Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 105 4 b ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The all-time conclusion in the original PDF is false. The expanding-flow transformation of a wave equation makes both the correct forward statement and a counterexample transparent. PutFor , the expanded operator from part (i) is . In the new variables and , henceThus it is the ordinary wave equation on the half-plane . By the D'Alembert formula, any solution has the formAt , differentiating the zero displacement with respect to and using the zero velocity gives, for ,Subtracting times the first equation from the second gives , and then . Thus on and on . If and , both arguments remain in those intervals. Consequently the valid forward result isFor negative time the arguments need not stay in the initial intervals. Take and , where . Thenis a global solution, has the prescribed zero initial displacement and velocity on , but . This directly disproves the assertion for .
The connection with part (i) is directional finite propagation speed. At a future point in the strip, the two characteristics traced back to meet it at and , both in . For negative time these intersections can lie outside that interval. The lines are characteristic barriers for this forward domain of dependence, not barriers in both time directions.