Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 335 2 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the measured wave scattering response> linear operator, with direct background propagation removed if present. Its time reversal operator is the positive operator . For a normalized emitted signal ,The maximizing signal is a right singular vector, equivalently an eigenvector of with its largest eigenvalue. This is a precise intensity statement independent of a scatterer model.
Under the Born approximation for scalar wave scattering, neglect interactions between point scatterers and writewhere is the receiver response to scatterer , is its illumination by the source array, and is its scattering wave amplitude. Well-resolved point scatterers have approximately orthogonal vectors and . In the ideal orthogonal limit,Thus the most reflective, geometrically weighted scatterer gives the largest eigenvalue, and its normalized steering vector gives the corresponding wave focusing signal. If illumination and reception factors are equal for all scatterers, this is precisely the scatterer with largest . Geometric size by itself is not the quantity being ranked.
Repeated adjoint time reversal acoustics is power iteration on . If its top eigenvalue is simple and the initial signal has a nonzero component along its eigenvector, thenA tied largest eigenvalue leaves a combination in the leading eigenspace, and an initial signal orthogonal to that eigenspace cannot excite it. This is the basis of the DORT method. Mere physical separation is insufficient if the array cannot resolve the scatterers; coherent steering-vector overlap or multiple scattering can mix the modes. Also, if includes unrestricted homogeneous transmission, its largest eigenvalue need not identify any individual scatterer. The correspondence concerns the resolved wave scattering response>. The ideal correspondence and selective wave focusing are analyzed by Prada and Fink.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 335 3 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Write and retain the Landweber relaxation parameter . The printed allows the fixed choice , since then . It does not justify a unit step: the scalar linear operator has norm below , but unit-step error is multiplied by and diverges. We use throughout.
From the recurrence and , induction yields the closed formFor the compact operator in part ii, take a singular system of a compact operator with , and . Thus are the eigenvalues of ; this fixes the notation implicit in the printed hint. In the singular component , the recurrence isSumming the geometric series gives the Landweber spectral filterThere is no contribution from data in or from in the reconstruction. Starting at zero is what selects the minimum-norm least-squares solution.
For fixed , , so the numerator tends to . The assumption is the Picard criterionwith an arbitrary additional component in . The squared reconstruction error isEach term tends to zero and is bounded by a summable term from the Picard criterion. The dominated convergence theorem therefore proves , where is the Moore–Penrose inverse of an operator.
For each finite , the regularization of an inverse problem is stable. Set . The geometric series and implyConsequently the Landweber noise amplification bound in this general step-size convention is . If additionally , the sharper numerator bound gives .
To see the regularization parameter directly, put . Modes with have numerator approximately , so their inverse coefficient is approximately rather than . Each fixed nonzero mode is eventually restored as . ThusThe finite iterates suppress unstable small singular values; infinitely many iterations remove this suppression. For noisy data , the noise-bias decomposition for linear regularization givesChoosing and proves noisy-data convergence. The reciprocal iteration index is a regularization parameter, and early stopping controls noise amplification.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 341 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For algebraic stability of a Runge-Kutta method, the weights must be nonnegative andmust be a positive semidefinite matrix. Here all weights are positive, but direct calculation givesIn particular ; equivalently, its eigenvalues are . Therefore the method is not algebraically stable. This does not contradict its A-stability: algebraic stability is a stronger condition designed to guarantee nonlinear B-stability through the Runge-Kutta contractivity identity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 341 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let be the tridiagonal matrix with diagonal two and adjacent entries minus one, incorporating zero Dirichlet boundary conditions. The actual PDF scheme isAn orthonormal basis of eigenvectors of has components , and substitution givesThey form an orthonormal basis by the spectral theorem for real symmetric matrices. Hence is invertible for every , and the amplification eigenvalues are . For the discrete L2 norm ,This bound has constant one independent of time step and mesh, which is the required stability of a numerical method. Therefore every positive Courant number is stable. If a forcing or local-defect sequence is added, the discrete variation-of-constants formula gives a bound by the initial norm plus the sum of those perturbation norms; this also justifies the global error conclusion in part (a).
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 344 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The nematic order parameter is a symmetric second-rank tensor and a traceless second-rank tensor describing orientational anisotropy. For molecular unit axes , is proportional to . It vanishes in an isotropic phase and is unchanged by head-tail reversal , unlike a polar order parameter. For uniaxial nematic order, the nematic director is thus an unoriented axis.
One convention for the Landau-de Gennes free energy through fourth order, respecting rotational symmetry, isFor a traceless second-rank tensor in three dimensions, the Cayley-Hamilton theorem gives , so there is only one independent quartic rotational invariant of a symmetric traceless tensor. The only possible linear scalar is ; without an external anisotropy no linear term survives.
The cubic rotational invariant of a symmetric traceless tensor distinguishes prolate and oblate forms of uniaxial nematic order. Head-tail reversal leaves unchanged and does not impose . Thus a cubic term is allowed in three dimensions and generically produces a first-order phase transition, rather than a symmetry-enforced continuous onset. In two dimensions a symmetric traceless second-rank tensor has eigenvalues , hence : the cubic invariant vanishes identically in two dimensions. This is a statement about the Landau free energy; fluctuations in two dimensions require a separate treatment.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 344 3 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For the stated uniaxial nematic order normalization, the nematic director is an eigenvector of with eigenvalue , and the two perpendicular eigenvalues are . ThereforeUsing precisely the Landau-de Gennes free energy convention in the preceding solution givesIf the quartic invariant were instead normalized as , its coefficient would be ; the physical predictions are unchanged after redefining .
For a nonzero global minimizer of the free energy, compare opposite values of the scalar nematic order parameter:The lower one has , soThe claim concerns the stable ordered phase, not every metastable stationary point. For the two signs are degenerate. For , equality of the ordered and isotropic free energies, together with stationarity, gives and . The finite jump exhibits the first-order phase transition driven by the cubic invariant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 345 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the shallow-water approximation, a hydrostatic vertically mixed layer, a deep motionless ambient, and no ambient fluid entrainment. Particle loss changes reduced gravity but changes total layer volume only at the discarded dilute-particle order. Likewise thermal expansion changes the equation of state while the leading Boussinesq approximation retains volume conservation. DefineDepth integration of mass conservation, horizontal momentum balance, particle transport, and the heating law givesHere the integrated excess hydrostatic pressure is . There is no particle source from the bed. Bed drag and the particle contribution to inertia are neglected at this order. The equivalent variable-buoyancy shallow water equations areThe term is necessary when heating or particle loss makes the reduced gravity vary horizontally.
For , the quasilinear system hasIts characteristic polynomial factors asThus the characteristic curves have slopesOn the two repeated contact characteristic curves, the particle and heating laws are and . Writing and , the gravity-wave compatibility relations areFor and , gravity-wave right eigenvectors can be taken as . The contact eigenspace has dimension two: and , with independent . Therefore has a full set of real eigenvectors.
The system is hyperbolic throughout strict static stability, but not strictly hyperbolic because the contact speed is repeated. At the eigenvalues coalesce and this diagonalizability is lost; when the gravity-wave speeds become complex, reflecting the loss of a statically stable lower layer.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 32E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write . When the system gives and . Choosingmakes positive definite and radially unbounded, while its orbital derivative isThe set is . A trajectory remaining there must also have , so its largest invariant subset is the origin. The LaSalle invariance principle therefore proves that the origin is globally asymptotically stable. In the phase plane, on and on ; every nonstationary trajectory crosses the nested level curves of inward and tends to the origin.
At an equilibrium point, andHence the origin always exists, while exist for . At the Jacobian matrix isA stationary bifurcation occurs when a real eigenvalue passes through zero, hence onA Hopf bifurcation requires zero trace and positive determinant. At the origin this givesand on either nonzero branch it givesThus the Hopf locus consists of the negative -axis and the ray in the first quadrant; the stationary locus is the -axis.
Now set , write , and append . At the extended centre manifold for a parameter is tangent to the -plane, so put . Its centre-manifold invariance equation isUnder the ordering , solving through cubic order givesThis is the pitchfork bifurcation normal form: is stable for and unstable for , while the two stable branches emerge for . The bifurcation is therefore a supercritical pitchfork bifurcation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 8B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The kinetic energy of the three unit masses is . Expanding the potential givesThus the small-oscillation mass and stiffness matrices arewhere is the all-ones matrix.
The vector is an eigenvector of the stiffness matrix with eigenvalue . Every vector orthogonal to it has coordinate sum zero and is an eigenvector with eigenvalue . Since , the generalized eigenvalue problem for small oscillations gives equal to these eigenvalues. One orthonormal choice of normal modes isThe last two may be replaced by any orthonormal basis of the sum-zero plane because the frequency is degenerate. Hence the normal frequencies are .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 33D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The angular momentum commutation relations implyThus has the same total-spin eigenvalue and magnetic quantum number . Its squared norm follows fromChoosing the conventional positive phases gives the spin ladder operator formula
The incident state is the spin coherent state obtained by rotating through about the axis. Its amplitudes in the basis areup to an irrelevant phase convention. The Born rule therefore gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 35A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Expanding the trace in the spin basis givesso the transfer matrix for the one-dimensional Ising model reproduces the partition function.
In the ordered basis ,Its eigenvalues areSince at every positive temperature, the thermodynamic limit gives the Helmholtz free energy per spinThis is an analytic function of and for , so the one-dimensional short-range Ising model has no finite-temperature phase transition.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 1 7B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
ChooseThe Leibniz formula for determinants shows that its leading term is , as required. A scalar is an eigenvalue exactly when has a nonzero kernel, equivalently when it is singular, soThe fundamental theorem of algebra gives a complex root of the degree- polynomial , so every nonempty complex square matrix has at least one complex eigenvalue.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 2 2C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Substituting the proposed form into the linear system of ordinary differential equations givesIf is not an eigenvalue of , the matrix is invertible, soprovides the required particular solution.
In the stated two-dimensional case,and therefore . The eigenvalues of are , with corresponding eigenvectors and . Adding the general solution of the homogeneous system yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 2 8C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A critical point of a dynamical system satisfies and , so the critical points areThe Jacobian matrix of the vector field isAt the origin its eigenvalues are . Moreover, has a strict local minimum there, so the origin is a stable center of a planar dynamical system. At either other critical point,has eigenvalues , so both points are unstable saddle points. Their common value identifies the special separatrices shown below.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 3 2D Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Every eigenvalue of an orthogonal matrix has modulus one. A real three-by-three matrix has at least one real eigenvalue, and nonreal eigenvalues occur in a complex conjugate pair. If has such a pair , their product is one, so the remaining eigenvalue is . If all three eigenvalues are real, each is and their product is one; an odd number of three signs with product one must include . Hence every element of has an eigenvector of eigenvalue one and represents a rotation in three dimensions about its span.
It is false that every element of is either a rotation or a plane reflection. For example,is an improper orthogonal transformation combining a rotation with a reflection. Its eigenvalues are and , whereas a plane reflection has eigenvalues and a rotation has determinant one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ib Paper 4 17B c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For and , the linear ordinary differential equation is , whose general solution isBy the stated parity reduction, an even eigenfunction has the form . The conditions have a nonzero solution exactly whenthat is,An odd eigenfunction has the form , and the corresponding determinant givesThus is an eigenvalue precisely under one of the two stated conditions.
The fourth-order eigenvalue condition and its roots
. Details. For the minus sign, division by away from gives . On , for , while on their signs differ, so there is no root. For the plus sign the equation isThere is no root in . On , the function increases strictly from to , so it has exactly one root by the intermediate value theorem. Numerically,Hence the combined condition has exactly one solution in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ib Paper 4 1F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
An eigenvalue of a matrix is a scalar for which for some nonzero eigenvector . Its corresponding eigenspace is
Write . The displayed matrix is the outer product , soIts column space is contained in and is nonzero because . Hence is a rank-one matrix.
The vector is an eigenvector with eigenvalue , and every vector in the orthogonal complement has eigenvalue . ThusSince is a direct sum of these eigenspaces, has an eigenbasis and is therefore a diagonalizable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 102 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A simple Lie algebra is a nonabelian Lie algebra whose only ideals of a Lie algebra are and the whole algebra.
Use the standard basis of the sl2 Lie algebra, withLet be an ideal and choose . Since is invariant under the Adjoint representation, it is invariant under the linear operator . The three basis vectors are eigenvectors of with distinct eigenvalues . Applying the corresponding polynomial spectral projections to shows that contains at least one nonzero multiple of , , or .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 303 3 iii Solution 2026-10-03
The Gaussian fixed point isLinearizing there gives , so the mass term is relevant with eigenvalue . The coupling has no linear term and is classically marginal, ; for positive the term makes it marginally relevant in the infrared convention of the question. Since the inverse thermal eigenvalue is the correlation-length critical exponent,

