Let be compactly supported and continuous, let , and use . If , thenThis follows by Fubini's theorem, a change of variables, Fourier inversion theorem, and dominated convergence theorem. It gives a direct proof of the uniqueness theorem for characteristic functions because the right side depends only on .
If is smooth and supported on and , Fourier inversion givesExpanding the square of the resulting Möbius-weighted divisor sum turns its mean value into an Euler product controlled by zeta functions near their pole at one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 1 14E i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 23 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Every nonprincipal Dirichlet character modulo the prime is primitive, so its finite Fourier coefficients have modulus one off zero; the coefficient at zero is zero by character orthogonality. Fourier inversion theorem givesThe finite geometric series givesThe printed hint omits from the exponential; its literal constant summand would not obey the bound for arbitrary . The geometric-series calculation proves the needed estimate independently. Pairing with givesThe last sum is a harmonic number. This proves the Pólya–Vinogradov inequality uniformly in and ; complete blocks of length also vanish by Orthogonality of Dirichlet characters.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 60 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
The Malgrange–Ehrenpreis theorem states that every nonzero constant-coefficient linear differential operator on Euclidean space has a distributional fundamental solution. With and , the conclusion is an such that . If , simply take ; hence assume .
We construct a Hörmander staircase in frequency space. The highest-degree homogeneous part is not identically zero on real vectors, since a polynomial vanishing on all real vectors has all coefficients zero. After an orthogonal transformation of coordinates, we can arrange that . Thus, for each real , the polynomialhas degree in and the same nonzero leading coefficient , independent of . This constant leading coefficient of a polynomial is what makes a uniform staircase possible.
For a fixed , factor , counting repeated roots of a polynomial. Consider the heights , . A given root has imaginary part within distance less than one of at most one of these heights. By the pigeonhole principle, some height avoids every root, and thenThis is finite-height polynomial root avoidance. Root labels need not be chosen continuously or even measurably. Instead define the closed setsContinuity in extends the inequality from rational to every real . These Borel sets partition . The Hörmander staircase assigns the horizontal contour over ; its height is bounded by , and the denominator has the uniform lower bound . For , the transverse space is a single point and only one horizontal contour is needed.
Use the Fourier transform convention , with inverse factor . Define the candidate fundamental solution of a linear differential operator byFor a test function supported in a fixed compact set , Fourier decay in a bounded complex strip gives, for any integer ,Indeed, this is the real Fourier transform of with reversed frequency, and repeated integration by parts with proves the estimate. Taking and using the denominator bound proves absolute convergence and a continuity estimate on . Thus is a distribution; no unsupported interpretation of a divergent inverse Fourier transform is being used.
For its distributional derivatives, the formal transpose of a differential operator is . Sinceapplying cancels the denominator. For each fixed , the numerator is an entire function of . The Cauchy integral theorem, applied to a rectangle between the lines and , givesThe two vertical edges tend to zero by the same bounded-strip decay. The resulting contour deformation is performed separately for each transverse frequency, so discontinuities of the staircase height introduce no additional boundary terms. Absolute convergence permits integration over the partition . The Fourier inversion theorem then yieldsThis proves the Malgrange–Ehrenpreis theorem. Undoing the orthogonal change of coordinates gives the fundamental solution of a linear differential operator for the original operator; the Dirac delta distribution is unchanged by that change of coordinates.
For a one-dimensional operator of degree , with leading coefficient , we may choose the single staircase contour below every pole. Take and integrate on . The corresponding formula is the Bromwich contour version of the construction above, after putting . Its poles all lie above the frequency contour. For , close that contour downwards; the exponential function decays and there are no enclosed poles. For , close upwards, where the exponential function again decays, and apply the residue theorem. The bound justifies the large arcs, including by the Jordan lemma away from their endpoints. Thus away from the retarded fundamental solution is , whereThe sum is over distinct roots of a polynomial, with the residue including the whole multiplicity. For simple characteristic roots of a constant-coefficient differential equation, it reduces to . Repeated roots give exponential polynomial solutions of a constant-coefficient differential equation through differentiation of .
To establish the equality also at the origin, rather than leave a possible point-supported term undecided, verify the distributional jump formula for a Heaviside product. The residue expression is an entire function of , andIts initial derivatives areThese identities follow by integrating over a large circle: for the integrand is , whereas for its coefficient of is . The distributional jump formula for a Heaviside product therefore gives . Moreover, since is a tempered distribution, its Fourier transform satisfiesThere are no real zeros of this polynomial, so its reciprocal is the transform. This is exactly the shifted-contour construction, proving equality there as a distribution as well. HenceThe sign of matters: for the operator in the preceding solution, and the last initial derivative is .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 8 1 vii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Use the transform convention . The given Fourier inversion theorem givesHere is continuous, vanishes at both endpoints and belongs to . It therefore defines a continuous periodic function. Its Fourier coefficient at index is . By part (i),Pair this convergence with . Since that function has normalized norm one, the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality yields, uniformly in ,The elementary integral is the sinc function,Thus the sampling expansion by periodic Fourier projection isThere is no pointwise interchange with an unproved Fourier series: the calculation first uses finite sums and then an limit.
The convergence can also be made absolute. Parseval's identity gives , and Bessel's inequality applied to gives . Henceuniformly in . At an integer argument, is one at zero and zero at the other integers, so the expansion interpolates the samples exactly.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 327 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For multi-indices , defineThese seminorms define the Fréchet space topology of the Schwartz space: exactly when every tends to zero. An equivalent increasing family isA tempered distribution is a continuous linear functional on this space. Equivalently, for some . The usual weak convergence of tempered distributions means for every fixed Schwartz function. The strong dual topology instead requires uniform convergence on every subset of the Schwartz space that is a bounded set in a topological vector space; the Fourier maps below are continuous in both topologies.
Using , differentiation under the integral and integration by parts giveThe omitted coefficient has modulus one. By the Leibniz rule, every integrand is a finite sum of a polynomial times a derivative of . Inserting the integrable weight bounds its L1 norm by finitely many Schwartz space seminorms. In particular . Thus the Fourier transform maps continuously into itself.
For completeness, the Fourier inversion theorem follows here by Gaussian regularization. The inverse transform of is . The Fourier transform of a Gaussian and Fubini's theorem showAs , the right side tends to by the approximate identity property, while the left side tends to the undamped inverse integral by dominated convergence theorem, since . HenceThe inverse is times reflection composed with the continuous Fourier transform, and is therefore continuous on the Schwartz space. This proves a continuous linear isomorphism with continuous inverse.
Define the Fourier transform of a tempered distribution byThe continuous map on Schwartz space makes this a tempered distribution; the transpose of supplies its inverse. Pointwise convergence of pairings proves weak continuity. For the strong dual topology, the transform of a bounded set of Schwartz functions is bounded, so uniform convergence of pairings on bounded sets proves continuity of both Fourier maps there too.
Now let be a rotation matrix in the special orthogonal group and write . A change of variables with unit Jacobian givesThe rotation equivariance of the Fourier transform on tempered distributions follows by duality:Therefore . Applying this identity and the inverse Fourier transform gives the two directions:This is precisely preservation of radial tempered distributions. For , acts transitively on spheres, so an invariant smooth function is an ordinary radial function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 20F i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Dominated convergence makes continuous, and . Smooth compactly supported functions are dense in . Their Fourier transforms decay at infinity by integration by parts, so uniform approximation proves the Riemann-Lebesgue lemma: .
For density, smooth compactly supported functions are also uniformly dense in by cutoff and mollification. Each such target is a Schwartz function; its inverse Fourier transform is another Schwartz function, hence belongs to , and Fourier inversion recovers . Therefore the image of a function of is dense in .
The Fourier inversion theorem says that if , then agrees almost everywhere with the inverse integral of . If , this applies and gives almost everywhere. Hence the Fourier transform is injective as a map of equivalence classes, with dense image in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 3 26K b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The integrands are absolutely integrable because has compact support, , and . Fubini's theorem therefore permits us to insert and interchange the expectation and integrals:With , the inner integral in isNow set . The change of variables giveswhich is the required identity.
Choose any with , , and for which Fourier inversion theorem applies, for example a Gaussian function. The left side factors through the Fourier transform of asOn the right side, andThe dominated convergence theorem and Fourier inversion at zero giveConsequently the Fourier-cutoff recovery of expectations from a characteristic function isThe right side depends only on . Equal characteristic functions therefore give equal expectations for every compactly supported continuous , and part a yields the uniqueness theorem for characteristic functions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 2 33C iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The first Born approximation for a one-dimensional reflection coefficient follows by replacing the Jost solution inside its Volterra scattering equation by the free wave :
To check the inverse problem, any shallow discrete state contributes only at pointwise, so to first order the Marchenko input isDifferentiating and inserting the Born approximation giveswhere the second line is the Fourier inversion theorem. At first order the quadratic integral term in the Marchenko equation may be dropped, soThe reconstruction formula therefore returnsThus direct and inverse scattering agree to first order.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 23I b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Let be a multi-index with . The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality givesThe second integral is finite precisely under the sufficient inequality , which follows from . Hence is Lebesgue integrable for every .
The Fourier inversion theorem therefore defines a functionwhose derivatives through order may be obtained by differentiating under the integral sign. Those derivatives are continuous, so . The inverse transform represents the same tempered distribution as ; consequently almost everywhere. This is the Sobolev embedding theorem in this range.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 327 3 Solution 2026-09-29
Using multi-index notation, the Schwartz space isIts topology is generated by the displayed seminorms. The tempered distribution is its continuous dual, with weak convergence defined by convergence of every pairing with a Schwartz function.
For the conventiondifferentiation under the integral and integration by parts giveThese identities bound every Schwartz seminorm of by finitely many seminorms of , proving continuity. The Fourier inversion theorem gives the continuous inverseso the Fourier transform is a continuous isomorphism of . By duality,defines a continuous isomorphism of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ib Paper 3 3A Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
With the stated Fourier transform convention, Fourier inversion givesFor , close the contour in the upper half-plane. Jordan lemma removes the semicircle contribution, and the only enclosed pole is . Its residue isThe residue theorem therefore yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 117 2 b Solution 2026-09-28
PutIf is prime, then . Since is supported on , the only divisor of contributing to is , and . Every summand is nonnegative, so
LetSince is the Fourier transform of , the Fourier inversion theorem gives the Fourier representation of a smooth Selberg weightExpanding the square, interchanging the absolutely convergent sums and integrals, and usingwe obtainThe error is because the support of restricts both divisors to . The main factor isand its Euler product is
It remains to estimate the integral using the assumed zeta-factor bound. The transform is a Schwartz function, since is smooth and compactly supported. We may therefore truncate to , losing an arbitrarily large negative power of . Uniformly in the needed truncated range, the standard estimates near the pole of the Riemann zeta function giveandAfter multiplication, one net factor remains. The polynomial factors in are integrable against the rapidly decreasing , and choosing as a sufficiently large power of makes the tails negligible. HenceSince and ,This proves the short-interval prime upper bound from a smooth divisor weight.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 327 3 Solution 2026-09-28
The Malgrange–Ehrenpreis theorem states that every nonzero constant-coefficient linear partial differential operator on has a fundamental solution of a linear differential operator: there is an such that .
Write . After an orthogonal change of coordinates and multiplication by a nonzero constant, its polynomial symbol may be written as a monic polynomial in the last frequency,For each real , this polynomial has complex roots counted with multiplicity. Among a fixed finite collection of horizontal lines at bounded heights, one can choose a line that stays a positive distance from all those roots. Continuity of the roots preserves the choice on a neighborhood . Take a countable locally finite cover by such neighborhoods, refine it to a measurable disjoint partition , and let be the chosen height on . The resulting Hörmander staircasehas bounded heights and may be chosen so that on each step.
For a test function , defineThe Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem gives rapid decay in the real frequency directions and at most a fixed exponential factor in the bounded imaginary direction. Together with , this proves that the integral defines a continuous distribution. Applying cancels the denominator. The remaining integrand is entire in , so the Cauchy integral theorem shifts every horizontal contour to the real axis; the partition then recombines into . The Fourier inversion theorem giveswhich proves the theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 1 33E b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Differentiating the first auxiliary equation in , the second in , and equating and leaves preciselyso the Airy equation is their compatibility condition.
Multiplication of by givesHenceFor , the kernel is bounded when ; dominated differentiation makes analytic for . Rapid decrease gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 4 26G Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Because the centered normal distribution density is nonnegative and has integral one, Fubini's theorem and translation invariance giveThus .
Use the angular-frequency conventionThe convolution theorem and the Gaussian transform giveSince , this product is integrable. Moreover, absolute integrability justifies exchanging the integrals:This proves the Fourier inversion theorem for the convolution directly.
Now additionally suppose . For every , the dominated convergence theorem givesFourier inversion identifies the right-hand side with for Lebesgue almost everywhere . Therefore the Gaussian approximate identity satisfies