Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 47 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
To keep the paper's coupling convention explicit, write and use physical coordinates , . Assume and weak coupling . The canonical real scalar field is , and the physical potential isThe symbol is the coupling usually appearing in canonical Sine-Gordon theory; the paper's is its square. The vacua have . A static Sine-Gordon kink has and satisfies . Since , its classical mass isThe topological sector is important: this energy is measured relative to a vacuum, and the kink joins distinct vacua at the two spatial ends. Expanding around a spatially constant vacuum cannot construct this state by any finite-order perturbation in .
For the general one-loop soliton mass correction, start with a canonical scalar field potential and a stable static soliton . Write . The term linear in vanishes by the classical Euler-Lagrange field equation. The quadratic fluctuation Hamiltonian isChoose a common large box and a common finite-mode regularization in quantum field theory. Expand the nonzero normal modes as , with and normalized eigenfunctions. Each pair is a quantum harmonic oscillator contributing ground-state energy . In the vacuum, replace by . Subtract the two ground-state energies and add the local counterterms evaluated on the soliton relative to the vacuum. This derives the general formulaThe prime excludes exact zero modes in field theory from oscillator quantization; their zero frequencies contribute no zero-point energy, but their role in mode counting must not be forgotten. The two sums mean a paired finite regulator, not separate subtractions of divergent answers. Equivalently the nonzero-mode term is the regulated difference of the square-root traces of the two fluctuation operators. Discrete bound states and continuum modes both contribute. This is a vacuum-subtracted soliton mass and the first term in the semiclassical soliton mass expansion.
Translation gives a zero mode in field theory because differentiating the static equation yields . A Gaussian oscillator or an unprimed functional determinant is inappropriate along this flat direction. Replace its amplitude by the position collective coordinate and require the residual fluctuation to obey , preventing double counting. The associated change-of-variables Jacobian supplies the zero-mode normalization. At low speed the collective-coordinate effective Lagrangian for a soliton is ; quantizing the position gives the soliton momentum and its translational states, not an extra oscillator rest energy. More generally, every physical continuous modulus needs a collective coordinate; gauge directions require gauge fixing rather than additional physical states.
The Sine-Gordon kink fluctuation operator is particularly simple:while . This supersymmetric factorization of the one-soliton potential shows stability and generates all nonzero eigenfunctions from vacuum plane waves. The sole normalizable bound state is the translational zero mode of a sine-Gordon kink, proportional to ; there is no positive-frequency internal bound oscillator. The continuum has and no reflection. Applying to gives a transmission amplitudeThis scattering phase shift changes the density of continuum modes. The high-frequency vacuum subtraction cancels the extensive vacuum contribution but still leaves a logarithmic ultraviolet divergence.
The finite part also requires consistent mode-number regularization of soliton masses. The periodic-box phase-shift quantization condition is . Match modes: the kink has its translation mode plus the two continuum modes at each , while the vacuum has the oscillator of frequency and the corresponding continuum pairs. With and , expanding givesIntegration by parts uses and yieldsThe cutoff surface term for a Sine-Gordon kink tends to . It cannot be dropped merely because : grows at the same time.
A renormalization condition must specify which mass and coupling are held fixed. For vacuum normal ordering, or cancellation of the vacuum tadpole diagram with the elementary mass fixed at , the quartic interaction gives the mass countertermEvaluating this Sine-Gordon vacuum tadpole counterterm on the kink givesThe logarithmic ultraviolet divergence cancels, leaving the renormalized one-loop Sine-Gordon kink mass in the stated vacuum scheme:This example illustrates why a zero mode in field theory must be treated as a collective coordinate, why vacuum subtraction alone need not remove ultraviolet divergences, and why the finite relation between the two regulators matters. Different finite counterterms amount to different definitions of the renormalized parameters; an unregulated frequency difference without a renormalization condition is not a physical mass prediction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 70 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Define and use the outgoing acoustic square-root branchFor positive real frequency reached from below, on the propagating interval and is positive real for . The outgoing field in the lower fluid has pressure amplitude , since . If , the shared normal velocity is . The linear homentropic acoustic equations therefore giveThis lower-fluid wave is outgoing; no additional incoming sound is included in defining the impedance seen by the upper fluid.
Put . The sheet's force balance gives , hence . Its prescribed downward velocity amplitude is . Thus the tensioned-sheet acoustic impedance isThe first term is the lower fluid's normal acoustic impedance, and the second is the sheet's inertial and elastic-sheet tension response. For a real propagating angle, .
At fixed nonzero frequency and fixed wavenumber, gives , a zero-velocity, in-phase reflecting boundary. At fixed , gives the same reflection limit, but there is an important exception: elastic-sheet tension does not resist the spatially uniform mode . At normal incidence, the impedance remains however large the elastic-sheet tension is. With this mode is transparent. By contrast, arbitrarily large mass resists even a spatially uniform oscillation. These fixed-frequency limits exclude a simultaneously tuned structural resonance.
If , and . The identical fluids are effectively joined across a massless, untensioned interface: pressure and normal velocity continue without reflection. This is the matched case, rather than the pressure-release case.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 4 11C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The area element in plane polar coordinates is . Thus the axial moment of inertia isFor the removed material, the angular width is , andIts moment of inertia is therefore , leavingThe torque equation gives constant angular acceleration, so the time to reach the prescribed angular speed from rest is
To find the centre of mass after removing material, let point along the bisector of the missing sector in the disc. The original disc has zero first mass moment about its centre. The missing sector has zero transverse first moment by reflection symmetry, while its component along isbecause the radial integral is . The remaining first moment is . Dividing by the given mass gives the body-fixed centre of massIt lies away from the missing sector. In the inertial frame, let be the moment the applied torque stops and let give the orientation of that sector's bisector. Then, with ,The centre of mass has inward centripetal acceleration of magnitude . The required real force is the constraint reaction exerted by the fixed rod and its support. Its horizontal resultant is ; a zero applied axial torque does not imply a zero resultant force.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 4 9C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
First apply momentum conservation to the rocket and the infinitesimal amount of expelled gas. During , the exhaust mass is and its inertial velocity, to first order, is . With no dust, the momentum balance isIt gives the rocket equation , while .
For a dust-collecting rocket, the incoming dust mass is with zero initial momentum. The same balance has rocket mass after the interval, soConsequentlyThe second term in the acceleration equation accounts for the momentum required to bring collected dust up to rocket speed.
Set and , so . As long as the engines operate and , the velocity increases and time can be eliminated:Integrating from , , givesThus the required mass–velocity relation is
If , this formula would give as . In this interval, . A real rocket retains positive body mass even after its fuel is gone, and collected dust only increases that residual mass. It therefore cannot follow this branch all the way to zero mass: its fuel must run out while . Indeed the hypothetical time integral is integrable at when , so even the formal zero-mass endpoint would occur at finite time.
If , the same relation instead gives as . The mass first decreases, reaches its minimum at , and then increases because dust arrives faster than fuel is expelled. The time integral now diverges at : under indefinitely maintained thrust, approaches asymptotically while stored dust grows without bound. At that limiting speed, thrust balances the dust-loading term , and . This is the physical reason the total rocket mass no longer signals fuel exhaustion. A rocket with a finite initial fuel supply still runs out at finite time and before reaching ; increasing total mass does not create new fuel.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 41 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Take the Minkowski metric with signature and a coupling . For a charged scalar field use the gauge covariant derivativeA scalar electrodynamics Lagrangian isAny real potential bounded below and depending only on the modulus gives gauge invariance. Indeed,The derivative of the phase cancels the shifted gauge field in the first identity; commuting partial derivatives proves the second. These identities verify invariance of every term, including the interaction hidden in the kinetic term.
For an unbroken example choose with and . The minimum is at zero. There is no vector mass term in the quadratic expansion and no Higgs mechanism. Pure electromagnetic theory has a neutral massless spin-one photon with two physical transverse polarizations, equivalently helicities and ; longitudinal and time-component polarizations are gauge redundancies. In the unbroken scalar theory, the same massless photon is accompanied by a spin-zero charged particle and its oppositely charged antiparticle, both of mass . A complex scalar has two real physical degrees of freedom, rather than two unrelated charged species.
For a Higgs example chooseThe vacuum modulus is nonzero. Around one vacuum representative, unitary gauge removes the phase and writes . ThenThus the quadratic spectrum isThe gauge boson is a massive spin-one particle with three polarizations, and is a neutral massive spin-zero Higgs boson. The scalar phase supplies the longitudinal vector polarization; it is not an extra physical massless Goldstone boson. The degree count is unchanged: two massless-vector polarizations plus two scalar degrees become three massive-vector polarizations plus one radial scalar degree. The underlying gauge invariance remains a redundancy of the description.
For the two-charge theory, useand retain the same gauge transformation of . Both derivatives transform with the phase of their own field. A manifestly stable two-charge scalar gauge potential is, for positive , and a nonzero complex constant ,Since has charge , its modulus is gauge-invariant. Expanding its square exhibits the direct couplingIn particular the charge in is , which uses the stated charge ratio. The potential is real, bounded below and has the zero-field minimum, while the kinetic terms have the standard positive signs. A complete example is thereforeThere is genuine direct interaction even with because . In four spacetime dimensions has mass dimension , but the expanded potential contains only quadratic, cubic and quartic field monomials; the cubic coefficient has dimension one. Thus the example is also power-counting renormalizable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 47 2 iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
At , the field equations areWith and static , the second equation holds automatically and the first reduces toFor , put . The finite-energy solution isThis is a rotating charged kink in a spherical sigma model. Its orientation moves around a circle while its energy profile stays at rest. The limiting value gives no localized finite-width kink; larger does not give this finite-energy interpolation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 47 2 v Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The internal orientation is a periodic collective coordinate with period . Its conjugate momentum is the integrated canonical charge. The Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization for a positively oriented circuit of this angle is, in units ,There is no oscillator turning point and hence no half-integer Maslov correction for this cyclic coordinate. Equivalently, a wavefunction must be single valued. At , the allowed signed charges and leading semiclassical masses in the family are thereforeThe signed integers include both rotation directions and the nonrotating state. Every finite integer gives .
For nonzero theta it is still the canonical charge that is integral, while the mechanical charge is shifted:For the stated family set ; the reversed kink gives the corresponding family. This is the semiclassical charged-kink spectrum with a theta angle. One may equivalently describe the spectrum by fractional mechanical charges instead of integral canonical charges, but the two conventions must not be mixed. The theta periodicity follows by relabeling the integer when . These are leading semiclassical energies; the quantization argument does not assert that quantum fluctuation corrections vanish.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 47 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the physical rapidity strip for poles of the two-body S-matrix, and write for scattering rapidity to distinguish it from the theta angle in question 2. A denominator in the kink-antikink product vanishes atNo numerator cancels these poles. For two equal-mass constituents with rapidities , their four-momentum vectors sum toThis gives the relativistic bound-state mass from a rapidity pole. The ordered breather spectrum isIt increases strictly with . The hypothetical state would lie at the two-kink threshold and is not a bound state; it is absent from the pole product. At these couplings and . In particular at weak coupling . This is the Sine-Gordon breather spectrum at reflectionless couplings. At there are no breathers; the subsequent processes involving a physical require .
For two identical neutral particles, exchanging the two outgoing labels does not produce a distinguishable channel. In one spatial dimension the elastic final momenta are the incoming pair, up to interchange. Thus there is one scalar identical-particle amplitude, rather than separately observable transmission and reflection amplitudes.
Put , so the basic amplitude uses . Its poles in the physical strip occur at and . The first is the direct bound-state pole. Choosing constituent rapidities gives real total energy-momentumSince ,Both energy and momentum therefore match an on shell with rapidity . The complementary pole is its crossed-channel partner. At the would-be is a threshold state, so this physical fusion interpretation must not be imposed there.
The bound-state fusion of factorized S-matrices treats a bound particle as its on shell constituents with analytically continued rapidities. If equal-mass particles fuse to at relative rapidity , use constituent rapidities . To scatter a third particle off , multiply its scattering amplitudes with each constituent and take the bound-state residue or projection in the constituent channel. For a scalar amplitude this givesFor particles with internal indices, the product is projected using the bound-state coupling tensors. The heuristic reason is factorized scattering: conserved higher charges prevent particle production and fix the rapidity data, so the third particle scatters through the constituents by successive two-body processes. Consistency of different orders is the Yang-Baxter equation. Without integrability, an independent three-body interaction would invalidate this simple bootstrap product.
For , the constituent shifts are , givingIt is useful to write this Sine-Gordon breather fusion amplitude in explicitly factorized form:To check the reduction, put . Multiplying the shifted factors gives numerator and denominator . Use and to factor them as . The product tends to one at large positive real rapidity, fixing its overall phase in this bootstrap convention.
For , the nearest pole to the real axis is . It is simple and comes from the first factor. In the crossed, or t-channel, the momentum carried between the external particles is their difference. With the metric its invariant isAt the pole, substitute the breather masses:The trigonometric identity is applied with angles and . Thus the exchanged one-particle state is the lightest breather , on its mass shell. This is crossed-channel lightest-breather exchange. The external momenta at a bound-state pole are analytically continued; on shell here means the invariant mass relation and conservation of the continued energy-momentum, not a pole at real physical rapidity. At the more distant central factor has a double pole, but the nearest pole and its interpretation remain unchanged.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 58 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write for the genuine surface density of a disk, and for its three-dimensional mass density. The delta function in the printed surface density formula belongs to , not to . Introduce a reference length to make logarithms dimensionless. The intended model is the infinite, self-gravitating, scale-free Mestel disk, with no extra source or imposed gravitational field.
The circular speed satisfies . Thus the flat galaxy rotation curve givesA reflection-symmetric harmonic function with this midplane boundary value isVerify this continuation using the Poisson equation for Newtonian gravity. For , set ; thenHence off the astrophysical disk, and reflection gives the lower-half-space solution. Across the astrophysical disk the derivative jumps by . The distributional Poisson equation for Newtonian gravity therefore givesAt the origin the enclosed disk mass tends to zero linearly with radius, so there is no additional central point mass. This verifies the Mestel disk potential-density pair. The astrophysical disk has infinite total mass and a logarithmic Newtonian gravitational potential, so it is not an isolated finite-mass model with Newtonian gravitational potential zero at infinity. The usual scale-free boundary condition is important: the midplane rotation curve alone would also permit an added term , representing an extra uniform sheet without changing the radial circular force. That contribution is excluded in the intended Mestel disk model.
Use a mass-weighted planar galactic distribution function, so is the stellar mass in a small planar phase space element. A number-weighted function instead needs the stellar mass factor when computing . Assume a steady collisionless stellar system and isotropy in the two in-plane velocity components. Put and write . The stationary Collisionless Boltzmann equation becomesSince this holds in every velocity direction, . In coordinates with , this is exactly . Therefore the planar isotropic distribution is , where is the specific orbital energy. Stationarity is essential; instantaneous isotropy alone would not imply this result.
Integrating over the two-dimensional velocity plane gives the planar isotropic distribution inversion:On the astrophysical disk , so . Differentiate the integral with respect to its lower limit:The boundary value as verifies the integrated equation as well as its derivative. Choosing the implicit length unit recovers the printed normalization. Changing the additive energy zero changes this prefactor accordingly.
At a fixed radius, the normalized velocity density isIt is a product of centered Gaussian distributions. Differentiating the supplied Gaussian integral with respect to its coefficient gives the second moments, and odd moments vanish. Thus the in-plane velocity dispersions areAn exactly planar astrophysical disk has and . The nonzero circular speed is a property of the force field, not a statement that this hot stellar distribution has net rotation.
Reversing every retrograde star folds the azimuthal Gaussian to a half-normal distribution. Equivalently the new steady galactic distribution function is , because and are integrals of the motion. Its density and even velocity moments are unchanged. Its streaming velocity isThis maximally prograde stellar distribution still has radial motion and a spread of azimuthal speeds; it does not place every star on a circular orbit. In particular while . The mean speed is smaller than the root-mean-square speed , which explains why it is not the circular speed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 58 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use a local, homogeneous razor-thin disk approximation in a frame rotating with constant . The unperturbed planar velocity is zero in this frame, and the large-scale gravitational and centrifugal forces balance. Neglect viscosity, magnetic fields, thickness and background gradients across a wavelength. Take small planar disturbances, with wavelength short compared with the galaxy's background scale but long enough for a fluid description. The barotropic closure of a razor-thin disk is , with fixed and a positive derivativeSolid-body rotation has no shear and has radial epicyclic frequency . By rotational symmetry of the local model choose a wavevector along , and write perturbations proportional to .
Let be the surface density, -velocity, -velocity and Newtonian gravitational potential amplitudes. The linearized continuity equation and Euler equations with the Coriolis force areThe perturbing Newtonian gravitational potential solves the Poisson equation for Newtonian gravityIts decaying solution is proportional to . The jump in its derivative is , giving the razor-thin disk Poisson kernelEliminating from the two momentum equations, and using , gives the density-wave branchThe complete linear system also has a zero-frequency balanced mode; it is not the growing density-wave branch, and division by in this elimination excludes it. The result is the uniformly rotating gas-sheet dispersion relation: pressure opposes compression at large wavenumber, self-gravity promotes compression, and rotation provides epicyclic support.
A mode is exponentially unstable when . With and , this occurs atThe uniform perturbation is marginal rather than growing in this local calculation. With , rotation fails to stabilize sufficiently short waves:These limits show why both pressure and rotation are needed for stability at all wavelengths.
For nonzero pressure and rotation, put . Complete the square:Its minimum lies at . Thus a growing mode exists precisely whenThe printed inequality has the opposite physical meaning: it is the condition for no exponentially growing density wave. Equality is marginal. In the usual gas Toomre stability criterion, , so instability is and stability is . The unstable wavenumber band of a rotating gas sheet iswhen .
If and remain fixed while decreases slowly, first reach marginality atThe first wavelength to become unstable just below this threshold is the marginal fragmentation wavelength of a rotating sheet:Density maxima are separated by approximately this wavelength. The expected fragment size is of this order; an overdense half-wave has width about . Linear theory fixes a preferred wavelength, not an exact nonlinear clump radius or shape. Further cooling shifts the fastest-growing wavelength to . A rough fragment mass is consequently of order , with a geometrical factor depending on the nonlinear fragmentation pattern.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 58 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the paper's positive binding-energy convention ; the physical Newtonian gravitational potential energy is . Assume positive masses, an isolated system, and no collision during the time interval under consideration. Differentiate half the scalar moment of inertia, , twice:Group the force term into unordered pairs. The force on particle from is ; the two contributions to the virial sum are thereforeAdding them proves the instantaneous virial theorem identityNo time average is needed for this form. A vanishing average of would require additional boundedness assumptions.
For the pairwise moment-of-inertia identity, expand the squared pair distances:The last term vanishes in the centre of mass frame, givingLet , and label the two smallest masses . If , every term in is at most , so . One pair attains , and its mass product is at least , so . HenceThese constants show the minimum-separation binding-energy bounds: inverse binding energy is comparable to the nearest-pair distance, independently of configuration.
Similarly, every separation is at most and at least one pair attains . The pairwise identity gives the maximum-separation inertia boundsBoth lower bounds rely on actual extremal separations, rather than an arbitrary numerical lower or upper estimate for all the pair distances.
Negative energy does not imply a positive lower bound on the minimum separation. The printed request is false if it is meant to exclude close approaches or collisions; the trivial bound says nothing of that kind. In fact and give , which, combined with , proves the negative-energy minimum-separation upper boundThis ensures at least one close pair, not confinement of every particle or prevention of collision.
An explicit negative-energy gravitational collision is a pair initially at rest with separation . Its total energy is . For reduced mass , its relative radial equation isThe separation decreases to zero in the finite timeBefore that time the motion is a regular Newtonian solution, yet its separation has no positive infimum. Even at fixed negative energy, bound Kepler orbits with eccentricity approaching one have arbitrarily small pericentre distance. Thus a missing angular momentum or collision-exclusion hypothesis cannot be supplied by the energy sign alone.
For , the instantaneous virial theorem gives . Integrating twice from any regular time givesUsing , obtain the positive-energy linear diameter growth boundwhenever the numerator is nonnegative. Consequently, for a solution existing for arbitrarily large future times,This is the precise at-least-linear expansion statement. It does not assert that is monotone at every instant, nor that all individual particles escape. The large-time conclusion presupposes continued existence of the trajectory; the inequality itself holds on every nonsingular time interval.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 58 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Put and use energy and angular momentum per unit particle mass. The Kepler orbit equation is . HenceThus and are integrals of motion. Splitting the velocity into radial and transverse parts, , gives the Kepler radial energy equationHere denotes the derivative of the scalar radius, unlike .
For the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector, differentiate directly:The vector triple-product identity yieldsThe terms cancel, proving every component of is conserved.
Write and for a monotone radial orbit time transformation. The chain rule givesImpose , equivalentlyMultiplying the radial energy equation by then givesThis is a transformation along each trajectory; the new clock is obtained by integrating its radius-dependent rate.
For the Kepler–harmonic radial duality, take the old inverse-radius term as the new constant energy, . On a positive-radius branch , soThe remaining term is minus the new Newtonian gravitational potential:For this is an attractive isotropic harmonic oscillator with . For it is an inverted oscillator, and for the Newtonian gravitational potential vanishes. Calling it a confining oscillator therefore requires a bound original Kepler orbit.
For the angular reconstruction of a radial orbit transformation, choose the new angle by . The same then supplies its centrifugal term. From , the transformation is ; in the harmonic case this gives up to a constant. Keeping the old angle unchanged would not in general preserve the angular momentum used in the displayed transformed radial equation.
For the second transformation use the explicit displayed split of the energy terms. It assigns weight to and to ; the surrounding printed prose interchanges these weights. Define the transformed quantities consistently byTheir difference is exactly , so they give the same transformed radial energy equation.
Let , , and . Constancy of the new energy imposesFor the standard regular isochrone branch take , , and . The positive-radius root isFor it is monotone. The corresponding clock is also regular there:With and , rationalization gives . Eliminate using :where one possible identification isThis is the Kepler–isochrone radial transformation to the spherical isochrone model, up to the additive energy constant .
The attractive branch of the Kepler–isochrone transformation requires a suitable parameter domain. The displayed square root needs , and the positive-root branch used above needs , . An attractive regular isochrone also needs and . For bound original orbits a convenient domain is , , : it satisfies all these requirements and gives . For one may instead take , with ; these map to unbound attractive isochrone orbits. Other parameter choices can produce a repulsive Newtonian gravitational potential or a different branch, so no unrestricted real-parameter statement is justified. The singular algebraic case is the harmonic transformation already handled separately. The angular reconstruction likewise completes the isochrone radial solution into a central-force orbit.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 50 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Choose boundary states with nonzero overlap with the lowest-energy state in the vacuum sector and in the one-kink topological sector . In a finite spatial box, a fixed scalar field configuration eigenstate may be used formally, with temporal endpoints equal to the chosen configuration. More generally, smear the endpoints with wavefunctionals . Their unitary time evolution kernels areThe inner scalar field path integral remains in the chosen topological sector, with . A zero-total-momentum projection can be included to select the rest state; alternatively, the translational prefactor does not change the large-time exponential. After a Wick rotation to physical Euclidean time , the energy eigenstate expansion gives . Thus the exact vacuum-subtracted soliton mass isEquivalently it is at large time with a damping prescription. The ratio subtracts the vacuum energy; the Hamiltonian operator and action here are the fully regulated and renormalized ones, not merely their classical approximations.
With the dimensionless coordinates of this paper, the correctly normalized classical action isFor the static Sine-Gordon kink, and , so . Write . Expanding and integrating by parts givesThe first variation is , plus boundary terms. It vanishes because the kink satisfies the Euler-Lagrange field equation and the fluctuations have the prescribed temporal endpoints and admissible spatial boundary behavior. This is the principle of stationary action, not a symmetry assumption about .
The printed expansion omits despite the stated Lagrangian density. Its displayed form is the expansion of ; it is not the physical at arbitrary coupling. Alternatively, writing puts the quadratic term in canonical normalization, while leaving the classical term unchanged. This normalization repair does not change or the physical fluctuation frequencies.
The Sine-Gordon kink fluctuation operator has the useful factorizationIt is nonnegative, and gives the normalized translational zero mode of a sine-Gordon kink:A displacement changes by . Thus the zero mode in field theory is the position collective coordinate of the kink, reflecting translation invariance. It has no restoring force and no oscillator zero-point energy. Integrate that collective coordinate separately rather than inserting a zero factor into the Gaussian functional determinant.
Sine-Gordon kink fluctuation potential and normalized translational zero mode
. Details. In the Gaussian fluctuation approximation, the formal oscillator contribution to the one-loop soliton mass correction, before adding any counterterm, isUse a common regulator for the two sums, include all discrete modes, and treat the translation mode as above. The vacuum sum is essential: subtracting only classical vacuum energy would leave an extensive oscillator energy. A periodic fluctuation and its derivative are matched at the two ends of the large box; the one-kink background lies in the twisted topological sector, and its infinite-line profile is accurate up to exponentially small boundary corrections.
For a continuum scattering wavefunction, equality of its two asymptotic values gives the periodic-box phase-shift quantizationAway from the threshold, expand at a matched mode number:Since consecutive free wave numbers are separated by , replacing the continuum-mode sum by an integral proves the displayed continuum contribution:The ultraviolet cutoff is retained until the counterterm is added.
There is a finite threshold issue if this expression is identified with the complete oscillator correction. It can be settled directly using the factorization: a continuum eigenfunction is . Its transmission phase obeyswith the odd phase branch that tends to zero at large . For , the continuum roots have labels ; there is no periodic continuum root at , since the limiting eigenfunction has opposite signs at the two ends. The bound state at replaces the free oscillator with . Consequently, in mode-number regularization of soliton masses,The PDF's continuum-only formula misses this finite under this standard phase and mode-counting convention. It has the correct logarithmic ultraviolet divergence, but the missing term is not suppressed by large . Changing the phase branch requires changing the mode labels and endpoint terms consistently; it cannot erase a physical mode from the formal spectrum sum.
At high momentum, , so both expressions have divergent part . The canonical field has a quartic interaction with coupling . Its vacuum tadpole diagram shifts the squared mass by , whereThe Sine-Gordon vacuum tadpole counterterm has and adds potential energy density . Since , its vacuum-subtracted kink energy iswhich cancels the logarithmic ultraviolet divergence. Finite parts require a specified renormalization condition. As a consistency check, with this tadpole subtraction and matched mode-number cutoff, integration by parts yieldsThe complete semiclassical soliton mass is then in that convention. This last finite result uses the bound-mode term and is additional to the requested ultraviolet cancellation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 54 1 a iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The useful high-density core bound from TOV compactness follows without choosing the unknown high-density equation of state. Let be the radius at which the decreasing energy density first reaches , and put , . The Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation gives away from a nonempty centre; since , energy density decreases outward. HenceFor the local stellar compactness, if , , since its derivative is . Applying the supplied compactness inequality at the core boundary therefore gives . Combining the two bounds yieldsThe pressure-dependent form further restricts the allowed core-boundary data:In particular, positivity of its right side gives , so when . These restrictions depend only on known quantities, not on the equation of state above .
The intended stellar-mass argument now attaches the known low-density envelope to each admissible pair with pressure . Its Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation involves only the known equation of state. For a physical low-density envelope with a uniformly bounded mass on this bounded set of core data, taking the supremum of the envelope-plus-core masses gives an upper mass limit independent of any high-density continuation. Stars with are also determined entirely by the known equation of state. Unknown dense-core physics cannot evade the displayed core bounds.
A qualification is necessary for a claim about the entire star: the printed monotonicity assumptions alone do not guarantee a finite maximum total mass for an arbitrary known low-density equation of state. An explicit low-density polytropic mass divergence occurs for with fixed . In the low-density Newtonian limit, this is a stellar polytrope of index , whose Lane-Emden equation has a finite first zero. With and , hydrostatic balance fixeswhere is the dimensionless Lane-Emden surface mass constant. Thus as , although . The first Lane-Emden zero is simple. The continuous dependence of an ODE solution on parameters therefore preserves this finite surface for sufficiently small relativistic parameter. The relativistic correction is controlled by , so the corresponding regular finite-radius Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation solutions have the same limiting scalings. They never sample , and satisfy the local positivity and monotonicity assumptions in their nonvacuum interiors. This shows exactly why a suitable bounded-envelope hypothesis, or an appropriate restriction to physically stable stellar models, must accompany the intended total-mass conclusion. The compactness inequality supplies a bound on the unknown core, not a bound on the mass of every conceivable dilute envelope.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 54 1 a ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A regular central expansion of the TOV equations requires . Once is chosen, the barotropic stellar equation of state fixes . Smoothness at the centre forces the radial first derivatives of and to vanish. Expanding the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation givesSince , the equation of state is locally invertible, and these coefficients determine the corresponding energy density expansion as well. Integrating the regular solution outward gives the surface at the first zero of the pressure, when such a finite surface exists. The ordinary differential equation uniqueness theorem then fixes the interior and its exterior mass from .
The additive constant is a time-coordinate normalization, not a second physical parameter. Matching to the Schwarzschild metric with time normalized at infinity fixes it. Therefore the regular stellar solutions, modulo time rescaling, have one physical parameter: . This statement uses a suitably smooth fixed equation of state and refers to central densities for which the solution actually forms a regular star; not every central energy density need give a finite-radius configuration.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 54 1 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
In the vacuum exterior, the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff equation gives , so . The remaining metric function obeysThus . A constant rescaling of the time coordinate removes ; equivalently, asymptotic flatness fixes when time is normalized at infinity. Consequently the exterior is the Schwarzschild metric:The mass includes the full perfect fluid in general relativity interior. No equation of state beyond the surface enters this vacuum result.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 54 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For the Komar integral of a five-dimensional Reissner--Nordstrom metric, use the one-form metrically dual to the stationary Killing vector field: . Its exterior derivative is . The stated orientation gives volume formBecause the squared norm of is , the defining wedge identity for the Hodge star operator givesThus the Komar integral over the positively oriented angular three-sphere issince the unit three-sphere has volume . Write , . Then and . With the normalization specified for the Komar mass,The orientation makes this positive. The problem's coefficient must be retained: it is not the usual dimension-adjusted five-dimensional ADM-normalized Komar coefficient. With that conventional normalization the ADM mass would instead be .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 63 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let , , and restrict first to . The radiation-pressure coefficient reduces the grain's central gravitational parameter to , whereas the planet's is approximately . Their mean motions obey . Setting this ratio to gives the radiation-pressure shift of a mean-motion resonance:It lies interior to the planet exactly when , or . Equality puts the frequency commensurability at the planet's radius. For every such commensurability is exterior.
There is a frame qualification in the printed encounter formula. The circular inertial speed of the grain at is . Subtracting the planet's inertial velocity at conjunction gives the local planet-relative inertial speedThis is the velocity used in the question's two-body gravitational assist calculation. In a frame actually rotating about the star at , the grain's tangential velocity is instead , with magnitude . In particular its nonradiating shear is , rather than . Thus the requested expression uses a local translating, inertial encounter convention despite the source's rotating-frame wording. The following derivation consistently uses that convention, and its coefficients are an encounter estimate rather than an exact rotating-frame result.
Take impact parameter and a small gravitational scattering angle . Expanding the supplied hyperbolic scattering relation gives . Initially the relative tangential velocity is ; after the deflection it has tangential component . The relative speed is unchanged in the local hyperbolic Kepler orbit, but the stellar-frame kinetic energy changes. Taking the dot product with the planet's velocity givesThe specific orbital energy of the grain is . Comparing it immediately before and after the encounter at the same position givesConsequentlyThe encounter increases the grain's semi-major axis within this geometry. These steps assume , , and an orbital kick small enough for the subsequent linearization.
Choose the initial conjunction longitude as zero. The synodic period is , and the planet's longitude accumulated by the next conjunction isThese are unwrapped longitudes, counting complete revolutions. The second uses the new mean orbital period while neglecting the encounter's immediate phase offset and the difference between true and mean conjunction. A comparison reduced modulo could not implement the stated one-turn sensitivity test.
For , , so and . Conjunction-longitude sensitivity to an encounter givesRequiring this to exceed gives . At a high-index first-order mean-motion resonance, , henceThe interpretation of the resonance-overlap encounter estimate is loss of coherent encounter phases: a small kick changes the next synodic encounter time by more than one planetary revolution. Resonant protection by repeatedly meeting at controlled orbital phases can then fail, allowing irregular kicks and diffusion. This sensitivity criterion motivates an unstable region; it is not a proof that every orbit or resonant phase in it must escape.
For a quantitative sketch with radiation, put and . Differentiating the conjunction formula and substituting the kick givesEvaluate this at the positive and take as the critical-index curve. At small , increased encounter speed weakens planetary scattering, moving the threshold to larger . As rises further, the radiation-pressure shift of a mean-motion resonance brings each commensurability closer to the planet, strengthening the close encounters. The curve turns over and approaches the exterior-limit boundary . Larger planetary mass produces stronger kicks and a lower critical index. These competing effects are shown below; the curves retain the factors in , so their intercepts differ slightly from the leading high- formula. The boundary for disappearing exterior commensurabilities is geometric; divergence of the encounter approximation near should not be read as a precise physical scattering rate.
Encounter-estimate critical resonance index versus radiation pressure for three planet-to-star mass ratios
. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 74 3 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Continue with downward coordinate and . By Stokes drag law, the small-particle isolated settling velocity is . Normalize concentrations by : write . In suspension the specified independent hindered settling laws give fluxes and . The initial state is .
Two upper sedimentation shocks clear the species separately. The faster front removes large particles, leaving behind it; the small concentration is unchanged across this front because the species fluxes are independent. The slower front separates that small-only suspension from clear fluid. Their downward velocities areThere is also a growing mixed deposit at the bottom. Let its normalized solid concentrations be , with , and let its upward speed magnitude be . Applying the Rankine-Hugoniot condition to each species givesAdding these relations provesThe deposited flux is zero even though each species occupies only part of the packing: the settling law applies to the suspension, while the deposit is a separate stationary state. These jump relations determine the deposit composition from sedimentation jump conditions.
The large-particle clearing front has height and meets the mixed-deposit front at height . ThusAt this merger all large particles have entered the deposit. Only the small particles remain suspended, at normalized concentration . The new material deposited above the mixed layer is pure small-particle solid, at total concentration . Its sedimentation shock therefore has downward speedFor , the deposit top and the remaining clearing front have heightsTheir meeting, or the total solid-volume balance, givesThis is two-stage bidisperse batch sedimentation: the fast species finishes first, followed by deposition of the remaining slow species.
The final solid composition by volume, and also by mass because the particle densities are identical, isThe upper pure-small layer has thickness . As checks, accounts for all large-particle solid volume, and accounts for all small-particle solid volume, in units of . If “percentage of particles” means number rather than volume, a large sphere occupies eight times the volume of a small sphere: the mixed bottom layer contains large particles by number and small. The upper layer remains entirely small under either convention.
Bidisperse sedimentation: three initial shocks, merger at t1 and h1, final settling at t2 and h2, and solid-volume composition of the deposit
. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 74 4 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
At a fixed height, first determine the stored quantities per unit vertical height and per unit length along the line source. With , the triangular-profile line plume has the useful profile integralThe geometric volume is ; the mass is . The upward momentum is , while the buoyancy force is . ThusHere positive buoyancy corresponds to a rising light plume. If instead buoyancy is defined kinematically, divide by ; the density-weighted convention here is the one matching the printed equations.
Multiply each local density by the vertical velocity to obtain the fluxes through a horizontal section, still per unit source length:In particular, the stored momentum equals the mass flux , and the buoyancy flux is . The different triangular-profile factors in storage and flux must not be replaced by top-hat coefficients.


