excitations need not constitute degenerate supermultiplets.
For the O'Raifeartaigh model, write , , . Field phases allow to be positive. The canonical Kähler potential and elimination of the auxiliary fields give the F-term scalar potentialA supersymmetric vacuum would require , hence , while could not vanish. Thus F-flatness is impossible. More precisely, with ,The stated strict inequality makes every nonconstant term nonnegative. The entire classical vacuum family isHere , while . The Weyl spinor is the massless goldstino, and the complex scalar field is a pseudomodulus with two zero tree-level squared masses. The hierarchy separates the massive fields from the breaking scale, but it does not itself select along this flat direction.
At the representative vacuum , the chiral-superfield fermion mass matrix isIts physical masses are its singular values: . The two massive Weyl spinors can be combined into one massive Dirac spinor. For , , the real scalar squared masses areIn particular, there is no tachyon under the stated inequality. The splitting of the masses displays supersymmetry breaking directly.
For completeness, the mass spectrum can be given throughout the classical vacuum family, rather than silently fixing the pseudomodulus. A phase rotation makes real and nonnegative without changing physical masses. The massive fermion squared masses areThe real and imaginary scalar sectors have two-by-two scalar squared-mass matriceswhose eigenvalues areBoth determinants are and their traces are positive, so stability holds at every finite . Quantum corrections can lift a pseudomodulus; these formulas describe the classical, tree-level spectrum requested here.
Define the physical mass supertrace byEach real scalar contributes once and each Weyl spinor twice with a minus sign. At this gives . At general , . Hence the tree-level mass supertrace vanishes despite broken supersymmetry:This is the tree-level supertrace mass sum rule, not a claim that the individual masses are equal.
For direct breaking in the Minimal supersymmetric Standard Model, the difficulty is both field content and the tree-level spectrum. A linear gauge-invariant superpotential term needs a gauge-singlet chiral superfield, which the minimal model does not contain. Moreover, with canonical kinetic terms and purely neutral F-term breaking, without D-term mass shifts, the MSSM tree-level sfermion mass constraint applies separately to conserved charge sectors. For one electron pair it gives : both scalar partners cannot be heavy. This is an illustrative charge-sector consequence under those assumptions, not an unrestricted inference from the total supertrace alone. A separate hidden supersymmetry-breaking sector communicating effective soft supersymmetry breaking through loops or suppressed operators avoids the direct canonical tree-level obstruction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 5 2 4 Solution 2026-10-06
No. On the complex l2 sequence space, let . This is a bounded self-adjoint operator. At , , so zero is not an eigenvalue (an eigenvector must be nonzero). But has no preimage in : its only formal preimage is the constant-one sequence. Thus is not surjective andAlternatively excludes a bounded inverse. This example separates the spectrum of a bounded operator from its point spectrum.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 58 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take a static, nonrotating, nonmagnetic spherical equilibrium with and . Use a fluid displacement . Write for Eulerian fluid perturbations. The Lagrangian pressure perturbation and corresponding mass density change obey , . Linearizing mass conservation, the Euler equations for an inviscid fluid and Poisson equation for Newtonian gravity givesThere is no equilibrium acceleration to multiply a perturbed mass density. The adiabatic process condition, with composition carried by the parcel, closes the system:These are the complete linear adiabatic stellar oscillation equations, including the perturbation of self-gravity. Neglect of heat exchange is appropriate when oscillation periods are short compared with relevant thermal relaxation times; it does not determine nonadiabatic excitation or damping.
For the pressure and buoyancy modes, separate angular dependence using spherical harmonics:The horizontal amplitude has dimensions of length. Angular differentiation gives , and tangential momentum gives . Define the adiabatic sound speed, stellar buoyancy frequency and Lamb frequency byThe adiabatic mass density relation becomes . Substitution produces a radial form of the full oscillation equations for nonzero :The apparent factor is evaluated through its defining gradient at the centre rather than by dividing two zeros.
Regularity at the centre excludes singular solutions. At a free surface the Lagrangian pressure perturbation vanishes, ; outside the star the gravitational perturbation decays as . For a model with mass density tending to zero at its surface, continuity of and its radial derivative gives . If the equilibrium mass density jumps to vacuum, include the displaced-surface mass sheet: the outward-minus-inward derivative jump is , so the interior condition is . An atmospheric boundary condition can replace the ideal free surface.
These conditions make an eigenvalue, not an arbitrary local sound frequency. With conservative boundary conditions the adiabatic operator is self-adjoint, giving real ; negative values describe instability. The frequencies depend on , self-gravity, stratification and boundaries, as well as angular degree and radial order. In a spherical nonrotating star they are degenerate in . For homologous equilibrium structures, their scale isthus the typical oscillation time measures inverse square root of mean mass density, while individual frequencies probe the interior adiabatic sound speed and stellar buoyancy frequency profiles.
For radial modes, write . Eliminating the pressure and gravitational perturbations gives the radial stellar pulsation equationThis is a Sturm-Liouville problem. Multiplication by and integration, with vanishing boundary terms, gives its Rayleigh quotientFor constant , makes both numerator contributions nonnegative. At , a homologous displacement is neutral; for constant the same trial displacement makes the quotient negative. For the uniform-density stellar model, constant is an exact mode and . With varying , the integral criterion, rather than a universal pointwise threshold, controls radial stability.
The Cowling approximation neglects while retaining the equilibrium gravitational field. It is useful for short-wavelength modes, but is not needed for the full derivation above. In a locally slowly varying region, take both remaining amplitudes proportional to and retain the leading derivative terms. ThenEliminating either amplitude gives the acoustic-gravity propagation relationPositive is oscillatory propagation; negative means an evanescent wave. The high-frequency branch, , describes stellar acoustic modes, restored chiefly by compressibility and pressure. At frequencies well above , this gives . The low-frequency propagating branch in stable stratification, , instead describes stellar gravity modes, restored by buoyancy. At there is no such nonradial gravity-wave cavity.
A stellar acoustic mode is trapped between an inner turning point near and an outer reflecting region. Low- modes penetrate deeply; radial modes reach the centre. Higher-degree modes turn farther out. Standing waves require the WKB quantization conditionwhere the phase depends on the central or turning-point behaviour and surface reflection. For high radial order and small degree, the leading acoustic travel-time result is the large frequency separationThe term is the leading central angular phase shift; smaller frequency separations depend on detailed interior gradients. The near-surface mass density stratification sets the acoustic cutoff frequency. In a plane-parallel isothermal atmosphere with mass density scale height , . Modes below this cutoff can reflect and form a cavity; waves sufficiently above it escape and need an outgoing-wave boundary condition. Nonadiabatic damping, driving and rotation alter real-star mode properties, but the adiabatic frequency problem isolates their dependence on the equilibrium structure.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 60 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let be the rate-of-strain tensor of an incompressible flow, and let be the supremum over the conductor of its largest eigenvalue. State Backus' necessary condition for dynamo action with its magnetic boundary conditions: an isolated bounded conductor of uniform positive magnetic diffusivity , surrounded by an electrical insulator with a decaying potential exterior field, and no imposed magnetic field or boundary energy input. For definiteness take a no-slip boundary condition on the fluid, which eliminates the stretching surface term. If the conductor lies within a sphere of radius and , a necessary condition for a nondecaying dynamo isThe constant is the free-decay spectral bound for an insulating exterior, not a universal constant for every magnetic boundary condition. The condition is necessary, not sufficient, and involves maximum stretching rather than an rms velocity.
To see both the condition and the growth-rate bound, include exterior magnetic energy:This follows from the resistive induction equation and integration by parts, with the stated boundary assumptions. The magnetic free-decay spectral bound is . For a sphere its lowest mode is the dipolar poloidal free-decay mode; enclosing a smaller conductor gives the same valid lower bound. Since , we obtainIntegrating this differential inequality gives decay whenever . More generally the exponential rate of the field norm, rather than of its squared energy, satisfiesSimply discarding the nonnegative resistive dissipation already proves the requested maximum-strain bound. The energy exponent is twice the field-amplitude exponent.
For the alpha-Omega dynamo model, write , , and . Direct differentiation givesFor , use the weighted energy estimate for two coupled modes and form the positive weighted norm . The inequality givesFor each fixed and model parameters, this norm is equivalent to the amplitude norm; its square-root exponential rate is therefore bounded by , uniformly over all admissible . Maximizing over givesThe exponent is also achievable in order of magnitude. Choose the admissible constant . The growing eigenvalue of the two-component system has real part . Its maximum occurs at and equals . Thus the bounded-modulation alpha-Omega growth estimate has the scalingThis means the maximum over allowed modulations and wavenumbers, not that every bounded modulation grows; supplies no regenerating alpha coupling.
The Omega effect rapidly makes toroidal field from poloidal field, but exponential dynamo action also requires the slower alpha effect to regenerate the poloidal component. The coupled amplification rate is of order rather than ; shortening the wavelength to increase it also increases magnetic diffusion as . Their optimal balance gives and growth . The Backus' necessary condition for dynamo action estimate controls stretching alone and does not incorporate this regeneration bottleneck. A shear without regeneration can give transient amplification but not this sustained exponential feedback.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 66 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
By spectral decomposition, the Von Neumann entropy is the Shannon entropy of the eigenvalues:Throughout, logarithms have base two, so the Von Neumann entropy and Shannon entropy are measured in bits. The continuous convention includes zero eigenvalues.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 66 1 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the Schmidt decomposition of the bipartite pure state:The two reduced density matrices, obtained by partial trace, areTheir nonzero eigenvalues are identical, even if the two ambient dimensions differ. Zero eigenvalues contribute no Von Neumann entropy, soThis common Von Neumann entropy is the entanglement entropy of the bipartite pure state.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 66 1 v Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use two results: the isometric Stinespring dilation of a quantum channel, and Strong subadditivity of Von Neumann entropy. Let dilate the given operation, and defineAn linear isometry of Hilbert spaces preserves the nonzero eigenvalues, so and . Subtracting the two coherent information expressions givesThe last inequality is Strong subadditivity of Von Neumann entropy, in the form . Thus the data-processing inequality for coherent information isThe lost coherent information is precisely the quantum conditional mutual information between the reference and discarded environment , conditional on the retained output .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 66 3 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For two density operators, the trace distance and the unsquared quantum fidelity areThe unsquared convention matters: if is a pure state, then is a rank-one positive operator with its sole nonzero eigenvalue equal to . Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 67 2 b ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The history-subspace propagation Hamiltonian has diagonal entries at the endpoints and in the interior, and nearest-neighbour entries . The spectrum of a path propagation Hamiltonian isTo see the indexing directly, set and . The interior difference equation gives . The endpoint equations correspond to and , both satisfied by these . The distinct eigenvalues and their nonzero eigenvectors exhaust the matrix.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 67 2 b i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The matrix is an orthogonal projection. Its eigenvalues areIts unique ground state in is , and its spectral gap is one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 67 2 b iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
In the history basis, is a Hermitian tridiagonal matrix. Its first diagonal entry is , its interior entries are , its last entry is , and each off-diagonal entry is .
The Gershgorin disc theorem confines the first row's eigenvalue to , the interior rows to , and the last row to . For , the first disc is disjoint from all the others and therefore contains exactly one eigenvalue. Since is positive semidefinite, that eigenvalue is the ground state energy. All other eigenvalues are at least , while the lowest is at most . Hence the Gershgorin gap bound for an adiabatic history path givesThis argument also covers , where the first disc is the isolated point zero.