Constant-coefficient elliptic second-derivative estimate Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
If the constant symmetric matrix satisfies , then every smooth function with compact support satisfiesIndeed, the Fourier transform of a derivative and the Plancherel theorem turn the squared norms into integrals with Fourier multipliers and .
Linear partial differential operator Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-05
A linear partial differential operator sends a function to a linear combination of its partial derivatives. If its coefficients are constant, the Fourier transform of a derivative turns it into multiplication by its polynomial symbol .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 7 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Interpret the given velocity regularity in the stated Sobolev space sense. Repeated integration by parts, or the Fourier transform of a derivative in distributions, givesThe usual one-dimensional one-dimensional Sobolev representative or a smooth approximation justifies this identity without imposing extra decay of classical derivatives at specific boundary points. The transform of an integrable function has absolute value at most its norm. ThereforeSetting and taking the supremum gives the required uniform weighted bound. The term on the left is zero; there is no division by that frequency in this argument.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 1 14B a ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The original PDF has forcing ; the supplied TeX loses the absolute-value bars. Set . First assume and . The Fourier transform of a derivative, obtained by integration by parts with the boundary terms zero, is . Applying it and the preceding transform givesUsing the inverse Fourier transform pairs from part (i),Both decay conditions hold. The first derivatives of the two exponential terms cancel at zero, so is continuously differentiable there; the second derivatives have matching limits and the differential equation holds at zero as well as on both half-lines. For uniqueness, a difference solves the homogeneous equation. Decay gives on the positive half-line and on the negative half-line. Continuity gives and derivative continuity gives , forcing both to be zero.
The PDF's condition also allows , but no decaying solution exists when . Indeed on , and decay forces ; on , decay forces . Their one-sided derivatives at zero are and , which cannot match. The missing condition is therefore a genuine source omission, not a transcription repair. The transform expression at has a nonintegrable singularity, consistently with this obstruction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 1 14B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
For smooth rapidly decaying initial data, apply the Fourier transform in and differentiate under the integral. The Fourier transform of a derivative turns the wave equation intoSolving this constant-coefficient ordinary differential equation givesAt the quotient means its continuous limit , so .
Since , the Translation property of the Fourier transform inverts the first term as . Also has Fourier transform , including its limiting value at zero. The convolution theorem therefore inverts the second term asThis proves the D'Alembert formulaThe formula itself extends beyond the rapidly decaying class: and suffice for a classical solution, verified by differentiation and the two initial conditions. The decay assumption above justifies the ordinary transform derivation without distributional qualifications.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 344 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
With periodic or sufficiently decaying boundary conditions, integration by parts givesAssume for a stable quadratic free energy; the diffusive smoothing discussed below requires . In a periodic box of volume , use the unitary convention . A real field has . Since the Fourier transform of a derivative converts to , each Fourier mode obeysIt is an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Multiplication by the integrating factor givesThe noise integral is understood as an Itô integral with a deterministic kernel; writing is shorthand for the corresponding Wiener increment. Direct differentiation in the mild stochastic sense checks both the equation and the initial value. The stated Kronecker-delta noise covariance corresponds to this finite-volume normalization. Unlike a conserved order parameter, the zero wavenumber mode decays at the nonzero rate .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 105 4 a Solution 2026-10-03
Extend by zero to ; its compact support inside the ball makes the extension smooth. The Fourier transform of a derivative givesThe assumption says that is a uniformly elliptic operator, soMoreover,The Plancherel theorem therefore yieldsAll integrands vanish outside the original support where appropriate, so
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 3 22H b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Taking the Fourier transform of a derivative givesThus, away from ,This formula determines the solution uniquely; a distribution supported only at cannot belong to unless it is zero.
For , the Fourier transform estimate and local integrability of in three dimensions control the squared norm. For ,The Plancherel theorem therefore yields . Finally the Sobolev embedding theorem in three dimensions gives when , namely when .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ib Paper 4 14B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
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 .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ia Paper 1 1A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The Fourier transform of a derivative givesSince ,An arbitrary additive constant in affects only the zero-frequency Dirac delta function when transforms are interpreted as distributions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ib Paper 3 14A b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The Fourier transform of a derivative givesHencefor . The assumed existence of the transforms excludes an arbitrary nonzero constant in .
In free space , and the fourth moment obeysFor the two-dimensional Fourier transformthe Fourier transform of a derivative turns this equation into the ordinary differential equationThusUsing the screen-exit value from part (a), the inverse transform givesthrough first order in . Equivalently, the free-space fourth-moment propagator has kernel
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 13C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Setting makes the inhibitor equation quasistatic:Taking the spatial Fourier transform and using the Fourier transform of a derivative givesTherefore the fast-inhibitor elimination in a reaction-diffusion system is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 344 1 a Solution Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-03
Use the Fourier transform conventionThe zero mode vanishes because the compositional order parameter has zero spatial average. Parseval identity and the Fourier transform of a derivative turn the quadratic part of the dimensionless free energy intoHere is the positive-wavevector sum for a real field. Each independent complex amplitude has density proportional to , so its elementary Gaussian integral gives the static structure factorwhenever .
The stationary points of the Brazovskii model kernel obeyBecause , the nonzero minimum is the nonzero-wavevector soft-mode sphereAt this wavevector,The first Gaussian field theory divergence therefore occurs at
For integrable weak velocity derivatives on a unit-period spatial circle, the Fourier transform of a derivative gives for . Summing these modes uses . The resulting absolute Fourier summability gives the displayed uniform bound for the continuous representative of the density. For the same summation diverges, so this argument needs additional input.