Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 1 11D i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Fix and put , . Then . The bounded monotone sequence theorem gives a limit . If , it lies in the domain, where continuity allows passage to the limit in the recurrence: . That is a fixed point, contrary to . Hence . Continuity is used at a possible positive limiting point, not at the excluded endpoint zero.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 2 2A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
A constant orbit is a fixed point of . Solving gives , henceFor fixed point stability for an iteration, perturb a fixed point by . Its local evolution is , where . At zero, , so perturbations contract: zero is locally asymptotically stable. For example, if , then ; this gives an invariant neighborhood and geometric convergence to zero.
At one, , so perturbations expand: one is unstable. More explicitly, putting gives , whose magnitude increases while a nonzero perturbation remains sufficiently small. The derivative test concerns local stability; it does not assert attraction from every real initial value.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ib Paper 4 12F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
The contraction mapping theorem states that a map of a nonempty complete metric space into itself, satisfying for some , has a unique fixed point. Iteration from any point converges to it; for example .
Assume is nonempty. Its boundedness makes finite. Symmetry, positivity and separation follow pointwise from , and taking the supremum of proves the triangle inequality. Hence is a uniform metric.
If is a Cauchy sequence in this uniform metric, each converges by completeness of ; denote its limit by . Given , choose so that for . Letting gives for all , so uniformly. To prove continuity, fix and useChoose so the outside terms are small, then use continuity of for the middle term. Thus , proving completeness of the continuous-map space in the uniform metric.
The contraction subspace is not necessarily complete. On , , , are contraction mappings and converge to the identity by uniform convergence. Their only possible uniform limit is not a contraction, so this Cauchy sequence has no limit in .
Nevertheless the fixed point assignment is continuous. Fix with contraction constant , and put , . ThenConsequently . This proves continuity of the fixed-point assignment at without requiring one contraction constant valid for every .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 6 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Fix an arbitrary finite and use the Banach space of bounded continuous functions with the supremum norm. Set . For in this space, the velocity integralis bounded by . If , the integrands converge pointwise and are bounded by the integrable function . The dominated convergence theorem proves continuity. Thus the rank-one gain on bounded continuous functions, , is continuous and bounded. The same theorem applied to the time integral shows that maps this space into itself, including at .
Time ordering gives the factorial bound for a Volterra iterate:Consequently the Volterra series for the linear Boltzmann equationconverges uniformly on the whole finite time slab, so its sum is continuous and bounded and satisfies the fixed point equation. Tracking the damping factors gives the sharper pointwise bound . This proves existence for every finite , without requiring or uniform continuity of . Boundedness on finite slabs does not assert a uniform bound over infinite time.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 6 2 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Let . The damped free-transport evolution preserves nonnegativity, and a nonnegative kernel makes preserve it as well. Every term in is therefore nonnegative. By linearity, the difference solves the fixed point equation with initial value . The assumed uniqueness identifies it with this nonnegative sum on every finite interval. Hence the order preservation for the linear Boltzmann equation givesContinuity upgrades pointwise limits in the series to the stated continuous solution; no pointwise differentiability or minimum principle is needed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ib Paper 4 3F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
A contraction mapping on a metric space satisfies for all , with one constant . The contraction mapping theorem says that on a nonempty complete metric space such a map has a unique fixed point; successive iterates from any starting point converge to it. More precisely, if , then .
The Volterra integration operator maps continuous functions to continuous functions. In the uniform norm,This constant cannot be decreased: for and , , and both uniform norms are one. Hence is not a contraction.
Changing the order of integration over the triangular region givesThus is a contraction, with sharp constant . This is an example of an iterated contraction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 16 4 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the Weinstein neighborhood theorem: a neighborhood of a compact Lagrangian submanifold is symplectomorphic to a neighborhood of the zero section of its cotangent bundle, with the identification equal to the identity on that submanifold. Take the canonical sign in this identification. We also use C1 openness of diffeomorphisms: on a compact manifold, all smooth self-maps sufficiently close in the topology to a fixed diffeomorphism are themselves diffeomorphisms.
In put . The diagonal is Lagrangian. For a symplectomorphism , its graph is also Lagrangian, because its pullback of is .
If is sufficiently -close to the identity, lies in the fixed Weinstein neighborhood of . Its image in is transverse to the cotangent fibers and is a section: the projection of that image to is -close to the identity, hence is a diffeomorphism on compact . Reparametrizing by this projection identifies the image with for a small differential one-form .
The preceding graph of a closed one-form is Lagrangian criterion gives . Since , the de Rham cohomology definition gives . Intersections with the zero section are precisely the critical points of ; under the neighborhood identification these are the intersections , hence the fixed points of .
On a nonempty compact manifold without boundary, has a maximum and a minimum. If it is nonconstant, these occur at distinct critical points. If it is constant, everywhere, so the whole graph is the diagonal and every point is fixed. For positive-dimensional , there are at least two distinct fixed points. This is the nearby exact Lagrangian intersection lemma applied to the diagonal. No connectedness assumption is needed.
The usual positive-dimensional convention is necessary for the assertion: if zero-dimensional symplectic manifolds are allowed, a single-point has and only one fixed point. That is a literal exception to the printed statement.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 59 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Validity and the complete angular equation. The Lagrange planetary equations here describe a planar, circular-planet, small-orbital eccentricity, weakly perturbed exterior mean-motion resonance. Require , , one isolated slowly varying resonant argument, perturbation times long compared with an orbital period, and no close planetary encounters. Other resonant harmonics and short-period terms must be negligible; coefficients may be frozen only across a narrow range of semi-major axis. Take , or in a reduced integer ratio. Exactly makes the longitude of periapsis undefined, so the displayed angular variables must then be replaced by nonsingular eccentricity vector components.
Neglecting the perturbation to the accumulated mean longitude gives ; this is an accumulated-phase approximation, not differentiation of a fictitious expression while discarding . With ,Differentiating, using and the supplied orbital element equations, gives the full result within this constant-coefficient model:An equivalent formula replaces the last two terms in brackets by . No derivatives of are included because they were specified as constants.
A full fixed point requires and . Hence or , with its corresponding detuned semi-major axis fixed byAt either point . The longitude of periapsis still precesses, so the fixed point refers to the reduced resonant dynamics.
Linear stability analysis and encounter geometry. Linearizing the full equation about a fixed point givesFor , is a center equilibrium and zero is a saddle equilibrium. For , is always a center equilibrium, while zero is a saddle equilibrium ifAt sufficiently small orbital eccentricity the full truncated equations instead admit a center at zero as well; equality is a degenerate case requiring higher-order analysis. Thus an unconditional instability claim at zero does not follow from the full equation. In the usual fixed-eccentricity weak-resonance regime the inequality holds and the stable libration center is for either order.
The physical explanation is resonance protection. At equal mean longitudes, the conjunction direction relative to periapsis obeys modulo . For , places conjunction near periapsis, where the exterior particle comes closest to the planet; places it near apoapsis. For , zero includes both apsidal conjunctions, one of them near periapsis, whereas places the two conjunction branches near quadrature. The protected arrangements give restoring kicks in the positive- leading-harmonic model. This geometric explanation is conditional on its non-crossing, small-orbital eccentricity approximation; it does not override the low- term retained in the full stability calculation.
Small resonant-argument librations. Define the nominal resonant semi-major axis and the displaced center byThis follows by expanding and taking . It gives the requested initial semi-major axis to first order in the precession-induced detuning; and .
For the pendulum approximation of a mean-motion resonance, also require fractional changes in small across a libration, and precession terms small compared with . In particular for makes the extra full-equation curvature negligible; for , small fractional eccentricity changes require . Freeze in the leading restoring coefficient and setThen obeys simple harmonic motion. Using , and integrating the remaining Lagrange planetary equations givesThe omitted apsidal modulation comes from higher perturbative orders and . All expressions are leading resonant approximations, valid while the omitted fractional changes remain small. The small-libration phase portrait iswith period . The semi-major axis half-width is and the orbital eccentricity half-width is .
Dividing the original and equations gives the exact invariant of their retained terms,Thus the – plot is a segment of this increasing curve traversed back and forth, not a closed ellipse. Locally its slope is .
Finite amplitude and the separatrix. Keep the same weak-resonance approximation but allow to be finite. The leading angular equation is , or . Multiplication by givesThis resonant pendulum energy is constant in the pendulum approximation of a mean-motion resonance. It is not an exact integral of the earlier full equation when and its restoring coefficient vary: the term alone prevents that conclusion in general.
For the phase portrait has closed libration curves around , withwhere is the complete elliptic integral of the first kind. The largest speed is and the leading semi-major axis half-width is . As , the energy approaches , the separatrix through the saddles at zero and ; the particle spends increasingly long intervals near those saddles. With ,At exactly , , the particle stays at the unstable fixed point in the ideal model. Nonstationary separatrix trajectories approach the saddle only in infinite time; above separatrix energy, the resonant argument circulates and resonance protection is lost. These distinctions matter when describing the limiting motion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 76 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose a fixed positive Landweber relaxation parameter and rearrange the normal equation for a linear inverse problem as the fixed point equationSuccessive substitution gives Landweber iterationSet and . Induction yields the closed polynomial-operator expressionFor the sum is empty, giving zero. The expression is well defined without an inverse of , which can have a kernel of a linear map and an unbounded inverse on its range. Each iterate lies in the closure of , so initialization at zero eliminates the arbitrary null-space component of a solution. The unrelaxed choice gives and the corresponding sum with ; it needs the convergence restriction in part (d).
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 1 11G c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
We argue by contradiction using the previous subsequence construction. If is not complete, choose a Cauchy sequence with no limit in . None of its can be zero: if , then , giving a limit in . The construction therefore produces pairwise distinct withLet . This subset is closed in . Indeed, if a point lay in its closure, there would be points of tending to . Their indices must be unbounded, because the distance from to any finite subset of is positive. Passing to increasing indices gives a convergent subsequence of the original Cauchy sequence. Part (a) would then make the whole sequence converge to , a contradiction.
Now define by . Distinctness makes this well-defined, and the displayed inequality makes it a contraction mapping with constant at most . It has no fixed point, contradicting the assumed property of closed subsets. ConsequentlyThis is the converse direction of contraction property of closed subsets characterizes completeness.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 3G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The contraction mapping theorem states that a contraction mapping of a nonempty complete metric space into itself has a unique fixed point . For any starting point , the iterates converge to , with the quantitative estimateCompleteness and the self-map condition are essential: the geometric estimate makes the iterates a Cauchy sequence, completeness supplies their limit in , and continuity of the contraction mapping makes that limit a fixed point. If two fixed points existed, their distance would be at most times itself, forcing equality of the points.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 4 3G c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Define . Solving the system is equivalent to finding a fixed point of . The mean value theorem implies . In the specified metric,Each coordinate difference occurs exactly twice. This metric makes a nonempty complete metric space, because a Cauchy sequence in it is Cauchy in each real coordinate, and coordinate convergence implies convergence in the sum metric. Thus is a contraction mapping with constant .
There is exactly one solution for every choice of , by the contraction mapping theorem. Iteration of from any starting vector also constructs it.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 120 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For a finite position , let be the cylinder set of infinite plays extending . Because the factors have the discrete topology, these cylinder sets form a basis for the product topology. PutMembership in means that I has already secured the outcome, regardless of future moves. Since is an open set, a play belongs to exactly when one of its prefixes belongs to .
Build the winning-position attractor in an infinite game by transfinite recursion. Start with , use unions at limit ordinals, and setThis sequence is increasing: the defining operation is order-preserving, and . It stabilizes at some ordinal. Indeed, if it strictly increased at every successor stage below the successor cardinal number of , choosing one newly added position per stage would inject that larger cardinal into . Denote the stable set by . This constructs the needed fixed point directly, without an appeal to an unstated fixed-point theorem.
Every position in has a least entry ordinal, its rank. Rank zero means membership in . A positive rank is a successor : at an I-position some extension belongs to , while at a II-position every extension does. If the empty word belongs to , I always chooses an extension of smaller rank until is reached. II's choices also decrease rank before that happens. There is no infinite strictly decreasing sequence of ordinals, so some finite prefix lies in . This is a winning strategy in an infinite game for I.
If the empty word is outside , the fixed point equation says that every extension of an I-position outside is still outside , and that a II-position outside has at least one extension outside . II chooses such an extension. Every resulting prefix avoids , hence the whole play avoids by openness. This is a winning strategy in an infinite game for II.
The choices can be made simultaneously by fixing a well-order of , as allowed by the usual axiom of choice. The argument does not assume that is countable. Every such open game is determined:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 325 2 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The Browder convergence theorem for averaged operators states: if is an averaged operator and its fixed-point set is nonempty, then for every starting point, converges in norm to a fixed point of . The theorem assumes a fixed point exists; averaging by itself does not create one.
The finite-dimensional mechanism is worth making explicit. For any fixed point , the averaged-operator inequality givesThis is Fejér monotonicity with respect to the fixed-point set. It makes the sequence bounded and, by summation, makes finite. Hence its residual tends to zero. Choose a convergent subsequence ; continuity of the nonexpansive mapping implies . Apply Fejér monotonicity with . The nonincreasing distances have a subsequence tending to zero, so the whole sequence converges to . This last compactness step uses finite dimension; a corresponding general Hilbert space statement usually gives weak convergence.
