Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 66 4 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Let and , where all three matrices are symmetric. Submultiplicativity and the triangle inequality giveand similarly the other commutator term is bounded by . Apply part (a) also to in the integral from part (b). The outer factor one-half cancels these twos, leavingThe exponential divided difference evaluates this integral. Thuswhen , andwhen they coincide. The second expression is both the direct equal-exponent integral and the continuous limit of the first. The Rayleigh-Ritz variational principle also gives , although the integral computation does not require a strict inequality. These are valid coarse norm bounds; the cancellation between the two products can make the actual small-step error substantially smaller.