Invert the two-dimensional Fourier transform in the long-path projection of a magnetic correlation, then perform the angular integration in polar coordinates. The angular integral is , a Bessel function of the first kind, giving the displayed Hankel transform with the stated Fourier-Hankel normalization for an isotropic spectrum. The result recovers the scalar tensor coefficient , whose shell-integrated magnetic energy spectrum has an additional factor .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 69 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Invert the two-dimensional Fourier transform from part (c):In polar coordinates, the angular integral is , where is a Bessel function of the first kind. The Fourier-Hankel normalization for an isotropic spectrum therefore yieldsThis Hankel inversion of a rotation-measure correlation recovers the scalar spectral tensor coefficient. To obtain the shell-integrated magnetic energy spectrum, take the trace of the three-dimensional tensor:With magnetic energy density in Gaussian units, the one-dimensional convention gives . A spectrum normalized instead to has coefficient ; the physical normalization must be stated.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 70 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Interpret the longitudinal delta covariance as a white-noise limit. It is a generalized random field, not a pointwise unit-variance function. Let have independent longitudinal increments withThe smooth-medium limit gives the Stratonovich equation . Conversion to Itô form contributes the local variance drift:The Itô stochastic integral has zero mean, so coherent attenuation in a white-noise random medium satisfiesHere is the Fresnel propagator. Equivalently,For a constant entrance envelope this is simply its constant value times .
Put , the transverse covariance coefficient of the refractive-index fluctuations. The spectrum required here is the transverse spectrum of that longitudinal covariance coefficient, or equivalently the longitudinal-zero-frequency slice of a prelimit stationary medium. Radial symmetry refers to the transverse plane; exact white noise in one direction is not full three-dimensional isotropy. With the Cartesian Fourier convention,angular integration gives . Its inverse givesThe printed transform hint mixes two different normalizations. Its radial transform and inverse constitute the self-reciprocal Hankel pair, whose spectrum is , rather than the unnormalized Cartesian transform also displayed there. Using that Hankel convention consistently yields insteadThese are the same physical solution after converting spectra. The distinction is Fourier-Hankel normalization for an isotropic spectrum; fixes the zero-separation covariance in either convention.