Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 ii Paper 4 6A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Put . The linearization at the zero solution isThe appropriate Fourier sine series isOrthogonality of the modes givesThus each mode grows or decays exponentially with its own eigenvalue, and the largest growth rate is the value. Strict linear stability analysis, meaning decay of every mode, is equivalent toAt equality the first mode is neutral in the linearization; the nonlinear terms decide its subsequent behavior. Above this length the first mode grows, giving linear instability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2011 ii Paper 3 13B ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
For a spatially homogeneous positive steady state, and , givingWrite , , and define . Homogeneous linearization givesThe eigenvalues are , both negative. Hence this steady state is stable to homogeneous disturbances, including the repeated-eigenvalue case, where a possible factor still decays.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 2 8B iii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The phase plane system is , . Its equilibrium points are for every integer . At such a point the Jacobian matrix and characteristic equation areFor even , the equilibrium point is a stable focus for , with eigenvalues ; it is a stable node for , with two distinct negative real eigenvalues. The excluded value gives the repeated critical case.
For odd , the eigenvalues are . One is positive and one negative, so each is a saddle equilibrium for every . These classifications follow from the linearization of a dynamical system, since all the relevant eigenvalues have nonzero real part for . The even equilibria remain hyperbolic at too, although their linearization then has a repeated eigenvalue; that critical case is excluded from the requested classification.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 2 5E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
At a positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium point, and . Hence . The reaction Jacobian matrix there isThe two-dimensional Routh-Hurwitz stability criterion gives strict linear asymptotic stability for , and instability for .
For a spatial mode with , the reaction-diffusion linearization is . When , its trace is negative for every , whileA growing mode exists precisely when this quadratic is negative at some . Its minimum must occur at positive , and must be strictly negative, givingWith , the latter inequality becomes . Selecting the root compatible with yields the Turing instability thresholdThe unstable band isOn a bounded domain a boundary condition must permit a mode in this band. Equality at the threshold gives a neutral mode, not positive growth.
At , the homogeneous linearization has purely imaginary eigenvalues, so it is not strictly linearly asymptotically stable. If “stable” is read as nonlinear stability, the boundary deserves attention. Put , , and , . The exact equations give , , where ,Expanding through cubic order, cancels the quadratic displacement. The correction from the quadratic change in also integrates to zero, because it is proportional to . Since , the Poincaré return map isThis cubic return-map stability of a weak focus shows that is a weak attracting focus. The strict linear range used in the Turing instability calculation is ; the positive homogeneous equilibrium is also nonlinearly asymptotically stable at the boundary . For that boundary, for every nonzero spatial mode. The same strict Turing instability threshold and unstable band therefore also apply there, with the homogeneous mode understood through nonlinear stability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 3 18C b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Linearize about the flat interface at rest, , . Both potentials still satisfy Laplace equation, now on the fixed strips and , with the same rigid-wall conditions. Discarding products of perturbations and evaluating the interface conditions at givesFor a normal mode proportional to , the vertical profiles satisfy , the interface velocity is , and the wall-normal derivatives vanish. Smallness of the amplitude relative to wavelength and layer depths justifies this linearization.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 321 1 b iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write . In a small radial patch with disturbance scale much smaller than , the leading disk diffusion equation is . Taking the linearization around a uniform surface density givesFor a local Fourier mode ,because has . Thus the effective density diffusion coefficient is negative and the disk has a viscous instability of an accretion disk.
A localized overdensity is a maximum of but a minimum of . At its center , so : it grows. The local radial mass flux is proportional to , directing matter toward that minimum from both sides. This is the physical feedback: an overdense patch has a smaller viscous torque in an accretion disk and attracts further accumulation. The arbitrarily rapid growth in this ideal negative-diffusion model is not a resolved prediction below the validity scale of the thin-disk and local viscous closure.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ia Paper 2 6C a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the complete system in the PDF: the TeX omits . Both coordinate axes are invariant, and the equilibrium points are , and . The Jacobian matrix isAt its eigenvalues are , and at they are : both points are saddle equilibria. At the coexistence point,Thus the interior point is a stable spiral. The nontrivial nullclines are and : increases below the first and decreases above it, while increases to the right of the second and decreases to the left. The rotation near coexistence is counterclockwise.
A local linearization by itself does not prove that every interior solution has the same limit. For this logistic predator-prey model, let and use the Lyapunov functionThe inequality makes nonnegative, with equality only at coexistence. Its sublevel sets are compact inside the positive quadrant, because diverges both at the axes and at infinity. Direct differentiation cancels the predator-prey cross terms and givesOn one has , and remaining there requires . The largest invariant subset is therefore the coexistence point. The LaSalle invariance principle provesOn , decays as toward the origin. On , the logistic differential equation takes every to one. The origin itself stays fixed. These boundary trajectories are the exceptions to the interior convergence statement.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 309 4 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use linearization around Minkowski spacetime after constant rescaling of : set , , . To first order,Hence is affine in , while is the freely propagating profile. The affine transverse trace in a diagonal linearized plane wave is pure gauge: it has zero linearized curvature and is locally a coordinate artifact. To see this without imposing extra boundary conditions, use a first-order linearized coordinate gauge transformation , withThe changes cancel and the remaining time/longitudinal changes are proportional to . The transverse perturbation becomeswith all time and longitudinal components zero. It is a transverse-traceless gauge plane gravitational wave travelling in the positive -direction, with plus polarization and no cross polarization in these transverse axes.
For freely falling nearby particles, geodesic deviation gives opposite transverse tidal accelerations, since and in vacuum. Thus the transverse geodesic deviation eigenvalues have opposite signs; the stretching and compressing roles interchange when the curvature profile changes sign. If as well, there is no linearized tidal wave: that special profile is also locally flat to this order. The exact diagonal metric describes a fixed transverse polarization through its opposite vacuum curvature eigenvalues; the linearized calculation identifies it as plus relative to the chosen axes.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 314 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write for the constant isothermal sound speed squared and for the constant Alfvén speed squared. The horizontal magnetic field has no vertical magnetic tension; magnetostatic equilibrium isConsequently the magnetized isothermal atmosphere hasThe sign of specifies the orientation of the magnetic field. The adiabatic sound speed is , also constant.
For the proposed normal mode, let , , and temporarily write for its constant complex amplitude. The divergence amplitude is . Using and , the Eulerian and Lagrangian fluid perturbations giveSince , the magnetohydrodynamic total pressure amplitude isThe vertical derivative of is . For the magnetic tension perturbation, the terms proportional to from and cancel, leavingThus the linearization really reduces to the constant-coefficient eigenvalue problem
For a static ideal magnetohydrodynamics equilibrium with conservative gravitational acceleration, the magnetohydrodynamic energy principle gives a Hermitian operator for the restoring force in the mass density weighted inner product, provided the surface terms vanish. The factor removes the exponential mass density weight. This can be checked directly, without assuming stability: set , , and . Then , whereThis is a Hermitian matrix for real and real positive . Therefore every squared frequency is real; negative values give exponential growth, rather than an oscillation with a complex squared frequency. In an infinite atmosphere these are generalized plane waves, not finite-total-energy global modes.
At and , the equation, after cancelling its magnetic terms, gives . For nonzero magnetic field, the equation also gives . Substituting and then yieldsFor a nontrivial mode ; otherwise these equations and force every component to vanish. Substitution in the vertical equation givesFor example, the determinant provides an independent check:
To prove the claimed “if and only if”, rather than merely locating a zero eigenvalue, use the magnetic buoyancy energy criterionIf , every term is nonnegative, so all eigenvalues are nonnegative for every wavevector, including . If , choose , any fixed , and , , . The first two squares vanish; the remaining value iswhich is negative for sufficiently small nonzero . The Rayleigh quotient of this displacement is therefore negative, proving a negative eigenvalue and an unstable normal mode. This uses precisely the assumption that boundary conditions do not exclude the chosen wavelengths. Equality is a neutral threshold, not exponential growth.
Finally the plasma beta is . HenceThe magnetic field is assumed nonzero in the marginal-mode elimination and in the finite expression. The positive-sound-speed, nonmagnetic limit remains covered by the energy identity; for the usual it is stable. Parker instability occurs because magnetic pressure supports part of the atmosphere's weight while the gas can drain along gently bent magnetic field lines. The resulting buoyant displacement can release Newtonian gravitational potential energy; choosing long wavelengths along the magnetic field makes the stabilizing magnetic tension small. The completed-square calculation quantifies this competition, including the adiabatic process restoring force.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 314 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The separation of the two bodies is , as is fixed by the supplied Kepler third law . The phrase “orbit of radius ” cannot denote the first body's distance from the center of mass in that formula.
Expand the companion's Newtonian potential of a point mass about the first body's center. The constant term produces no force; the linear term produces the uniform acceleration of the center and disappears in the translating frame. The leading differential acceleration therefore comes from the quadrupolar tidal forcingwhere points toward the companion. It is a degree-two solid spherical harmonic. For a circular nonrotating-frame orbit, its time-dependent components have and frequency , because the squared direction cosines repeat twice per orbit. There is also a static component. The real part of one complex harmonic represents the pair of time-dependent components; its normalization and orientation are absorbed into the order-one coefficient . This gives and . The expansion is the leading term for small; spin is being neglected.
For a forced potential flow with the same temporal frequency, the Euler momentum equation becomesUse . The surface gravity perturbation of a uniform-density sphere is unchanged, as is the vanishing Lagrangian pressure perturbation boundary condition. Integrating the equation and applying that condition givesSince , the real surface displacement isIndeed , so the normalization is consistent. This is a particular forced response away from the resonance; arbitrary free normal modes can be added.
Put and . The tidal resonance of a stellar oscillation condition is , henceThe resonance gives for finite nonnegative , with actual forcing requiring . At exact resonance the undamped linearization has no bounded response at the forcing frequency: the time-domain particular solution grows proportionally to times a sinusoid. Thus the frequency-response formula has a pole, rather than describing a finite resonant displacement. Away from that pole, linearization requires the displayed surface displacement to be small compared with ; the leading quadrupolar tidal forcing approximation separately requires small.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 321 3 a iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Choose the positive-frequency branch and real radial amplitude . The azimuthal amplitude of the inertial-acoustic wave is , so taking real parts givesFor , . Thus, to leading long-wavelength order,The quarter-cycle phase shift and the factor are the epicyclic motion relation in a Keplerian shearing sheet. This approximation drops the small frequency detuning; over times that phase approximation is not uniform. The associated fractional surface density of a disk perturbation is , so linearization also requires . The source's arbitrary real sets the wave phase/amplitude within that small-perturbation regime.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 331 4 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use , , , and . Work along a sufficiently regular direct trajectory satisfying the given constraints. The zero spatial mean of the scalar field is conserved by incompressible flow, impermeable walls and zero scalar flux, so minimizing is equivalent to minimizing scalar variance, up to the fixed domain volume.
The printed functional fixes the initial state to a candidate ; it contains no term that enforces its kinetic energy. For the optimization over that candidate, add the real Lagrange multiplier constraintEquivalently, one can restrict all control variations to the sphere in a normed vector space of fixed kinetic energy. This term changes the initial-control optimality condition, not the interior adjoint equations.
Let , and . Linearization of the momentum and scalar transport residuals givesBoth appearances of the perturbation velocity in the nonlinear momentum term have been differentiated. In particular, the coefficient is the gradient of the total velocity, not just the base shear.
For the negative-constraint convention of the functional, integration by parts gives the interior coefficients of asThus the adjoint equations for Boussinesq scalar mixing areThe transpose is essential: the th component of is . The coupling transposes advection of the scalar by a velocity perturbation; transposes buoyancy feedback. Dropping the latter would give a passive scalar adjoint, not the active scalar problem.
These equations are integrated backward, not forward. If , they readwith direct coefficients evaluated at . Both terms from the diffusion equation now have the usual forward sign in . A direct-adjoint looping method stores or reconstructs the forward trajectory, solves these equations backward, and uses the initial adjoint as the control gradient. The endpoint and fixed-energy conditions below give necessary conditions for a local optimizer, not a global optimality theorem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 332 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Introduce specific heat capacity , latent heat per unit mass , and . Write the prescribed convective heat flux as , whereThere is a dimensional convention to specify: with measured in and dimensionless , this printed expression makes a heat transfer coefficient only if is kinematic viscosity. If denotes dynamic viscosity, the numerator needs instead. The question says only “viscosity”; use the consistent kinematic interpretation, or equivalently the corrected dynamic formula. The following balances apply to either convention once has units .
For a thin lava lake crust with a linear temperature profile, Fourier's law gives the outward conductive flux . The Stefan condition balances it against upward thermal convection and freezing, while the well-mixed liquid loses the convective flux and gains radiogenic heating. To leading order in the radiogenically heated lava-lake crust model isThe fixed surface temperature already incorporates radiative cooling, so no extra radiative loss is added to the interior balance. The linear conductive profile is interpreted as a quasi-steady approximation, so sensible-heat storage within the crust is not evolved. Thinness alone does not establish this approximation: rapid thermal adjustment in the crust is also needed, for example a small Stefan number during the initial conduction-driven growth. Replacing the liquid depth by and retaining the moving liquid-volume enthalpy would introduce thin-crust corrections: the requested constant-temperature branch refers to the leading model above. A transient thermal profile in a thick or newly nucleating crust would require the full Stefan problem, rather than this linear-profile closure.
Using the thermal diffusion time , defineThe three independent dimensionless parameters are the convective-conductive coefficient , the heating parameter , and the Stefan number . For positive the evolution equations becomewhere prime denotes . Temperature has the exact solutionConsequently the unique constant-temperature initial condition isAt this temperature, the convective flux equals the column's radiogenic heat production. Starting with no crust, the constant-temperature lava-crust growth law is obtained by separating :The crust grows towards , or , where conduction carries all the radiogenic input. The logarithm makes reaching this equilibrium take infinite time. For an initial thickness , subtract on the same side of the equilibrium; the corresponding antiderivative uses on either branch. The thin-crust description through equilibrium requires .
For general initial temperature, the full early and intermediate history is specified by the exact temperature above and one scalar ordinary differential equation. A particularly convenient integral formulation for an initially bare surface isThis removes the infinite initial derivative of . The right-hand side points into at zero, and is decreasing in when ; two nonnegative solutions therefore cannot separate, which gives uniqueness. Its solution, together with the temperature formula, determines the entire model evolution and can be computed without a phase-boundary search. The early expansion follows by substitution:The dimensional leading crust thickness is . Thus hotter liquid reduces the first correction to conductive crust growth, whereas colder liquid permits more rapid thickening.
If , the temperature decreases and the instantaneous stationary lava-crust thickness increases towards . Starting from zero, the crust always remains below this rising curve: at a first contact but , so it cannot cross from below. Hence hot-start crust grows monotonically. It also stays thinner than the constant-temperature solution: the early expansion puts it below, and at a proposed first crossing their derivative difference is , preventing crossing from below. If , the temperature increases and the instantaneous stationary lava-crust thickness decreases. The crust stays thicker than the constant-temperature solution by scalar comparison, but it may cross the decreasing , reach a maximum and subsequently melt back towards . Such overshoot is possible, not inevitable; the two relevant relaxation rates are and . The numerical plot uses , , , so crust adjustment is faster than temperature relaxation and the cool-start example does overshoot:
Lava temperature and crust thickness
. Details. The curves use and initially . They solve the complete reduced time-dependent equations, rather than replacing the moving stationary thickness by the actual crust. At late times, set , ; linearization gives . For ,At equal rates the forced term is . In particular, slow warming with approaches equilibrium from a thicker crust, explaining the plotted remelting. These long-time expressions describe the linearized response; nonlinear corrections can have their own faster exponential rates. All predictions are restricted to , nonnegative liquid superheat, and the assumed vigorous-convection flux law. If crust growth violates those conditions, the reduced model must be replaced rather than extrapolated to total freezing.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 337 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Assume . The symbol in this part is the convection roll amplitude, not the Rayleigh number of the previous part. Set for the algebra. The periodic boundary condition requires and modulation wavenumbers . The conserved-field equation preserves the imposed zero mean of , since the integral of an derivative over a period vanishes.
Equating the coefficients after linearization of the convection amplitude coupled to a conserved field givesThe conjugate sideband is needed because the variation of couples a perturbation to its complex conjugate. Put , . The linear operator on isIts characteristic polynomial, expressed conveniently without expanding every coefficient, isAt it has roots . The phase root is neutral; the uniform root is excluded by the prescribed zero-flux-perturbation mean. Nonzero arbitrarily long-wave modes remain allowed on a sufficiently large domain. For fixed , the two roots tending to zero have at simple limiting roots. Dividing the polynomial by yieldsRepeated limiting roots may require a further expansion, but do not affect the strict instability criterion. If , the constant term is negative and the two real roots have opposite signs. The positive root gives a growing long-wave sideband instability. Using givesThis is sufficient for instability when a sufficiently small nonzero allowed is available. It is not an unconditional instability theorem for every fixed finite period. For example , , , satisfy the inequality, but the nonzero allowed obey . Their roots are and , all negative. The prescribed zero mean removes the uniform flux root and the remaining uniform phase is merely neutral. The corrected conclusion is the long-wave instability with a conserved mean field, with domain size and mode availability stated.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 345 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write for the height of the filling-box first front above the floor and for the upward plume volume flux crossing it. Neglect the plume's horizontal area compared with , use the Boussinesq approximation, and measure buoyancy relative to the initially unmodified ambient. The first front separates fluid already modified by plume discharge from the unmodified fluid below; the entire upper region need not be uniformly mixed during an unventilated filling box model transient.
A finite injected volume flux cannot enter a hermetically sealed, fixed-volume room under the incompressible flow assumption. If , an equal overflow or exhaust is needed. Taking that exhaust at the ceiling, volume conservation of the region above the front givesThe source volume flux is subtracted because only entrained room fluid is removed from the initially unmodified region. The printed pure plume law has , so it cannot be an exact finite- source law down to the physical floor. In the far field where , or for a heat source whose injected volume flux is negligible, it givesHere is when the plume discharge first reaches the ceiling. Retaining while using the far-field law gives only while that law remains a valid approximation; it must not be extrapolated to predict negative plume entrainment. A plume virtual origin below the floor is one way to match a nonzero source volume flux.
For displacement ventilation, let be the total ceiling exhaust, the total buoyant-source volume flux, and the separate ambient inflow into the lower layer. Volume conservation and the upper-layer buoyancy flux balance giveThe ambient inflow has zero reference buoyancy. In the ideal two-layer closure the upper layer is uniformly mixed with reduced gravity , and the lower layer has zero reference buoyancy. The plume supplies the upper layer while lighter upper-layer air is removed at the ceiling. An interface is driven downward when and upward when ; since , its equilibrium is stable.
In the negligible-source-volume pure plume limit, identifying gives the intended one-source answerThe prescribed inequality makes , so both layers fit in the room. It does not, by itself, justify neglecting a finite source : the pure plume source region must also be small compared with , normally requiring . If denotes additional background ventilation rather than total exhaust, replace in both formulas by . If it is total exhaust, the separate ambient inlet carries . These conventions must not be mixed.
For independent equal axisymmetric pure plumes, adding their volume fluxes givesThus the conventional multiple-plume displacement ventilation calculation with negligible source volume flux and separate ambient ventilation givesSplitting the buoyancy flux increases total fluid entrainment, so the same ventilation balances the plumes at a lower interface. The global buoyancy flux is unchanged, which leaves the upper-layer reduced gravity unchanged. Independence requires sufficiently separated sources and plumes that do not merge below the interface.
There is, however, a substantive problem with the literal source-volume specification in this paragraph of the PDF. It puts all through the buoyant sources, so and . For every positive interface height, entraining plumes haveThere is no fresh ambient inflow to replace the lower-layer fluid being entrained. Consequently the stated positive steady two-layer configuration does not follow from those literal hypotheses. This is no steady displacement layer without ambient supply, not a small correction to the scaling. For example, a matched plume virtual origin givesWhen , this yields . The unshifted answer equals the omitted in this case, so neglecting the source region cannot be justified. Also each source has reference buoyancy , already equal to the proposed upper-layer value; a steady positive plume cannot entrain zero-buoyancy lower fluid and still deliver that same value. The conventional answer is valid for a corrected arrangement with negligible-volume buoyancy sources and a separate ambient inlet, or with source flux and the remaining supplied directly to the lower layer. A real room may have other circulation or continuous stratification, but that requires a different model.
For the intended displacement ventilation model, reducing the exhaust to makes the new equilibriumThe interface initially descends since its old plume volume flux exceeds the new exhaust. In ventilated filling-box relaxation, writing and taking the linearization of the two balances above givesAs , the two decay times areA dimensional analysis estimate of the full adjustment time is thereforeThe interface adjusts on the shorter lower-layer scale; replacing the buoyancy stored throughout the upper layer is slower. Exact equilibrium is approached asymptotically, and a specified small relative tolerance adds a logarithmic factor. For the literal all-inflow-through-sources arrangement there is no positive two-layer equilibrium to return to; is only a flushing-scale estimate for a different, whole-room adjustment.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 13B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
A positive spatially homogeneous equilibrium satisfies and , givingIt exists iff . The reaction Jacobian matrix isThus linear stability analysis gives strict homogeneous stability precisely whenThe boundaries are not included: at the linearization has purely imaginary exponents, and at the positive equilibrium ceases to exist.
For a mode , put . The perturbation matrix is . In the homogeneously stable region its trace is still negative, so a growing mode exists iff its determinant is negative:This upward quadratic is negative for some precisely whenSuch a Turing instability region is nonempty iff . The unstable band isFor a finite domain only the admissible boundary-condition wavenumbers in this band grow. The region shown below describes a continuous wavenumber spectrum.
At onset the minimum of is zero and . On the threshold , substitution gives . HenceThis last expression is the threshold wavenumber; away from onset the fastest-growing mode need not coincide with the minimum of the determinant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ii Paper 4 8E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
The Poisson bracket is . Since , the scalar triple product vanishes, andEquivalently, check the identity on and extend to every polynomial using the Leibniz rule. Thus is a Casimir function of a Poisson manifold of this rotational Lie-Poisson structure on R3.
The Hamilton's equations areLinearization about gives , , . The two nonzero exponents satisfy . ConsequentlyWhen is outside this interval the transverse motion is oscillatory. At equality the linearization is nonhyperbolic; if just one transverse coupling vanishes, the other permits secular linear growth, rather than an exponential instability. This is the familiar intermediate-axis instability described by the Euler equations for a torque-free rigid body.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 345 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let denote the fluid pressure perturbation divided by the reference mass density, and let be the buoyancy perturbation. The buoyancy frequency satisfies . Linearization requires small boundary slope , small displacements compared with the vertical scales of the disturbance and background, and advection small compared with the oscillatory acceleration. For a propagating internal gravity wave this includes ; boundary slope alone is insufficient when . The Boussinesq approximation also requires small relative mass density differences over the region of interest. These conditions must hold for the resulting disturbance, including any amplification by resonance.
The inviscid Linearized Boussinesq equations and linear kinematic boundary condition areWrite the velocity field as . Incompressibility and horizontal momentum balance giveThe vertical momentum balance therefore yieldsFor a real vertical wavenumber , this gives the dispersion relationWhen , define . The radiation condition selects , because energy must leave the boundary upward. The boundary-forced internal gravity wave isIts wavevector is , its phase velocity is , and its group velocity isThus the phase velocity points down and right, while the group velocity points up and right. They are perpendicular. Internal-wave polarization makes the particle motion an oscillation along the group velocity direction, with zero first-order mean transport. The constant-phase lines of an internal gravity wave are also parallel to the group velocity. Their inclination above the horizontal satisfies .
When , set . Boundedness at infinity selects the evanescent waveThe horizontal and vertical velocity components are in quadrature: fluid particles describe small ellipses, and the response decays over . There is no upward time-averaged energy flux, because and are in quadrature. A real vertical group velocity is not defined for this evanescent wave. The pattern travels horizontally with phase velocity .
For the response is the evanescent wave with ; the ratios should not be used. At the cutoff , the bounded harmonic solution has , : it neither decays nor has nonzero upward group velocity. It is the limiting cutoff response, rather than a localized radiating disturbance. A uniform nonzero buoyancy frequency in an infinitely deep Boussinesq approximation is itself a local idealization of the background mass density.
The arrows distinguish the phase velocity, group velocity, and oscillatory particle motion of the internal gravity wave. The right panel shows the decay envelope and particle ellipses of the evanescent wave.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 345 4 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Exner equation is solid-volume mass conservation: a downstream increase in sediment transport flux removes material and lowers the bed. The factor converts bed-height change into solid-volume change. The saturation length equation models downstream adjustment of actual sediment transport to the equilibrium sediment flux. Grain acceleration and entrainment/deposition need a finite distance, so lags . The last relation is an empirical transport law above the sediment entrainment threshold, with and normally ; below threshold it must be interpreted with a positive part rather than raising negative excess stress to an arbitrary power. It is a constitutive closure, not a consequence of mass conservation.
Take the physical parameters , , and . Linearize about a horizontal, uniformly transporting bed with and . Set and use the real parts ofThe locally planar approximation uses the small instantaneous bed slope to compute the inclined-bed sediment threshold. Since ,A sinusoidal disturbance has both uphill and downhill slopes: the printed describes the uphill derivation, and its first-order continuation applies to both signs. The zero-slope reference is the one implicit in the printed decomposition with constant term ; a finite mean inclined bed would require a shifted base threshold.
A fluid-dynamical shear-response closure is missing from the printed question. The three sediment equations and local slope correction do not determine from . Write the general bed shear response as . A frequently used scale-invariant closure for isHere is the component in phase with bed height and represents an upstream phase lead in bed shear stress. They require an independent flow model and can depend on . Introducing them explicitly makes the linear stability analysis complete conditional on a specified flow response; it does not turn them into data supplied by the question. An example of this hydrodynamic closure is given in Fourrière, Claudin and Andreotti's bedform-instability analysis.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 345 4 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Eliminate the transport amplitudes in the linear stability analysis. For a general bed shear response , the dispersion relation isThis is the most specific result available without adding the missing hydrodynamic closure. With , setMultiplication by gives the growth rate and migration velocityThe packed-bed volume fraction cancels. For a real physical closure the negative wavenumber response is the complex conjugate; the displayed formulas cover the independent normal modes.
If , are treated as constants, the upstream shear stress phase lead promotes growth, while the inclined-bed sediment threshold reduces it and the finite saturation length delays sediment transport. There is an unstable band precisely when : . Within this band , so the growing bedforms migrate downstream. The fastest normal mode satisfiesThis last maximization assumes constant ; if the hydrodynamic coefficients vary with wavenumber, their derivatives also enter the selection condition. When and , all nonzero normal modes decay.
Just above the sediment entrainment threshold,Thus the common regime is stable near onset: the slope penalty overwhelms the hydrodynamic phase lead. This conclusion is conditional on that inequality, not universal. For constant , instability begins only when as well as . The transport sensitivity vanishes at onset for , is finite for , and is singular for . Exactly at threshold, the positive-part transport law needs separate treatment; the above linearization with perturbations small compared with is unavailable.
Far above the sediment entrainment threshold, . If , the unstable cutoff tends to , and the dominant wavelength is set by the saturation length. Both growth rate and migration velocity scale with , apart from their length factors. Their numerical values and any detailed dependence on wavenumber still require a flow closure.
For example, prescribing uniform shear stress independently of the bed gives andThis equally admissible closure illustrates why instability cannot be asserted from the printed sediment equations alone.
The plots use constant and three illustrative ratios . They show how the sign of the shear phase lead minus the slope correction determines stability; they are not numerical predictions for unspecified flow conditions.




