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For the heat operator ${\partial }_x-{\partial }_y^2$, complexify the first frequency. Its symbol iswhose root in $\xi$ is $\xi =i{\eta }^2$ and therefore lies in the closed upper half-plane for real $\eta$. The single steplies strictly below every root and is an explicit Hörmander staircase.

For the wave operator ${\partial }_x^2-{\partial }_y^2$, use the symboland complexify $\eta$. Its roots $\eta =\pm \xi$ are real for every real $\xi$, so the single horizontal stepnever meets a root and is an explicit Hörmander staircase.

The Malgrange–Ehrenpreis theorem states that every nonzero constant-coefficient linear partial differential operator $P(D)$ on ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ has a fundamental solution of a linear differential operator: there is an $E\in {\mathcal{D}}^{\prime }({\mathbb{R}}^n)$ such that $P(D)E={\delta }_0$.

Write $D=-i\partial$. 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 ${\mu }^{\prime }$, this polynomial has $M$ 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 $N({\mu }^{\prime })$. Take a countable locally finite cover by such neighborhoods, refine it to a measurable disjoint partition ${\mathbb{R}}^{n-1}={⨆}_j{\Delta }_j$, and let $c_j$ be the chosen height on ${\Delta }_j$. The resulting Hörmander staircasehas bounded heights and may be chosen so that $|P({\xi }^{\prime },s+i{c}_j)|\ge 1$ on each step.

For a test function $\phi$, 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 $|P|\ge 1$, this proves that the integral defines a continuous distribution. Applying $P(D)$ cancels the denominator. The remaining integrand is entire in $z$, so the Cauchy integral theorem shifts every horizontal contour to the real axis; the partition then recombines into ${\mathbb{R}}^{n-1}$. The Fourier inversion theorem giveswhich proves the theorem.