Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 3 20F iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
If the bounded injective Fourier transform were surjective, the open mapping theorem for Banach spaces would make its inverse bounded, yielding . But the preceding have uniform norm , whereas diverges.
For a quantitative lower bound, on we have . On each interval , . For these intervals lie below for large , soThis contradicts boundedness of the inverse. Therefore the Fourier transform has proper dense image in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 22F iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The defining integral is well-defined and bounded for every dimension: and the multiplier is supported on a finite-volume ball. However the asserted general-dimensional conclusion is false for the Euclidean radial cutoff printed in the original PDF. The nonintegrability of a radial triangular Fourier cutoff in three dimensions is a source issue, not an omitted conjugate or OCR substitution.
For a direct counterexample in , take the Schwartz function , whose Fourier transform is the same Gaussian. With and , radial integration givesThe amplitude vanishes at both endpoints, and . Two integrations by parts, with a further one to bound the remainder, giveThe integral diverges logarithmically for every fixed . For example, restrict to the periodic subintervals on which ; the error is smaller than half the leading term at sufficiently large . Thus , even for this smooth integrable .
The familiar intended argument is valid in one dimension. There the inverse Fourier kernel isand by Fubini's theorem. Its mass outside any fixed neighbourhood of zero tends to zero by scaling, soby continuity of translations in . For arbitrary dimension, replacing the radial cutoff by the product gives a tensor product of these integrable kernels and the same approximate identity proof. These are explicit valid repairs, not claims that the PDF specified a product cutoff.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 22F ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Take . Its Fourier transform iswith value one at zero. It is bounded near zero and is at infinity, so is integrable for . ThereforeIf a continuous function agreed with this indicator almost everywhere, continuity would force it to equal zero on and one on : any violation has a nonempty open neighbourhood of positive measure. The one-sided limits at zero would then differ, a contradiction. Hence no continuous representative exists.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 22F iv Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The implication is true in every dimension despite the failure of part (iii). The hypothesis gives , since its weight is at least one. Let be its inverse Fourier-Plancherel transform; then by construction.
Use the Gaussian approximate identity . Its Fourier transform is . Fourier inversion of this integrable multiplier times the bounded transform of , justified by Fubini, gives the same function both as and as . The first converges to in , while the second converges to in by Plancherel and dominated convergence. Along a common sequence, select subsequences converging almost everywhere for both norms. Their limits agree, giving almost everywhere. ConsequentlyThis proves the requested conclusion without relying on the incorrect general-dimensional kernel assertion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 304 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let the charge parameter depend on position temporarily. Using the gauge-covariant derivative of a charged scalar field, the variation of the matter action is . The resulting Noether current isHere . The potential does not contribute, and . Because has not been rescaled to a canonical kinetic term, there is no factor in this Noether current or in the matter interaction vertices.
A local change of variables in the path integral gives . Integration by parts in the term containing produces the two opposite contact terms of the Ward identity.
For clarity about phases, transform the current correlator with and suppress its overall momentum conservation Dirac delta function. Denote the result by . The coordinate Ward identity becomesAmputation of the two external quantum field theory propagators then fixes the longitudinal part of the current interaction vertex. Since the action couples to , the gauge interaction vertex has the opposite sign. The phase convention for the paper's gauge interaction vertices is , where is the corresponding derivative of the Euclidean quantum effective action.
One can derive the exact one-particle-irreducible correlation function directly, without assuming the entire connected current correlator is one-particle irreducible. Local gauge invariance of the quantum effective action impliesA linear covariant gauge fixing adds a breaking term independent of the scalars, which disappears after the scalar differentiations below. The identity requires a regularization in quantum field theory and counterterms preserving the Abelian gauge theory Ward identity; scalar quantum electrodynamics has no gauge anomaly.
Differentiate with respect to and , then set all background fields to zero. The two-point derivative is the inverse exact quantum field theory propagator. Use the Fourier transform convention , , with the photon momentum incoming. This givesAt tree level , so , and the identity reduces to .
To obtain the two-photon scalar Ward identity, differentiate the same functional Ward identity also with respect to . In terms of Euclidean action derivatives it readsThis construction automatically includes the seagull vertex: the Noether current depends on , with . It cannot be discarded when differentiating a current insertion.
Take the first photon momentum to be incoming , and the second incoming . On the first scalar leg the contact term shifts to ; on the other it shifts to . ConsequentlyWith , the result isThere is a momentum-routing sign error in the printed second identity. With the scalar momentum convention of the first identity, its first shifted argument must be , not . This is already forced at tree level: the seagull vertex has and hence . The corrected right-hand side is , matching the left-hand side, whereas the printed right-hand side is . Changing to an all-incoming scalar convention would also change the first identity, so it does not fix both printed formulas simultaneously.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 304 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Grassmann field is odd and the adjoint scalar field is even. The two printed signs are consistent with a right-acting BRST differential, whose graded Leibniz rule isThe bracket between two odd fields is graded, so . Applying this rule to the ordinary Lie bracket givesThe second bracket here is graded because both its entries are odd. The graded Jacobi identity gives . ThereforeThe side of the odd derivation is essential. With the usual left graded Leibniz rule and the same two printed signs, the result would be , which is generally nonzero. A left-acting convention must reverse one of those signs. All subsequent BRST symmetry formulas here use the right-acting convention.
Choose an anti-Hermitian basis with , an invariant positive invariant bilinear form on a Lie algebra, and the adjoint covariant derivative . Couplings are absorbed into this convention; restoring multiplies each ghost interaction vertex below by . The associated BRST charge acts as , , and .
Write . For the gauge-fixing fermion , the right graded Leibniz rule givesThe Gaussian functional integral over the Nakanishi-Lautrup field produces the positive gauge fixing term . The ghost operator is .
Now use the canonical free kinetic terms . At nonzero momentum in Euclidean space , put . The quadratic kernel for , per color, isThe transverse gauge-field kernel plus the gauge-fixing longitudinal term has become . The scalar quantum field theory propagator is the inverse Schur complement, not merely the inverse of the scalar diagonal entry:Hence the free adjoint-scalar propagator in scalar-dependent gauge fixing isFor completeness the mixed quantum field theory propagator is ; ignoring this mixing would give an incorrect scalar answer.
The scalar propagator is independent of the gauge vector , not of the momentum component parallel to . For a unit , , and the free scalar quantum field theory propagator still depends on . Thus the literal momentum-independence clause in the PDF is false for the standard minimally coupled massless scalar action; the cancellation above establishes the natural gauge-vector-independence statement. The usual massless zero mode in field theory at needs a separate infrared prescription.
Finally, integration by parts gives the ghost action in an unambiguous convention:Use for the Fourier transform of every field, with all momenta incoming. Let the antighost carry color and momentum , the boson color and momentum , and the ghost color and momentum , so . Expansion of gives the ghost vertices in scalar-dependent gauge fixingThe free Faddeev-Popov ghost field propagator is and every closed ghost loop contributes a minus sign. There are no further ghost interaction vertices in this gauge. Factors of and an overall ghost-vertex sign depend on the Fourier transform and ghost-ordering conventions; the displayed ghost action fixes both here.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 310 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Subtract the homogeneous background equation and linearize the inflaton equation of motion. The field perturbation satisfiesWith , direct differentiation cancels the first-derivative term and givesThe conformal-time quadratic action for an inflaton perturbation, after a boundary term is discarded, isFor the specified de Sitter spacetime background, . The light-field approximation therefore permits dropping the mass term. Taking a spatial Fourier transform yields the Canonically rescaled de Sitter scalar mode equationIts kinetic term is canonical, with momentum . Each independent real Fourier component consequently has the canonical coordinate/momentum algebra of a quantum harmonic oscillator, with time-dependent squared frequency . This is why canonical quantization of a real scalar field proceeds by oscillator creation and annihilation operators. On superhorizon scales the squared frequency is negative: the system is then an inverted time-dependent oscillator, not a stationary oscillator with a positive frequency. The canonical commutation relations remain valid.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 311 4 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
In Minkowski spacetime with signature , , where . Hence : these are positive-frequency solutions relative to the inertial time translation.
On a constant-time Cauchy hypersurface, the Klein-Gordon inner product and the spatial Fourier transform identity giveAlso and : the latter is proportional to , which vanishes. This is the Klein-Gordon plane-wave normalization.
For completeness, spatial Fourier transformation of the field equation gives . Its solutions have the two branches . Selecting the positive-frequency branch leaves precisely the Fourier superpositions of . These plane waves form a generalized basis, normalized with the Dirac delta distribution, rather than individually normalizable vectors. For a normalizable packet,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 312 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The background Einstein-de Sitter universe satisfies and . Introduce and for the spatial convolutions in the Fourier transform representation with kernels and , respectively, so and . Differentiation givesAt first order the cosmological continuity equation yields , while the cosmological Euler equation gives . The growing-mode normalization therefore gives .
At second order, take the unsymmetrized order of the inputs printed in the paper. Matching the alpha mode-coupling kernel and beta mode-coupling kernel terms givesHenceWith the paper's unsymmetrized convention , one possible unsymmetrized representation isOnly the symmetric part enters a convolution of two identical linear fields. Symmetrizing givesThis is the one-dimensional cosmological density kernel. The physical symmetric one-dimensional Euler kernel is also : symmetrizing the printed reproduces it, so its apparently different unsymmetrized form is not a contradiction. Unsymmetrized kernels themselves are not unique, since antisymmetric parts integrate to zero. Zero input momenta require the usual separate treatment of the homogeneous background.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 327 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the Fourier transform convention and . Thus has Fourier symbol . This fixes the factors of in the formula for a differentiated Dirac delta distribution below.
With the Japanese bracket , the symbol class consists of smooth functions such that, for every compact set and all multi-indices ,Here is one fixed finite real order; the constants may depend on . Differentiation in preserves the symbol class order, whereas differentiation in lowers it.
A phase function is real-valued and smooth on , is a positively homogeneous function of degree one in , and has nonzero total differential:The nonvanishing condition concerns both sets of variables, not just . The homogeneous convention is imposed away from ; a smooth completion at low frequency is another equivalent convention for the high-frequency construction. Low-frequency changes contribute a smooth function of .
Choose a cutoff function equal to one near zero. The low-frequency part with oscillatory integral amplitude is an ordinary convergent integral and defines a smooth function: all derivatives of are near zero, so differentiation under this integral preserves integrability. For the remaining part define, when ,Then . On , compactness and the phase function condition give a positive lower bound for . Homogeneity consequently gives . The coefficient of each derivative in has symbol class order , and the coefficient of each derivative has order zero.
If , its formal transpose isThis is the bilinear transpose for integration by parts, without complex conjugation. It lowers the symbol class order by one. For a test function supported in , choose a nonnegative integer and setBoth integrals are absolutely convergent, because the last oscillatory integral amplitude has order and compact support in .
To verify that this defines the intended oscillatory integral, take any equal to one near zero and insert in the original integral. Repeated integration by parts gives the preceding expression with applied also to this cutoff function. Its derivatives satisfy uniform symbol class bounds: on the annulus where they are nonzero, . The transformed integrands are bounded by an integrable multiple of . The dominated convergence theorem therefore provesIt also proves independence of the cutoff function, the chosen , and the integration-by-parts representation.
At most derivatives fall on , so the same estimates giveThis proves linearity and continuity on the space of test functions. It also proves the finite order of an oscillatory integral distribution: the derivative bound uses the same for every , although changes.
For , take , , and . This phase function is valid because for nonzero , and the oscillatory integral amplitude is in symbol class . The required identity isIndeed, extending a test function by zero outside and integrating in first gives the absolutely convergent expressionHere Fourier inversion applies because is a Schwartz function. By the definition of a distributional derivative, the last expression is precisely . If is instead used for plain , the oscillatory integral amplitude in the boxed formula is , and the pairing is .
Not every distribution is one oscillatory integral of the stated class. On , consider the locally finite distribution of unbounded orderOnly finitely many differentiated Dirac delta distributions contribute to each test function, so is a distribution. Near it is exactly , which cannot satisfy a bound using only derivatives. Explicitly choose with and useThe derivatives through order remain bounded for , whereasAny single oscillatory integral with finite and a fixed finite symbol class order has the uniform order bound just proved, so it cannot equal . The same construction works on any nonempty open set in positive dimension by choosing points that leave every compact set and taking locally finite differentiated Dirac delta distributions there. This obstruction concerns a single fixed-order oscillatory integral, rather than local representations or an infinite sum of them.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 327 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Take and the Fourier transform convention . Write the scalar polynomial as , with homogeneous of degree . The principal symbol of the constant-coefficient linear partial differential operator is . It is an elliptic differential operator exactly whenComplex coefficients are allowed, but the frequency is real.
By compactness of the unit sphere, . Homogeneity gives , whereas the lower-degree terms are bounded by for . The triangle inequality then gives the high-frequency lower bound for an elliptic polynomial:for sufficiently large . ThusThe Japanese bracket is . If , a nonzero constant satisfies the same assertion directly.
For real , the Sobolev space is the tempered distribution spaceOne may include in the squared norm for this Fourier transform normalization; it does not change the space. The Local Sobolev space iswhere multiplication of a distribution by a smooth function is followed by extension by zero.
If is a compactly supported distribution, choose a cutoff function equal to one near its compact support. The finite order of a distribution gives an integer and a boundfor a fixed compact set . This also makes a tempered distribution. Its Fourier transform of a compactly supported distribution is the smooth functionThe Leibniz rule gives the last estimate, and parameter differentiation under the finite-order pairing proves smoothness of this Fourier transform. Therefore the negative Sobolev regularity of a compactly supported distribution isIndeed is integrable precisely when . This proves the claimed existence of a sufficiently negative Sobolev space index.
We use three elementary Sobolev space facts: differentiation of order maps continuously into ; for ; and Sobolev multiplication by a smooth cutoff is bounded on for every real . The first two follow directly from the frequency weights. For the third, multiplication of a distribution by a smooth function becomes convolution with the rapidly decaying , andtogether with Young's convolution inequality gives the bound. These facts apply after localization as well.
The high-frequency lower bound for an elliptic polynomial gives a useful global implication. If and , split its Fourier transform into and . The low-frequency part is controlled by , while the high-frequency part is controlled by . Thus, for arbitrary real ,The conclusion that is obtained directly by integrating these frequency bounds; it is not an assumption made to state the estimate.
For the cutoff bootstrap for local elliptic regularity, fix . A cutoff function equal to one near makes a compactly supported distribution after multiplication, so the preceding negative-index argument gives for some finite . Suppose inductively that . For any test function ,The Leibniz rule shows that this commutator has order at most , with smooth functions as coefficients, all with compact support:A second cutoff function equal to one near lets us apply the stated Sobolev space bounds to every term. Hence , while . For , the global estimate yieldsThis holds for every such , so it improves the Local Sobolev space index by one until is reached. A finite number of iterations starting at provesSince was arbitrary, the conclusion holds throughout . For , division by the nonzero constant proves it immediately. This is the asserted elliptic regularity, proved without assuming an initial nonnegative Sobolev space index.
A first-order example on is the first-order Cauchy-Riemann operatorIt is an elliptic differential operator with complex coefficients. In one real variable, is already a first-order elliptic differential operator.
There is no scalar elliptic differential operator of odd order in three variables. If its order were odd, its principal symbol would satisfy on . Regard the continuous mapThe Borsuk-Ulam theorem gives for some . Oddness then gives , contradicting ellipticity. This is the odd-order obstruction for scalar elliptic operators in at least three dimensions; restricting to a three-dimensional subspace proves the higher-dimensional case too. For real coefficients alone, the same obstruction follows from the intermediate value theorem along a path between antipodal points.
The scalar qualification matters. An elliptic system of differential equations can be first order in three variables: with the Pauli matrices, the matrix symbol satisfies and is invertible for . This does not contradict the scalar polynomial obstruction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 335 1 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For the Fourier transform convention of equation 3, insert the given power spectrum as . With ,The Fourier transform of a Gaussian, or the order-zero Hankel transform, also givesThus the coherent attenuation in a white-noise random medium isFor a unit incident plane wave, the Fresnel propagator leaves the initial envelope unchanged, so the answer reduces to . If instead the given numerical function is interpreted as the self-reciprocal Hankel transform spectrum suggested by the printed equations 4 and 5, then and the alternative isThe factor ambiguity is present in the original PDF. No unique numerical attenuation coefficient follows until the power spectrum convention is fixed. The covariance strength has units of length in this longitudinal white noise model, making both attenuation exponents dimensionless.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 335 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Interpret the longitudinal Dirac delta function as the Markov approximation for a random medium. The two arguments on the left of the printed covariance must be and . The transverse covariance kernel is . Here statistical isotropy means transverse isotropy: a medium with a distinguished longitudinal white noise direction and a smooth transverse covariance is not literally isotropic in all three directions. Also, ideal Gaussian white noise replaces the original finite-variance field; it cannot simultaneously satisfy a pointwise normalization .
Write for the covariance strength of the refractive index fluctuations. Define the transverse power spectrum using the unnormalized forward Fourier transform printed in equation 3:This is the spectrum of the fluctuations, excluding the deterministic mean index. Equivalently it is the zero-longitudinal-frequency slice of the three-dimensional fluctuation spectrum before the Markov approximation. The angular integral is , where is the Bessel function of the first kind. Consequently Fourier inversion and the Hankel transform giveThe printed equations 4 and 5 omit these reciprocal factors, and the left-hand side of equation 5 should depend on . They are instead a consistent order-zero Hankel transform pair if their denotes .
Using , the mean-field solution in the Fourier transform convention isHere is the Fresnel propagator. Finiteness of the integral ensures a finite screen wave phase variance. If the quoted power spectrum uses the self-reciprocal Hankel transform convention, the same result readsThese formulas describe identical media when ; assigning the same numerical function to both spectral conventions describes different covariance strengths.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 340 2 a ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The density axiom and continuity of the Fourier transform at zero imply . Here is a proof that avoids assuming a normalization of the integral. Choose a nonzero whose Fourier transform has bounded support. The MRA projection Fourier identity, with no aliasing once is sufficiently large, isSince , its Fourier transform is continuous and bounded, so this tends to . Density and nesting give in . Thus , in particular it is nonzero. Evaluating the scaling refinement equation in frequency at zero now giveswhich is stronger than the requested absolute-value equality. Multiplying the scaling function by a constant of modulus one normalizes its integral to one without changing .