Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 348 4 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Define ; the printed quotient is undefined at the origin, but this continuous extension changes no transport cost because . In polar coordinates, the two probability density functions giveBoth angular distributions are uniform, with independence of angle and radius. The proposed transport map preserves the angle and sends to . Thereforeand preservation of the angle proves . As a local check using the Jacobian determinant, its radial and tangential derivatives for are and , respectively, so and .
Now use the convex functionIt is convex because the Euclidean norm is convex and is increasing and convex on . It is differentiable, including at zero, andIts graph transport plan lies in the graph of , so the Knott–Smith optimality criterion proves quadratic optimality. Since that plan is induced by a map, part 1(b) proves optimality for the Monge optimal transport problem as well. The minimum provides a useful independent check:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 41E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For a fixed shift that is not an eigenvalue, inverse iteration is the power method applied to . Before normalization, the th vector is proportional toIf , factor out the first coefficient:Every ratio in parentheses lies strictly between zero and one. The bracket therefore tends to , and normalization in the Euclidean norm givesThis proves the stated convergence to or and exhibits the convergence of fixed-shift inverse iteration rate.
- If , the direction approaches , but , so consecutive iterates alternate signs.
- If , the iterates approach one fixed sign of because .
- At the midpoint, the two dominant inverse eigenvalues have equal modulus and opposite signs. Generic iterates alternate between the two normalized combinations proportional to and .
Finally, if , the closest eigenvalue is and its inverse eigenvalue is negative. Thus the direction approaches the line spanned by , while normalized vectors alternate between the two signs. These cases are the sign behavior of fixed-shift inverse iteration.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 130 1 Solution 2026-09-28
Fix a number of colors. For a two-point set whose points are distance apart, take the vertices of a regular simplex with vertices and side length . The pigeonhole principle gives two vertices of one color, and they form the required congruent copy. Thus every two-point set, equivalently every line segment, is a Euclidean Ramsey set.
For an equilateral triangle of side length , take a regular simplex with vertices and side length . The pigeonhole principle gives three vertices of one color, and every three vertices of a regular simplex form an equilateral triangle. Hence every equilateral triangle is Euclidean Ramsey.
To prove the product theorem for Euclidean Ramsey sets, let be a finite Ramsey witness for under colors. There are at most possible color patterns on . Choose a finite Ramsey witness for under that many colors. Given a -coloring of , color each by the complete patternThere is a copy on which this pattern is constant. The common pattern on contains a monochromatic copy . Every point of then has the same original color, and the orthogonal product is congruent to .
A rectangle is the Cartesian product of two line segments, so it is Euclidean Ramsey. Three suitable vertices of a rectangle form a right triangle; any subset of a monochromatic set is monochromatic. Thus every right triangle is Euclidean Ramsey.
It remains to show that the collinear set behaves differently. In every , use the finite coloringA congruent copy has the form with for the Euclidean norm. The parallelogram law givesPut , , and . The errors introduced by the three floor functions show thatIf all three points had one color, the integer in the middle would be divisible by ten, which is impossible. This proves the three-term unit arithmetic progression is not Euclidean Ramsey assertion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 339 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
The subgradient method chooses and a step size , then setsAssume, as the question's use of requires, that a minimizer exists, and write . Since every subgradient here has Euclidean norm at most , the standard best-iterate estimate isTaking a suitable constant step when the target accuracy is known, or a standard diminishing sequence, gives error at most initerations, so the requested exponent is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 341 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
Differentiate the squared Euclidean norm and use the skew-symmetric matrix identity :Thus is constant, and continuity of the nonnegative square root gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 34D Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-10-14
Let the Bravais lattice have primitive vectors , and putThe reciprocal lattice has the basisThe scalar triple product and cross product identities giveConsequently every satisfies for every lattice point , and conversely these three conditions force the coefficients of in the reciprocal basis to be integers. This proves that the displayed vectors generate .
In the Born approximation, suppose that the crystal potential is the sum of translates of one atomic potential over the finite set of lattice sites. Its Fourier transform at the momentum transfer factors asThus the single-atom scattering amplitude is multiplied by the crystal lattice structure factor . Writingseparates the sum into three finite geometric series. For this givesWhen the are large, a factor has a sharp maximum when . All three factors are therefore simultaneously large precisely when . These are the reciprocal-lattice peaks of a finite crystal.
For the stated body-centered cubic lattice basis,the reciprocal-basis formula givesEquivalently,The shortest nonzero reciprocal vectors have squared Euclidean norm , so
In elastic scattering, . If and is the angle between and , Euclidean geometry givesThe first possible diffraction peak therefore occurs atas , by the small-angle approximation. This is the elastic Bragg scattering condition for the shortest reciprocal-lattice vector.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 4 40C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For a nonzero real vector , the Rayleigh quotient of the matrix isThe Rayleigh quotient iteration starts from a unit vector . Given , compute the shiftsolve the linear systemand normalize in the Euclidean norm:The next eigenvalue estimate is . The process stops when the eigenpair residual is sufficiently small.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 218 4 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For and , a linear support vector machine predictsOne penalized formulation minimizes empirical hinge loss plus a squared Euclidean norm penalty:Conventions often leave the intercept unpenalized, replacing by ; this does not change the role of the two terms.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 223 2 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
By optimality and part a,Since the Euclidean norm is at most the norm,uniformly over all replacements of at most observations. The distance from the original finite estimate is therefore uniformly bounded, proving
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 331 3 i Solution 2026-09-28
A matrix is non-normal when it does not commute with its adjoint matrix:Nonorthogonal decaying eigenmodes can interfere constructively and produce transient growth. For example,has two negative eigenvalues but is non-normal. Starting from givesAt , its squared Euclidean norm is . The energy grows transiently even though both eigenmodes eventually decay.
Suppose . For eigenvectors with distinct real eigenvalues, symmetry givesThus , and the eigenvectors are orthogonal. Divide each by its nonzero Euclidean norm to obtain an orthonormal basis. The matrix having these normalized columns satisfies , so it is an orthogonal matrix and . As in part (a),This proves the needed orthogonal diagonalization from symmetry and distinct eigenvalues, without invoking an unproved spectral theorem.
is not an orthogonal matrix. Its first column has squared Euclidean normso . The reason this is compatible with ii is that is not an orthonormal basis for the given inner product. Its Gram matrix isThe correct condition on this matrix representation of a linear map iswhich follows either by direct multiplication or by the inner product preservation just proved. This is the rule for an orthogonal transformation in a nonorthonormal basis.
For , the defining identity givesThus an orthogonal transformation preserves the Euclidean norm and sends the unit sphere to itself. Restricting the given group action to this invariant set preserves both action axioms.
If , the first column of is . The other columns are unit vectors perpendicular to it, so the first row is also . Hence with and . Conversely, every such matrix lies in and fixes . Since every element of the special orthogonal group in two dimensions has the planar rotation matrix form, the stabilizer subgroup isGeometrically these are exactly the rotations in three dimensions about the first coordinate axis.
The partial derivatives of the parametrization areTheir cross product isTaking its euclidean norm gives the surface area elementThe two poles and duplicated seam have zero surface area, so integrating over the stated parameter domain counts the surface area once. With the change of variables and the supplied definite integral,Here because .
The scalar product, also called the dot product, and the vector product, also called the cross product, areFor nonzero vectors, let be their angle. Their Euclidean norms satisfyThe cross product is orthogonal to both vectors, with its orientation determined by the right-hand rule. If either vector is zero, both products vanish, although the angle is undefined.
A real square matrix is an orthogonal matrix whenHere is the transpose and the identity matrix; equivalently, its columns form an orthonormal basis. If this holds, the squared Euclidean norm obeysso the linear transformation preserves length.
Conversely, suppose for every vector . Put , a symmetric matrix. Then for every vector. Taking , the standard basis vectors, gives . Taking for gives . Thus , proving that the linear transformation preserves length if and only if is an orthogonal matrix.
Choose the first orthonormal basis vector to be . If is not parallel to , choose along ; otherwise choose any unit vector orthogonal to . Complete to an orthonormal basis with . The matrix with rows is an orthogonal matrix, and expressing the three unit vectors in this basis givesThe last two components of have polar coordinates of the displayed form; we may choose . If they vanish, is arbitrary.
An orthogonal transformation preserves dot products. Taking dot products with , and then using the unit Euclidean norms, givesThe remaining dot product givesAn orthogonal matrix has determinant , so it preserves the absolute scalar triple product. In the new coordinates this scalar triple product is . ConsequentlyTaking the nonnegative square root provesNo division by or was used, so the proof includes parallel vectors. Equivalently, the expression under the square root is the Gram determinant of the three unit vectors.
An infinitesimal parameter rectangle becomes a parallelogram with edges and . Its area is the Euclidean norm of their cross product, giving the surface area elementThus, for a regular parametrization covering the surface once except possibly on sets of area zero,For several patches, add their surface integrals while avoiding overlap; repeated coverage would otherwise count area with multiplicity.
At a regular point of the parametrized surface, the partial derivatives and are linearly independent tangent vectors. Their cross product gives a nonzero normal vector:Dividing by its Euclidean norm gives a unit normal; changing the sign chooses the opposite orientation. If the cross product vanishes, this parametrization is singular there and cannot determine a normal vector by this formula.
The partial derivatives of this parametrized surface areTheir cross product isThe mixed terms cancel in its squared Euclidean norm:Since , the surface area element is . There is no repeated coverage: recovers , and then recovers . Therefore the surface area is