Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 3 40E a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
A complex square matrix is a normal matrix if it commutes with its conjugate transpose:By unitary diagonalization of a normal matrix, there are a unitary matrix and a diagonal matrix such thatThe matrix 2-norm is invariant under multiplication by unitary matrices, soFor a diagonal matrix,with equality on a coordinate vector belonging to an eigenvalue of greatest modulus. Hencethe matrix 2-norm of a normal matrix.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 3 40E b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Let be the Toeplitz antisymmetric tridiagonal matrix with , , and zero diagonal. Fixed homogeneous endpoint values give the homogeneous updateThe hint gives the eigenvaluesBecause each is purely imaginary, for every real , so the left matrix is invertible. The two matrices are polynomials in and therefore have the same orthonormal eigenvectors. The amplification matrixhas eigenvaluesThe numerator and denominator are complex conjugates, so . Moreover, the common orthonormal eigenbasis makes a normal matrix. By the matrix 2-norm of a normal matrix,for every . Thus the Crank-Nicolson centered-advection scheme on a finite interval is unconditionally stable: