Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ib Paper 4 4E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ii Paper 1 23H Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ib Paper 3 14E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ii Paper 3 22G ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 ii Paper 3 22G i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 1 23G Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 4 8E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 23 3 d Solution 2026-10-07
Under the Riemann hypothesis, every , so for the absolutely convergent formula givesThe zero set is nonempty: otherwise Hadamard factorization would make an exponential of a linear polynomial, and its functional symmetry would force it to be constant, contrary to gamma growth on the positive real axis. Thus the inequality is strict in the open right half-plane. Continuity at , including at boundary zeros, proves the claimed increasing modulus on the closed half-line.
Conversely, suppose the modulus is nondecreasing for every fixed . If a zero had , then nonnegativity and monotonicity would force throughout . The identity theorem would make identically zero, a contradiction. A zero left of the line reflects to one right of the line by the functional equation and complex conjugation symmetry. Hence every zero lies on the critical line. This proves the xi modulus criterion for the Riemann hypothesis. The two following roman headers refer to supplied asymptotic assumptions, not further questions, and require no Solution sections.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 8 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For infinite products, a nonzero limiting product requires that its factors tend to one. A useful sufficient condition isAfter finitely many factors, and the principal holomorphic logarithm satisfies . Therefore the sum of logarithms converges, and exponentiating it gives a finite nonzero product. The same argument on compact sets proves infinite product convergence from logarithmic tails: a locally uniformly absolutely convergent tail of holomorphic logarithms gives a holomorphic nonvanishing tail product. Finite factors then determine all zeros and their orders.
Work with entire functions on . As usual for prescribed exact zero orders, the distinct zero locations must have consistent multiplicities. The literal statement allows repeated locations with conflicting orders; that cannot be true, for example if the same point is prescribed order one and order two. Remove consistent repetitions rather than adding their orders, and separate a possible zero at the origin.
List the distinct nonzero locations as , with prescribed orders , and write for the prescribed order at zero, or zero if the origin is not prescribed. Choose large enough thatThen the Weierstrass factorization theorem construction isOn every compact set, for all sufficiently large because . Its logarithmic tail is bounded byThus the product converges locally uniformly, is entire, and has exactly the specified zeros with exactly their orders. At a prescribed zero, only its own finite factor vanishes; all other finite factors and the tail product are nonzero.
Without escape to infinity the conclusion fails in general. Distinct proposed zeros accumulate at zero. The identity theorem would force an entire function with those zeros to vanish identically, which does not have precisely the prescribed isolated zeros. A finite zero set can of course be realized by a polynomial.
For entire functions with the same zero divisor, the quotient extends through every common zero by cancelling equal local powers. It is entire and nowhere zero. Hence is entire and has a primitive on the simply connected plane. Choose with and putThe derivative of vanishes, and its value at zero is one. ThereforeIf also , then everywhere. The continuous difference takes values in the discrete set and so is constant on the connected plane:The whole-plane hypothesis matters: a zero-free holomorphic quotient on a multiply connected domain need not possess a global holomorphic logarithm.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 67 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For , choose a cutoff function on a neighborhood of its support. Its extension to smooth functions makesindependent of the choice of cutoff. For real frequency, the definition of the distributional Fourier transform gives : interchange the pairing with the integral of a Schwartz function, using the finite-order estimate on the cutoff's compact support. On each compact set of complex frequencies the exponential and all its derivatives have uniformly convergent power series. Continuity of the distribution allows termwise differentiation, withConsequently is entire on .
For the precise exponential type, a fixed enlarged support would give an unnecessarily enlarged radius. Instead use the shrinking-cutoff exponential-type estimate. On one fixed compact neighborhood of the closed radius- ball, has finite order of a distribution . Choose near that ball, supported in the radius- ball, with for . The finite-order estimate givesTake . Its extra exponential is bounded by , while the derivative cost is polynomial. ThusThe entire function was defined with a fixed cutoff; only its bound uses a frequency-dependent cutoff, so no holomorphic dependence is lost. This proves the required estimate with some without enlarging .
For the converse, set . Its restriction to real frequencies has polynomial growth. Define the inverse tempered distribution byRapid decay of the Schwartz function transform proves convergence and continuity, and Fourier inversion gives on real frequencies.
We prove its support directly by contour shifting, rather than assuming the support conclusion of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem. Let be a real unit vector and take a test function supported in for some . For every integer , integration by parts in the real-frequency Fourier integral givesIndeed, move from the oscillatory exponential to ; its derivatives supply at most powers of .
The product is entire. Rotate coordinates so that is the first coordinate vector and apply Cauchy integral theorem to a rectangle in that one complex coordinate, integrating the remaining real coordinates afterwards. For fixed , choose ; the displayed decay estimate, uniformly on the intervening imaginary segment, makes the vertical faces vanish as the real rectangle width tends to infinity. The horizontal integrals are absolutely convergent. HenceUsing and the growth hypothesis bounds this pairing byIt tends to zero as , so the pairing vanishes. Every point outside the closed radius- ball lies in such a separating half-space; a finite partition of unity for the support of a test function outside the ball proves .
Translate this compactly supported distribution by : define . The Translation property of the Fourier transform givesThe compact-support entire extension agrees with everywhere by the identity theorem, applied successively in the complex coordinates. Fourier inversion also gives uniqueness. This completes both directions of the ball version of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem.
For the wave equation, take a real constant . The Fourier transform method for the wave equation givesThis inverse tempered distribution is twice differentiable in : time derivatives introduce polynomial frequency factors, still integrable against every Schwartz function. It has the specified initial displacement and zero initial velocity and satisfies the equation distributionally.
To apply the support theorem, replace the real norm by the entire wave cosine multiplierThis series is entire and equals regardless of the square-root choice. Write and . Since ,Together with , this yields . The forward estimate for the translated initial support now givesThe converse therefore proves finite propagation with the stated speed:In particular, itself need not be entire; it is the even cosine series that provides the required entire extension.
For completeness this construction identifies the distributional Cauchy solution even without initially assuming spatial temperedness. The zero-displacement wave multiplier is , entire with bound . Given a compactly supported smooth and final time , the backward solution is smooth, has support in one compact ball for by the same support theorem, and satisfies , . For the difference of two distributional solutions with zero initial data,All pairings use compactly supported test functions. The expression vanishes initially and equals finally. Hence , establishing uniqueness in the usual time-differentiable distributional solution class.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 20F Solution 2026-10-06
Two holomorphic function elements represent the same germ of a holomorphic function at if they agree on some neighbourhood of . For a holomorphic on an open , set . These sets form a basis of a topology on the space of germs of holomorphic functions: every germ lies in one, and if a germ lies in two, equality of the representatives on a smaller neighbourhood supplies a basis of a topology set in their intersection. Declaring arbitrary unions of basis of a topology sets open therefore gives a topology.
Different base points are separated by disjoint small discs in . If two different germs have the same base point, choose representatives on one connected small disc. Their sheets are disjoint: any common germ elsewhere on that disc would force equality throughout the disc by the identity theorem. This proves the Hausdorff property.
The projection maps each sheet homeomorphically onto . Use these maps as complex charts. On overlaps their transition functions are the identity, hence holomorphic; thus each connected component is a Riemann surface, and is a local biholomorphism, an analytic germ projection. For completeness, second countability of a component follows by following continuation chains through a countable basis of a topology of rational discs: starting at one germ, finite chains of such discs give only countably many continuation sheets, by uniqueness on overlaps, and they cover every germ in that component.
A complete analytic function consists of all germs reachable from one initial germ by analytic continuation. The supplied path-lifting equivalence identifies these with its path component. Since the germ space is locally path connected, connected components and path components agree. Thus its continuation surface is exactly one component .
A local biholomorphism need not evenly cover the whole base; the germ projection is an analytic covering in this local sense. The examples below distinguish a genuine regular covering map from a surjective nonregular projection, with the meaning of regular stated explicitly.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 6B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Analytic continuation extends a holomorphic function by holomorphic elements agreeing on overlaps; along a path, a chain of overlapping neighbourhoods transports the initial element. The identity theorem makes compatible continuation unique on connected overlaps, although different paths can lead to different branches.
Choose the principal complex logarithm and the slit domain . On , the functionis holomorphic, with the removable value . The domain is simply connected, so has a primitive and its integral from to is independent of the path in . For , the uniformly convergent power series on compact subdiscs givesTherefore is a single-valued analytic continuation of the dilogarithm to . The apparent problem at is removable; is a genuine branch point, even though the function has a finite one-sided limit there, because its derivative has a logarithmic singularity. Other cuts from to infinity give corresponding branches.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 124 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Let be the Mertens function. Partial summation givesFor any , choose a sufficiently small with . The assumed bound makes the boundary term tend to zero and makes the integral absolutely convergent. Moreover, on each compact set of this half-plane, one can choose the same , so the integral has locally uniform convergence. Henceis a holomorphic function on , agreeing with the reciprocal Dirichlet series from part (b) on .
The identity theorem applied to the holomorphic functions and extends their equality throughout ; the assumed simple pole makes the first function holomorphic at . Thus away from , proving a zero-free half-plane:
To obtain the strongest symmetric conclusion, use the following basic facts explicitly: the functional equation of the Riemann zeta function gives the entire function with , and the trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function are the negative even integers. Every Nontrivial zero of the Riemann zeta function is therefore accompanied by its reflection . A Nontrivial zero of the Riemann zeta function with real part below would reflect to one above , which is impossible. Consequently all nontrivial zeros lie in the closed stripThe in the hypothesis prevents this argument from excluding either boundary line; the trivial zeros of the Riemann zeta function remain present.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 327 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the Fourier transform convention , with inverse factor . The Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem can be stated with sharp convex support: for a nonempty compact convex set , let its support function be . Then is the Fourier transform of a unique distribution supported in if and only if it is entire andfor some and nonnegative integer . For , this is the familiar bound . Allowing some characterizes all compactly supported distributions. Here the extension of the Fourier transform is , interpreted with a cutoff equal to one near the support of a distribution.
First suppose . Fix one smooth cutoff function equal to one near . Pairing the resulting compactly supported exponential with shows that is an entire function: differentiation with respect to inserts , and the power series converges in the test-function seminorms uniformly on compact subsets of .
To keep the exponential type exactly , rather than that of a fixed larger neighborhood, use a shrinking-cutoff exponential-type estimate. There are cutoffs equal to one on , supported in , and satisfying for . One construction convolves the indicator of with a unit-mass mollifier supported in . Continuity of on a fixed compact neighborhood gives a finite order of a distribution there. By the product rule,Taking proves the required bound with , since the extra exponential factor is at most . The value of the pairing is independent of the chosen cutoff because all cutoffs agree near . Thus the forward direction has the exact asserted support function, without an unproved estimate on derivatives restricted only to .
Conversely, suppose the entire has the stated bound. Its restriction to real frequency has polynomial growth, so define a tempered distribution byThe Schwartz space decay makes this integral absolutely convergent and continuous; by Fourier inversion, on real frequency. It remains to prove the support assertion by mollifier regularization for contour recovery of support.
Choose a nonnegative unit-mass mollifier supported in , and setOn real frequency, decays faster than any polynomial after enough applications of integration by parts to ; hence is smooth, by differentiation under the integral sign. More generally, for every integer there is such thatTo obtain this estimate, write the transform of as the real-frequency transform of and integrate by parts; each derivative introduces at most one factor of .
Fix a unit vector and take . A contour-shift proof of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem moves the inverse-transform contour to :Here is a justification of the shift. Rotate coordinates so is the first coordinate direction, apply the Cauchy integral theorem on a rectangle in the first complex variable, and integrate over the other real variables. For fixed , the vertical sides at real part have an integrated bound proportional to , and hence vanish as . The same decay bounds give absolute convergence on the horizontal sides. No contour shift of an unregularized polynomially growing integral is needed.
Positive homogeneity of the support function now givesIf , the Hahn-Banach separation theorem supplies a unit vector with . Letting proves . Therefore and .
Since and its modulus is at most one on real frequency, the dominated convergence theorem in the formula for gives as tempered distributions, and thus as distributions. A test function supported outside has positive distance from , so its pairing with is zero for all sufficiently small . This proves . The Fourier transform of a compactly supported distribution constructed in the forward direction equals on ; applying the one-variable identity theorem successively in each coordinate extends the equality to . Injectivity of the Fourier transform of a tempered distribution proves uniqueness and completes both directions.
For the independence application, put and . The ball version of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem supplies a nonzero distribution supported in with . By the Translation property of the Fourier transform,where . Distinct integer points are at least distance one apart. For distinct positive indices , the largest possible radius sum is . Thus these closed balls, and hence the distribution supports, are pairwise disjoint.
If , injectivity of the Fourier transform gives . For each , choose a smooth cutoff function equal to one near its ball and zero near all other balls. Multiplying the distributional identity by this cutoff isolates . Since is not identically zero, , so . Consequently are linearly independent over . This Fourier independence from disjoint distribution supports uses the quantitative exponential types to establish support separation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 3 13F Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Fix . The Cauchy integral formula and the uniformly convergent geometric series on giveDefiningthe remainder after degree has modulus at most , which tends to zero uniformly on each smaller disk. Differentiating the integral formula at zero identifies , independently of . Since is an entire function, can be chosen larger than any given , proving the global Taylor series.
For the requested radius , the same coefficient integral gives the Cauchy estimateTo characterize equality in the Cauchy coefficient estimate, parametrize its circle:If , the identity theorem gives . Otherwise equality in the modulus bound requires the continuous integrand to have both constant modulus and constant complex argument. To see this directly, rotate its average to the positive real axis: its real part is bounded above by , and equality of its average with forces that real part to equal everywhere. Thus on the circle. The identity theorem extends that equality to the plane. Conversely every such monomial attains the bound. Thereforeincluding the zero function and, when , arbitrary constant functions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 137 5 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Write and . The double-coset Hecke algebra consists of -bi-invariant complex functions on supported on finitely many double cosets, with convolutionEach double coset has finitely many orbits under left multiplication by , by rational conjugation of finite-index modular subgroups. Thus the sum is finite and independent of representatives. The characteristic functions of the double cosets form its basis, and its right action on invariant modular forms is , using the determinant-normalized slash operator.
For a positive integer , let be all integral two-by-two matrices of positive determinant . It is -bi-invariant. Define to be its indicator function, equivalently the sum of the distinct double cosets it contains, each with coefficient one. This is the convention consistent with the requested formula. For composite , it need not be the single double coset of : for instance cannot lie in that double coset, since multiplying by unimodular integral matrices preserves the greatest common divisor of the entries.
Prove all the needed subgroup facts directly. For a finite-index subgroup , take to be the least positive first coordinate appearing in and the least positive second coordinate on its intersection with the second axis. Euclidean division then shows that the first-coordinate projection is and . Positivity follows, for example, because the finite quotient group kills a nonzero multiple of each coordinate vector. Choose and reduce modulo to . Every vector of has first coordinate a multiple of , and subtracting that multiple of leaves a multiple of . Therefore these two vectors form a basis of . The parameters are unique. Reducing the first coordinate modulo and then the second modulo gives precisely quotient representatives, so .
Apply this row Hermite normal form in rank two to the row lattice of an integral matrix with . Its row lattice contains , since , so it has finite index. Its two rows and the displayed two rows are bases of the same row lattice. The two inverse change-of-basis matrices have integer entries, so their determinants are integers whose product is one. Thus the change-of-basis matrix has determinant ; since both orientations are positive, its determinant is one. Thus each orbit under left multiplication by has exactly one of the determinant-n matrix representatives for Hecke operatorsThere are such representatives, proving finiteness as well as the formula. The subgroup argument is a proof of the relevant Hermite normal form, not an invocation of an unproved lattice classification.
Consequently the normalized Hecke operator isIt preserves : right multiplication by permutes the left-multiplication orbits in , giving invariance, and cusp holomorphy under rational slash operators gives the holomorphy of each term at every cusp.
For a triangular representative the determinant-normalized slash operator is . Summing the Fourier expansion of a modular form over kills every index not divisible by , by finite exponential orthogonality. ThusThe Fourier coefficients of a composite-index Hecke operator are thereforeIn particular . If , comparison of the coefficients gives
Finally suppose and is a simultaneous eigenfunction. Constant coefficients force , so for all . Weight two cannot occur, by vanishing of weight-two level-one modular forms. For even , use the normalized Eisenstein series with its Fourier expansion of a normalized Eisenstein serieswhere is the Bernoulli number. Then is a cusp form with coefficients . The Fourier coefficient bound for a cusp form bounds these by , but at arbitrarily large primes their magnitude is . Since , the coefficient factor must vanish. All coefficients of then vanish, including its constant coefficient, so by its cusp expansion and the identity theorem. This proves the noncuspidal level-one Hecke eigenform characterization:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 327 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the Fourier transform convention and , so . All distribution pairings use complex bilinearity, and the formal transpose is , without complex conjugation of the coefficients. If instead denotes , the Fourier multiplier is ; the argument below is unchanged after this substitution.
For a nonempty compact convex set , let be its support function. The Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem says that the Fourier transform is a bijection between distributions supported in and entire functions on for whichfor some and nonnegative integer . In particular, support in is equivalent to the bound with . Convexity is essential in the precise support formulation: the support function of a set equals that of its convex hull.
Suppose first that is a compactly supported distribution with support in . Define , inserting any cutoff function equal to one near when viewing on test functions. A fixed cutoff and the finite order of a distribution estimate permit differentiation of the pairing in each complex variable, giving . The exponential function's power series converges with every required derivative on a fixed compact set; hence is an entire function. On real frequencies it agrees with the Fourier transform of a compactly supported distribution.
The exact exponential indicator needs a shrinking cutoff function, rather than one fixed outside . Choose near , with support in and for . Such a cutoff is obtained by convolving the indicator of with a mollifier supported in . On one fixed ball containing all these supports, the finite order of a distribution bound isThe Leibniz rule applied to therefore givesTaking proves the required bound, with and a fixed additional factor at most .
Conversely, suppose is an entire function with the displayed bound. Its real restriction has polynomial growth, so its inverse Fourier transform defines a tempered distribution byRapid decay of the Schwartz function makes this integral absolutely convergent and continuous in the Schwartz space topology.
To determine the support of a distribution, take a test function supported in a half-space , where and . The contour-shift proof of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem gives, for each ,Here is the estimate that justifies both the shift and its limiting use. Since , repeated integration by parts with yieldsFor fixed , the same estimate is uniform over the imaginary strip from to . Rotate coordinates so is the first coordinate direction, apply the Cauchy integral theorem on truncated rectangles, and let their real edges tend to infinity. If , the boundary integrals vanish and the horizontal integrals converge absolutely; thus the claimed shift is valid. Using now bounds the pairing bywhich tends to zero. A separating hyperplane exists at every point outside the compact convex set . A finite partition of unity on the support of any exterior test function reduces it to such half-spaces, so . Fourier inversion gives uniqueness; the entire transform of this agrees with on and hence everywhere, by applying the one-variable identity theorem successively in each coordinate. This completes both directions.
Now apply this theorem to compact support solvability for a constant-coefficient ordinary differential equation. If is a nonzero constant, its kernel is zero and is the unique solution. Otherwise writeThe solution space of isIndeed these exponentials solve the equation, their initial derivative vectors have a nonzero Vandermonde determinant, and uniqueness for the order- ordinary differential equation makes them a basis. Pairing with any such solution proves necessity:
For sufficiency, choose with and let . The assumed annihilation is precisely for every . Since all roots of a polynomial are simple, has removable singularities at every root and is an entire function. Outside one disk, . Inside that disk, the extended is bounded. The polynomial division preservation of exponential type therefore givesThe Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem produces a compactly supported distribution with transform , supported in the same interval. Then , so Fourier inversion gives . ThusThe compactly supported solution is unique: forces the entire transform to vanish off the finitely many roots and hence everywhere. With repeated roots, the corresponding condition would also require derivatives , or pairing with , up to one less than each multiplicity.