Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 341 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Arrange the interior values into a vector . Represent the five-point Dirichlet Laplacian as a Kronecker sum , where is the tridiagonal matrix with diagonal and adjacent entries one. This Kronecker sum is real symmetric; the real sampled potential has a real diagonal matrix . ThusThe generator is a skew-Hermitian matrix. ConsequentlyThe matrix exponential is a unitary matrix, either by differentiating its product with its adjoint or by unitary diagonalization of a normal matrix. For the two-dimensional discrete L2 norm , this givesApplying the same equation to a difference proves stability of a numerical method with a mesh-independent constant one. This is norm conservation of a semidiscrete Schrödinger equation. It concerns continuous time after spatial discretization; an arbitrary subsequent time integrator need not preserve this stability.
The printed coordinates do not discretize the stated square. For with interior points in each direction, use , , , and sample there. The printed and unshifted coordinates instead describe a grid on . The matrix proof is valid for either geometry with its corresponding boundary values, so this transcription-independent statement flaw does not alter the stability conclusion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 1 41C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
At an interior grid point, the five-point finite difference method givesLetwhere the zero Dirichlet boundary values are already incorporated. Stack the unknowns with the index varying fastest. Using the Kronecker product, defineThen the semidiscrete equation isMoreover,Thus the directional matrices commute, as in the five-point Dirichlet Laplacian as a Kronecker sum.