For a variation with , the first variation isThe endpoint term vanishes. Since the interior variation is arbitrary, the fundamental lemma of the calculus of variations gives the Euler-Lagrange equationAlong such a trajectory,If has no explicit time dependence, the first integral is thereforeIts negative is the equivalent Beltrami form. For the usual time-independent mechanical Lagrangian with quadratic velocity dependence, this conserved quantity is the total mechanical energy .
The PDF bounds the absolute value of the forcing. Taking absolute values in the Green function integral and using yieldsFor , this givesThe ratio is nonnegative for either or . The missing special case is , for whichThis proves decay of a damped oscillator under exponentially decaying forcing. A one-sided upper bound on without an absolute value, as in the transcription, would not justify the conclusion.
The filter is a real even triangular function. Its Fourier transform iswith . Since the transmitted pulse is the convolution , the convolution theorem givesThe normalized filter preserves the time integral of the pulse, while its extra inverse-frequency factors suppress high-frequency content. It is a smoothing filter rather than an exact compact-bandwidth cutoff.
The Fourier transform of a Gaussian givesThe Fourier transform of a derivative obeys , so multiplication of the spectrum by corresponds to . Since ,This is real and even, as required by the given spectrum. Its time integral is two for every , consistently with .
For fixed endpoint values and smooth admissible variations, the Euler-Lagrange equation isThe first variation follows by integrating by parts and using at the endpoints.
For the claimed first integral, differentiate directly:Along an extremal the bracket vanishes. Thus when , the Beltrami identity isFor a further regular constraint , introduce a constant Lagrange multiplier and make stationary. Apply the Euler-Lagrange equation to the combined integrand, then impose the endpoints and to determine the integration constants and multiplier.
A curve element has arc length and mass . Adding its gravitational energies givesFor the fixed-length constraint, use the augmented integrand . It has no explicit dependence, so the Beltrami identity givesThe desired lower circular arc isIt joins the required endpoints, subtends angle , and has length . Its slope gives . Therefore a gravitational potential producing a circular hanging chain isChoosing makes the first integral constant, . Its gravitational acceleration is , which points downward. An arbitrary additive potential constant changes no force.
This construction really gives a minimum. With , the variable part of is ; the term is fixed by the length. The calibration for semicircular hyperbolic geodesics uses , whose gradient has norm . The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives , with equality on traversed left to right. Thus the circular arc minimizes the energy among competitors of the same length and endpoints in the stated potential domain, rather than merely satisfying a necessary stationarity condition.
Assume a complete orthonormal eigenbasis and a self-adjoint operator bounded below, with the trial state in its operator domain or associated energy-form domain. The expansion and orthogonality giveConsequentlyIt is a weighted average of eigenvalues, all at least . This is the Rayleigh-Ritz variational principle; equality holds precisely when the trial state lies in the ground-state subspace. A continuous part of the spectrum would require the corresponding spectral integral in place of part of the sum.
The polynomial vector field is smooth throughout the solid, so the divergence theorem applies. Differentiation givesThe volume is invariant under both and . Hence the integrals of the two odd terms vanish, and the flux is simply the volume. Using the circular cross-sections,The seams between the surface pieces have zero surface measure and contribute no extra term.
Assume the struck interval lies within the string, so . The initially stationary straight string has . Write its initial velocity as a Fourier sine series . ThenThus . Immediately after the strike all the energy is kinetic energy:The orthogonality integral assigns energy to mode . Since the ideal modes evolve independently, their total kinetic-plus-elastic energies remain constant. Therefore the modal energy of a localized velocity impulse on a string givesThe centre factor selects modes having significant motion at the impact location; the width factor accounts for cancellation across the finite hammer footprint. Parseval's identity ensures . The velocity discontinuities are understood in the mean-square sense and do not alter the energy integrals.
Away from , the homogeneous equation has solutions . A basis adapted to the two boundary conditions is at the origin and at infinity. Their Wronskian is . The Green function must be continuous at , while integration of across the source givesThese conditions give the Dirichlet half-line Green function for minus d2 plus 1:where and . The second term is the image that enforces ; both terms decay as .
For the finite forcing interval, . When , split the integral at :When , the entire source interval lies to the left, giving the Dirichlet half-line response to uniform interval forcingThis solution is unique: a homogeneous difference satisfying the origin condition is proportional to , which cannot decay at infinity unless its coefficient is zero.
The endpoint constraints are . The constants in the three costs contribute only , and respectively, so they do not affect the minimizing shapes. For companies B and C, the fixed arc length isThe original PDF has as company A's first variable term. The local TeX transcription has lost that derivative dot and incorrectly repeats ; the calculation below follows the PDF.
Company A. The relevant functional is . The Euler-Lagrange equation givesIts general solution is . Adding and subtracting the endpoint equations gives and . ThusThis curve is odd, negative on the left half and positive on the right half; company A has no lower-half-plane restriction. It is the unique global minimum. Indeed, for any endpoint-zero variation , integration by parts and the differential equation cancel all linear terms, leavingunless .
Company B. Minimize under the length constraint. Introduce a constant Lagrange multiplier and apply the Euler-Lagrange equation to :The curvature is constant, so the required lower arc is a circular arc. Writing its radius as and imposing the endpoints givesSince , its length determines the radius:Equivalently, introduce with . Then , which increases strictly from to . The stipulated range of therefore selects one minor arc. At it becomes the lower semicircle, with vertical endpoint tangents; it is still a single-valued finite-length graph.
Global minimality follows from the convexity of the augmented slope cost with . For a competitor ,Consequently the augmented cost difference is at least . Competitors have the same length, so the multiplier contribution cancels and the original cost is minimized. This proves that a circular arc maximizes area below a fixed chord: minimizing negative signed height maximizes the area between the fence and the chord.
Company C. The variable cost is . The augmented integrand is . Since it has no explicit dependence, the Beltrami identity givesThe hanging branch with integrates to . Equal endpoint heights force , and the endpoint value fixes . ThusIts length isWriting , the equation has one positive solution for every : its derivative has numerator . The curve is a catenary, is even, and lies strictly below the chord except at the endpoints.
A direct argument proves this is a global minimum, rather than merely an extremum of an augmented functional. Parametrize any competitor by arc length , from its left endpoint to its right endpoint. Then , , and integration by parts givesThe Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives the last step. Equality requires and , whose integrals are precisely the displayed catenary with the stated length. Thus it attains a lower bound valid for every competitor. This proves that a catenary minimizes the integral of height along a fixed-length curve.
First move the order parameter term to the right-hand side:Here , , so the integrating factor obeysChoose the irrelevant positive constant . Multiplying the equation by givesThus a Sturm-Liouville theory eigenvalue formulation with the requested eigenvalue isThis is the Sturm-Liouville formulation with Bessel order as eigenvalue. The spectral parameter is the squared order of the Bessel function, with treated as fixed. This differs from the also familiar formulation in which is the eigenvalue.
The factor is singular at the origin. Consequently the integral defining cannot literally use lower limit zero; take a positive reference point , obtain , and absorb into the normalization. The differential identity holds for . Boundary conditions and admissibility at zero and at the outer endpoint are additional ingredients needed to make a particular self-adjoint spectral problem.
The Cauchy integral formula for derivatives, with , givesThe derivative cycles of sine and cosine give and . ThereforeIn particular the sine integral vanishes for even , and the cosine integral vanishes for odd . For the remaining cases their signs alternate. The radius is irrelevant provided , since the numerator is entire and the origin is enclosed once counterclockwise.
Let be even and integrate around an upper-half-plane semicircle of radius with the real segment traversed from to . There are no real poles, and the upper-half-plane poles areEach is simple. Since ,On the semicircle the integral magnitude is at most , which tends to zero. The real integral is absolutely convergent because its tail is of order . ThusEvaluate the finite geometric series, writing :ConsequentlyFor this reduces to , as a check on the contour orientation and residue signs.
For real , complex conjugation commutes with its absolutely convergent Fourier integral:ThusThis Hermitian symmetry pairs the positive- and negative-frequency components of a real signal; its real part is even and its imaginary part is odd.
Reality requires . The way it constrains the amplitudes depends on whether the spatial wave number is real or imaginary.
For , is real and even. Complex conjugation interchanges the two exponentials, so comparing independent spatial factors givesThe companion equation is the same constraint with frequency reversed and conjugated. Neither oscillatory spatial branch grows as .
For , put with . ThenBoundedness excludes the growing exponential, and reality then pairs the remaining amplitudes:These are the two independent low-frequency requirements. At threshold boundedness eliminates the separate linear-in- solution discussed in (ii). The constraints are understood for a Fourier transform representation in which spatial mode amplitudes are well defined; sufficient amplitude integrability also ensures the spectral integral itself is bounded.
At fixed frequency, the transformed equation has characteristic roots , whereFor a consistent explicit branch chooseThis branch is even in . Away from the two thresholds, the spatial solution is , so Fourier inversion givesAt , the spatial equation has a double zero characteristic root and its full solution is . The two exponentials at represent only its constant part. This isolated-frequency issue does not change an integral with ordinary integrable amplitudes; threshold-supported distributional modes require separate treatment.
Split the inverse transform into the intervals and , and in each case pair the positive-frequency integral with its complex conjugate at negative frequency. The low-frequency pair becomessince and the decaying spatial factor is real. In the high-frequency positive half, replace by . The negative half is again its conjugate. Combining the two pieces givesEvery integrand satisfies the massive wave equation because . Linearity, and taking the real part, preserve the equation whenever differentiation under the integrals is justified, or distributionally under the corresponding spectral assumptions. The construction is exactly the real bounded Fourier modes of the Klein-Gordon equation decomposition.
The displayed expression uses ordinary spectral amplitudes. If distributions supported at are admitted, a further bounded threshold contribution , independent of , is possible. It is not a missing propagating or evanescent branch of the open frequency intervals.
For integrable functions , Fubini's theorem justifies exchanging the two integrals in the Fourier transform of the convolution. Set to obtainThis proves the convolution theorem with the stated normalization:
Take and set . The Rayleigh quotient of the trial for the quantum harmonic oscillator isIts denominator is . The kinetic numerator is times that denominator. For the remaining integral, put and useobtained from and integration by parts. Thus the compact cosine trial bound for the quantum harmonic oscillator isDifferentiation gives , so the minimizing parameter satisfiesThe quotient tends to infinity at either end of , and the two positive terms are equal at this stationary point, proving it is the global minimum. ThereforeFor comparison, the exact ground state has value . The trial is admissible for the energy quadratic form: it is continuous, has compact support, and its weak derivative is square-integrable. Its first derivative jumps at the support endpoints, so it need not belong to the smaller twice-differentiable operator domain; this does not invalidate the Rayleigh-Ritz variational principle bound.

