Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 327 2 a Solution 2026-09-28
Let contain the support of . Choose a cutoff function that equals one near . It makeswell-defined, and differentiating the parameter under the pairing givesThus the Fourier transform of a compactly supported distribution is a smooth function. Since a compactly supported distribution has finite order, some and satisfyApplying this estimate to the exponential yields .
Now take , multiply by a cutoff function supported in and equal to one near , and regard the result as an element of . Choose so large thatis Lebesgue integrable. The inverse Fourier transform is a bounded continuous function, and the Fourier transform of a derivative givesas a distributional identity. This is the Bessel potential proof of the structure theorem for compactly supported distributions.
The function itself need not have compact support. Choose another cutoff equal to one near . Then . Repeatedly usingexpresses as a finite sum , where every coefficient is continuous and compactly supported in .