Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 1 31E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The stationary equations areThusalways exist, and for there are alsoThe Jacobian matrix isAt its eigenvalues are , so it is a saddle for , a stable node for , and nonhyperbolic at . At they are , so it is a saddle for , an unstable node for , and nonhyperbolic at .
At , for , the characteristic polynomial isThe equilibria are stable for and unstable for ; they are foci when and nodes when , with a repeated-eigenvalue transition at equality. For the eigenvalues are purely imaginary. In that case the system is Hamiltonian with first integralbecause and . The Hessian of is positive definite at and negative definite at , so nearby regular level sets are closed curves. Hence both nonhyperbolic equilibria are genuine nonlinear centers.
Finally,For this has a strict constant sign throughout the simply connected plane, so the Bendixson-Dulac criterion proves that there are no periodic orbits. These results comprise the phase portrait of x dot equals two x times y minus a.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 1 32A a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Hamilton's equations areA time-independent function is a first integral when it is constant along every Hamiltonian trajectory. Sincethis is equivalent to .
The -dimensional Hamiltonian system is integrable when it possesses first integrals that are functionally independent on a dense open set and in mutual involution:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 2 8C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Along a trajectory, the chain rule givesThus is a first integral, and every trajectory lies on one of its level sets.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ib Paper 2 15A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The two Euler-Lagrange equations areDifferentiating along an extremal and using these equations gives . Hence the Beltrami identity makes constant when has no explicit dependence on . If omits or , that variable is a cyclic coordinate and the corresponding momentum or is an additional first integral; continuous symmetries give the analogous conserved quantities through Noether's theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 336 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The linear dispersion relation for a mode is . The proposed modes share phase velocity , so . A quadratic wave interaction generates the second harmonic and the difference harmonic. With only two positive wavenumbers, phase matching for a quadratic wave interaction requires . Equating their phase velocities givesand thereforeThis is a two-to-one resonance of dispersive waves. Its amplitude changes accumulate on . Choose the slow time ; this harmless constant rescaling makes the later amplitude formulas simple. With , the leading real field is .
For the fundamental, the order- cross derivative in is , while the fundamental coefficient in is . For the second harmonic the corresponding terms are and . The solvability condition in the method of multiple scales removes the resonant forcing and givesThe nonresonant third and fourth harmonics enter the correction. They do not change these leading amplitude equations.
Write , and . Taking real and imaginary parts gives the explosive two-to-one amplitude system in polar form:The polar phases are used where their corresponding amplitudes are nonzero. These equations implyFor the second identity, differentiate using : the terms proportional to cancel. Thereforeare first integrals, and in particular
For constant phases with , these real equations reduce to and . The initial data give , so the Riccati equation for is . Integrating and using givesThe tangent and secant function have a pole at , corresponding to . Both modes grow through their locked resonant interaction. This is formal finite-time blowup of the reduced amplitude equations; the weakly nonlinear expansion loses validity as the amplitudes become large, so it cannot establish a singularity of the full partial differential equation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 3 31E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For , take the Logarithmic first integral of the Lotka-Volterra equationsAlong a trajectory,Thus is a first integral. The scalar function is nonnegative for , vanishes only at , and tends to infinity as or . Moreover,is positive definite, so is strictly convex. It follows that is its unique critical point and every level set is a compact smooth simple closed curve in the positive quadrant. The vector field is nonzero on such a level curve, so uniqueness of solutions makes each connected level curve one periodic orbit. The zero level consists of the fixed point . Hence every trajectory in is either periodic or the fixed point .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 1 33C b iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Given a solution , construct and hence the smooth matrices and . Let solve the linear ordinary differential equationBecause is skew-symmetric,so is an orthogonal matrix and is invertible. Moreover,It follows thatThus the Lax pair flow is an Isospectral Lax equation: every is similar to and has the same eigenvalues and characteristic polynomial.
Every symmetric function of these constant eigenvalues is a first integral. In particular, the trace invariants of a Lax equationare constant because the cyclic property of the trace givesFor example,is an explicit first integral of equation .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 1 33D c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
When is independent of and ,PutThe zero-curvature equation becomesSincewe obtain the Isospectral Lax equationTherefore, for every positive integer , the cyclic property of the matrix trace givesThese are the trace invariants of a Lax equation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ia Paper 2 8B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The only positive equilibrium solves and , hence isAway from a nullcline,This is separable:Integration gives the first integralThus one convenient conserved quantity is
Its gradient isso is its only stationary point in the positive quadrant. Its Hessian matrix iswhich is positive definite everywhere. Hence is a strict, indeed global, minimum.
The nearby level curves of are closed curves surrounding this minimum. Since is constant along every trajectory, a solution starting on a sufficiently small nearby level set cannot leave the region bounded by a slightly larger level set. This proves Lyapunov stability of the equilibrium: solutions initially close to remain close for all time.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 207 3 g Solution 2026-09-28
Dividing the equation by the equation givesThereforeis a first integral. Define the basic reproduction number by . At the removal peak, , and henceand, using ,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ib Paper 3 12E Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Write , , , and let be the first fundamental form. Sincedifferentiating and , or equivalently taking the two inner products of the second formula with , givesThe matrix is invertible because is a regular embedded surface parametrization. Consequently the two geodesic equations hold exactly when is orthogonal to both tangent vectors and , which says precisely that is a normal vector. This is the ambient acceleration criterion for a surface geodesic.
Because is tangent and is normal,Thus an affinely parametrized geodesic has constant speed, as recorded by constant speed of an affinely parametrized geodesic.
For a surface of revolution, use profile arc length and azimuth . Its Riemannian metric isThe azimuth is an ignorable coordinate, so the corresponding geodesic equation has the first integralIf and is the oriented angle with the parallel, then the component of velocity along the parallel isSince is constant,This is the Clairaut first integral for a surface of revolution.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 313 1 b Solution 2026-09-28
The potential factorizes asIt is even and nonnegative, with three degenerate vacua at . Its two intervening maxima occur at and have height .
A finite-energy static solution in one dimension satisfiesMultiplication by and use of the vacuum boundary conditions gives the first integralAny path from a negative vacuum to a positive vacuum must pass through the intermediate vacuum . There both and vanish. The Picard-Lindelof theorem then forces a solution reaching at finite to remain there. Equivalently, the first-order orbit approaches only as . This intermediate-vacuum obstruction to a kink means that a single kink cannot connect to ; it splits into two elementary kinks at infinite separation.