Bessel function of the second kind Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
For noninteger order, ; the integer-order function is defined by a limit. It gives a second independent solution of the Bessel differential equation. At order zero, near positive zero and at large positive argument, where is the Euler--Mascheroni constant.
Harmonic divisor sum 2026-10-06
Write and . The weighted Dirichlet hyperbola method givesIndeed, use and . The latter follows by comparing each summand with the integral on its unit interval: the derivative of has an integrable tail. Since , substitution yields the expansion. Here is the harmonic number and the Euler--Mascheroni constant.
Harmonic number Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 124 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Put , where is the Euler--Mascheroni constant, and let . The Buchstab function equation becomesThe given Gamma function bound implies . Indeed,so .
Suppose first that throughout an interval , with . The delay differential equation and integration successively on , , and so on propagate nonnegativity to the entire tail . In particular, is nonnegative and nondecreasing for . Its limit is zero, so it is identically zero there. Thus on that tail.
The delay differential equation then propagates this equality backwards: if for , then for . Repeating finitely many times would give on , contradicting there. Hence every interval contains a point where .
If instead on , the same propagation makes nonpositive and nonincreasing on the tail. Its limit zero again forces it to vanish, giving the same contradiction. Thus every such interval also contains a point where . The oscillation of the Buchstab function is therefore strict on every unit interval:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 336 3 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
First remove the small damping term by writingThe transformed linear ordinary differential equation isThe leading frequency is . Its WKB approximation has amplitude and phase . The initial conditions selectThis leading expression has and . Its WKB approximation for a slowly varying oscillator requires , so it fails around .
To resolve the Bessel transition for an exponentially decaying oscillator, shift to , put and rescale . The exact transformed equation isFor fixed its leading form is . The substitution turns it into the order-zero Bessel differential equation, so . In the overlap , matching the large-argument Bessel functions to gives, with ,Here and are the Bessel function of the first kind and Bessel function of the second kind; the symbol in this question is unrelated to the leading inner function in the preceding question.
At late times , the small-argument expansions givewhere is the Euler--Mascheroni constant. The solution becomes asymptotically linear rather than maintaining the exponentially growing WKB envelope. Its leading late-time slope is . These are leading asymptotic coefficients as : near a zero of , higher-order phase corrections determine the small actual slope. The formula is not an absolute-error estimate uniform to arbitrarily late times. The exact late slope of an exponentially damped oscillator, obtained from a Kummer function and a Wronskian, provides a separate check even near those exceptional phases.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 336 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
At fixed , the leading equation is . Its solution compatible with the eventual decaying far field and the boundary value at one is . This decay implies at distances . Balancing radial derivatives against the linear screening term identifiesThe distant region is governed by the modified Helmholtz equation; its decaying homogeneous profile is .
For a matched asymptotic expansion, write the fixed- approximation as , allowing logarithms of in the coefficients. Successive equations areThe boundary condition imposes and . Before matching, their integrated forms can be writtenIn particular a pure power series with parameter-independent coefficients will be insufficient: the logarithmic overlap creates a switchback term.
In the distant region set . The scaled equation is , soDecay and leading matching give . The radial modified Helmholtz equation gives the supplied particular integral in terms of the exponential integral:As , the small-argument expansion of the exponential integral yieldswhere is the Euler--Mascheroni constant. Substitute to compare the two expansions in :The constant at order fixes . Its coefficient then fixes , and the constant at order fixes . HenceThe required inner expansion at fixed isAt fixed positive , the outer expansion isBoth display every term through the requested order, including the switchback term in the fixed- region.
To form an additive composite expansion, subtract the common overlap from the sum of the inner and outer expressions. Their retained common part isThus one composite is . The last term can be screened by multiplying it by without changing either retained expansion. This gives a useful exponentially decaying version:Its boundary value is . If exact satisfaction of the boundary value is desired, use insteadThe small-argument expansion of the exponential integral shows that this normalized composite has the same two retained expansions; it equals one at and tends to zero at infinity.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 1 7E Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Taking reciprocals in the finite product defining the gamma function givesLet . Sinceand , where is the Euler--Mascheroni constant, passage to the limit gives the Weierstrass product for the reciprocal gamma function
For real , termwise differentiation gives the trigamma functionThus is strictly increasing on the positive real axis. At the two positive integers needed here, telescoping givesThe intermediate value theorem supplies a zero in , and strict increase makes it unique. This is the positive zero of the digamma function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 336 1 a Solution 2026-09-28
Factor out the elementary exponential and writeUse a matched asymptotic expansion with . In the outer part,The given identity for the Euler--Mascheroni constant, integrated by parts, impliesHenceapart from pure higher matching powers in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 150 1 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The Dirichlet hyperbola method counts each factorization once and gives, with ,Using and the harmonic number estimate , where is the Euler--Mascheroni constant, we obtainThus one may take .
Rosser–Schoenfeld totient bound 2026-10-07
For , this explicit lower bound on the Euler totient function implies as . Here is the Euler--Mascheroni constant. The prime-product formula also gives whenever , making the bound useful for certified quantum period finding. The relevant statement is a lower bound: the claimed universal upper estimate would fail at primes. Equations (3.41)–(3.42) of Theorem 15 provide the primary bound: denisevellachemla.eu/Rosser-Schoenfeld-1962.pdf .
Small-argument expansion of the exponential integral Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
As , the exponential integral haswhere is the Euler--Mascheroni constant. Integrating the Taylor series of gives every nonconstant coefficient; the constant follows from the limiting definition of . A logarithm of a stretched variable can create a switchback term in a matched asymptotic expansion.