Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ib Paper 3 12D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Assume the impulse point is in the interior, . Expand the displacement in the fixed-end Fourier sine seriesOrthogonality gives the initial velocity coefficient by applying the Dirac delta to the sine function:Substitution in the wave equation yields . For , its roots are , where . The two initial conditions determineHence the normalized velocity-impulse Green function for a damped string isFor a mode with critical damping, use the limit in place of the time factor. For , put and use . These choices solve the same modal ordinary differential equation and initial conditions, so the formula covers arbitrary . The impulse initial velocity is a distribution, so initial differentiation of the series is interpreted distributionally.
The printed formula requires correction: the factor depending on must lie inside the sum, and sine-mode normalization requires , rather than . The printed slash after the final sine is also stray. Direct differentiation at verifies the corrected normalization: the initial sine coefficients are exactly those of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 16 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose is a Jacobi field vanishing at both endpoints of a nonconstant geodesic segment . Its tangential component satisfiesbecause and the Riemann curvature tensor has the usual skew-adjoint symmetry. The two zero endpoint values imply . Both and are therefore perpendicular to .
The linear map from these Jacobi fields to given by is injective: together with forces by uniqueness for the linear ordinary differential equation defining a Jacobi field. Its target has dimension , soThis proves the endpoint-vanishing normal Jacobi fields have dimension at most n-1 bound. For a constant geodesic the equation is , and two zero values instead force , so there is no conjugate point.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 28 5 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a connected smooth Riemannian manifold without boundary, let be the group of all global diffeomorphisms with , endowed with its compact-open topology. Equivalently these maps preserve the intrinsic distance; the Myers-Steenrod theorem supplies smoothness of distance-preserving bijections and makes a finite-dimensional Lie group acting smoothly. The group is metric-dependent: a topological manifold can carry a very symmetric metric or one with no continuous symmetries. Connectedness matters here. With infinitely many identical disconnected components, permutations of those components can produce a group which is not a finite-dimensional Lie group.
An isometry is determined by its value and derivative at one point. To prove this, suppose and . Preservation of the Levi-Civita connection giveswhere the exponential map is defined locally. Thus is the identity in a normal neighborhood of . The set where its value and derivative agree with the identity is both closed and, by the same argument, open. Connectedness makes it all of . No completeness is needed for this determination argument.
The stabilizer consequently acts faithfully and orthogonally on , so embeds in . More generally an isometry takes a chosen orthonormal frame at to one at its image point, providing an injective map into the orthonormal frame bundle. It is a smooth embedding, and the full isometry action is proper. The orbit-stabilizer dimension formula therefore givesIsotropy is compact. If is compact then itself is compact, by the same frame description or Arzela-Ascoli applied to isometries and their inverses. Properness also means that the quotient by isometries has well-controlled local orbit structure, even though orbit dimensions may vary.
The infinitesimal equation is the Killing equation. Differentiating at zero givesConversely a vector field satisfying this equation has local flows preserving the metric. A global one-parameter subgroup requires the field to be complete. On a geodesically complete manifold every Killing field is complete: its length is constant along each of its own trajectories, so a finite-time trajectory has bounded speed and stays in a closed bounded ball. The Hopf-Rinow theorem makes that ball compact, and the ordinary differential equation can then be continued. The caveat is real: on the Euclidean interval , the field is Killing but its translations are not globally defined for all time. This illustrates Killing fields on incomplete manifolds need not generate global isometries.
The Killing transport identities determine a Killing field from and the skew-adjoint map . Along a geodesic the field is a Jacobi field, so uniqueness for its second-order differential equation propagates these initial data. They have components, reproducing the dimension bound infinitesimally. The important distinction on an incomplete manifold is between all local Killing solutions and the Lie algebra of complete global isometry flows.
In dimension three the bound is six, and rotational isotropy gives stronger information. The Lie subalgebras of have dimensions zero, one or three: identifying the bracket with the cross product, a two-plane is not closed under brackets. Suppose . Since an orbit has dimension at most three, its stabilizer would have dimension at least two, and hence exactly three. Its connected isotropy acts as all of on the tangent space. But the orbit tangent space is invariant under that action and would have dimension , impossible because the standard rotational representation is irreducible. Therefore dimension five cannot occur.
If the dimension is six, each orbit has dimension three and each stabilizer dimension three. All orbits are open, so connectedness makes the action transitive. At each point the isotropy is transitive on tangent two-planes, forcing sectional curvature to be independent of the plane; transitivity makes its value independent of the point. Thus a maximally symmetric connected three-manifold has constant sectional curvature. Homogeneous Riemannian manifolds are complete, so its simply connected cover is the round sphere, Euclidean space or hyperbolic space after normalization. Conversely these three simply connected metrics attain dimension six:Here preserves the chosen sheet of the hyperboloid; it includes orientation-reversing hyperbolic isometries. Constant curvature alone does not imply that a quotient retains six-dimensional global symmetry.
Dimension four likewise forces transitivity: stabilizer dimension three would give a one-dimensional invariant orbit tangent space, again impossible for full rotational isotropy. The stabilizer thus has dimension one and the orbits are three-dimensional. Typical four-dimensional isometry groups occur for and , where the factor groups have dimensions three and one. The usual Nil metric has three translation symmetries and one rotational isotropy symmetry. In centred Heisenberg coordinates it iswhich exhibits the horizontal rotations. Its distinct vertical and horizontal Ricci eigenvalues bound continuous isotropy by that rotation group, so its full isometry dimension is four. Standard metrics on and nonround Berger spheres also have dimension four. The standard Sol geometry has a three-dimensional translation group and only finite isotropy, giving dimension three. These examples show how a preferred vertical direction reduces rotational symmetry.
The isometry dimensions in dimension three are precisely , all realizable. A compact hyperbolic three-manifold gives zero; the product of a circle and a closed hyperbolic surface gives one. For dimension two take withIts scalar curvature is the constant , but its Ricci eigenvalues are the distinct constants in the two horizontal directions and the vertical direction. Hence connected isotropy is trivial and possible isometries preserve these line distributions. A local isometry preserving them has and would require constant dilations and of the two circle coordinates. A global circle diffeomorphism with such a constant dilation has degree , forcing . The identity component is therefore exactly the two circle translations. A flat three-torus gives dimension three; gives four; a simply connected constant-curvature model gives six. This construction distinguishes local homogeneity from the smaller global isometry group.
For quotients, let a complete simply connected Riemannian manifold cover . Every isometry of lifts to an isometry of which normalizes the deck transformation group. Conversely, every normalizing isometry descends. Two lifts differ by a deck transformation, giving the isometry group of a Riemannian quotient formulaThus one should not replace the isometry group of a quotient by that of its model geometry. For a flat torus, for example,The second factor is finite, whereas translations give the three-dimensional identity component.
There is a useful curvature test for compact manifolds. Contracting and differentiating the Killing equation gives , with the nonnegative rough-Laplacian convention. Integration yields the integrated Bochner identity for Killing fieldsIf Ricci curvature is negative definite, no nonzero Killing field exists. The compact isometry group then has dimension zero and is finite. This explains why closed hyperbolic manifolds have finite global symmetry, despite the six-dimensional isometry group of their universal cover. Compactness is essential to this conclusion.
For a compact flat Riemannian manifold, the same identity makes every Killing field parallel. Parallel fields are exactly the vectors fixed by linear holonomy. ThereforeApplied to the six flat types of Question 1, this gives dimensions three for the torus, one for each of the four nontrivial cyclic types, and zero for the Hantzsche-Wendt manifold. These are identity-component dimensions; disconnected finite symmetries can still be present. Local curvature symmetry, global deck-group constraints, and completeness thus play different roles in determining the isometry group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 74 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Write the perturbation Stokes streamfunction as , with and nonzero . Its radial and axial velocity amplitudes are and . These automatically obey incompressibility. Linearizing the radial and axial Euler equations, with pressure amplitude , givesThusDifferentiating the first expression, the terms involving cancel. Equating the two expressions for proves the axisymmetric inviscid pipe stability equation:At the axis, finite smooth axisymmetric velocity requires , after choosing the irrelevant constant in the streamfunction. At the wall, impermeability gives . There is no tangential no-slip condition in this inviscid problem. A decoupled azimuthal disturbance satisfies and does not introduce a growing discrete mode when .
For real , suppose with , so division by is legitimate. Multiply the ordinary differential equation by , integrate, and apply integration by parts. The endpoint terms vanish by the preceding regularity and wall conditions, leavingTaking its imaginary part yieldsA growing temporal mode therefore requires a sign change of , rather than a sign change of alone. This is the cylindrical counterpart of Rayleigh's inflection-point theorem. If this derivative vanishes identically, the positive first integral rules out a nontrivial growing real-wavenumber mode as well. Isolated zeros without a sign change do not make the second integral vanish for a nonzero regular mode.
For the parabolic Poiseuille flow, is constant. Under the specified exclusion of critical levels, division givesSetting , or equivalently choosing in , turns this intoIt is the Modified Bessel differential equation of order one. Hence . Since tends to a nonzero constant at the axis, it gives a singular radial velocity and must be excluded. The admissible mode shape is thereforeFor , direct solution gives after axis regularity, and the wall condition again forces the trivial solution. For nonzero , the nonzero roots of are imaginary. Writing for the zeros of the ordinary Bessel function , the evanescent potential modes of inviscid Poiseuille flow areTheir perturbation vorticity vanishes: . These modes grow exponentially in one axial direction and decay in the other. They can describe end-forced or spatially localized potential fields, but neither sign gives a bounded normal mode on a whole infinite pipe. Moreover, the reduced radial equation contains no : it supplies no temporal eigenvalue condition. An arbitrary imaginary part assigned to here is consequently not evidence for a physical temporal instability.
The real-wavenumber calculation does exclude growing discrete axisymmetric modes of this inviscid profile. It does not establish every form of stability: singular neutral disturbances with in the range of , transient dynamics, non-axisymmetric disturbances, and finite-amplitude transition require separate treatment. The exclusion specifically removes the inviscid continuous spectrum.
With viscosity, linearize the Navier-Stokes equations instead and eliminate pressure to obtain a fourth-order cylindrical counterpart of the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. Impose both and , with appropriate regularity at the axis. The resulting eigenvalue problem involves the Reynolds number and determines complex frequencies, rather than leaving arbitrary. Viscosity supplies diffusion, no-slip boundary layers and critical-layer regularization, so the inviscid sign argument alone no longer decides its spectrum. That observation does not imply that viscous pipe flow must have a growing linear eigenmode; finite-amplitude pipe transition is a different question.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 74 5 a Solution 2026-10-14
The positive drift places the boundary layer at the left endpoint. Set and impose the right boundary condition order by order. The leading ordinary differential equation is , so . At the next order,which integrates toThe outer limit at the left endpoint is two, so it cannot satisfy the left boundary value without a rapidly varying correction.
For the inner expansion use and . Its equations and boundary values areMatching the leading constant gives . The first-order forcing is then . A particular solution is , and matching determines the constant to be . Enforcing givesIn the overlap region the common expansion is . Adding the inner and outer approximations and subtracting that common part gives the uniform asymptotic approximationIt has error uniformly for , apart from an exponentially small endpoint adjustment of the same asymptotic irrelevance. At it equals one exactly, and at it differs from one only exponentially. The polynomial multiplying the exponential remains bounded on the inner scale.
There is an independent check from a first integral. The equation is , so its exact solution has the formwhere is selected by the right boundary value. Endpoint expansion of this integral gives , the same outer coefficients and the same inner expansion. This check also establishes the uniform order of the composite approximation without treating an inner residual as an outer estimate.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 69 5 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Along the exact ordinary differential equation solution, the chain rule gives . Insert the exact solution into the symmetric two-step two-derivative formula and expand about the middle time . Its unnormalized local truncation error isThe coefficients of , and are respectivelyThe centered residual is an odd function of , so every even power cancels. The next coefficient isThus the method has order six. Its zero-stability roots at are the simple roots . With sufficiently accurate starts and smooth derivative evaluation maps, convergence of a zero-stable multiderivative method gives sixth-order error on fixed time intervals. The first Dahlquist barrier for ordinary linear multistep methods does not apply, because this is a multiderivative multistep method.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 69 6 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-18
A constant-step linear multistep method has the formwith . The characteristic polynomials of a linear multistep method encode both accuracy and error propagation. The method has order of a numerical method when insertion of a sufficiently smooth exact solution leaves an unnormalized local truncation error . The exponential-symbol order criterion for a multistep method expresses this as . In particular, first-order consistency of a numerical method requires and .
Accuracy alone is insufficient. For , perturbations obey the recurrence . The root condition for a multistep method requires every root of a polynomial to lie in the closed unit disk, with each unit-circle root simple. This is zero-stability. A root outside the unit disk causes geometric amplification as increases; a repeated unit-circle root permits polynomial growth in . Either can destroy convergence even for starting perturbations tending to zero.
The Dahlquist equivalence theorem states that, for a fixed-coefficient method and a well-posed ordinary differential equation with a suitably Lipschitz continuous right-hand side, consistency of a numerical method and zero-stability are equivalent to convergence for all convergent starting data. If the starting errors are and the exact solution is sufficiently smooth, the global error is on a fixed time interval. A stability estimate bounds the propagated sum of local defects over steps; the discrete Gronwall inequality controls the dependence of on the accumulated error. Implicit methods also require the locally consistent, uniquely solvable update branch for sufficiently small .
For example, the explicit Euler method has order one and , satisfying the root condition for a multistep method. The two-step Adams-Bashforth method has order two and , again satisfying it. The trapezoidal rule has order two with one step. The two-step Simpson multistep method, , has order four and the simple roots : it is zero-stable, although its parasitic amplification root can spoil long-time decay. These examples distinguish finite-time numerical convergence from absolute stability.
The first Dahlquist barrier gives the maximum possible order of a convergent ordinary real -step method:These bounds assume only first-derivative evaluations, fixed coefficients and zero-stability; the sixth-order multiderivative multistep method in solution is outside that class.
To obtain arbitrarily high convergent order within the ordinary class, increase the number of steps. The Adams-Bashforth method integrates a polynomial interpolation of past derivative values and has order . The Adams–Moulton method includes the new endpoint and has order for steps. In both families , so the root condition for a multistep method holds for every fixed . Starting values can be generated by a Runge-Kutta method of sufficient accuracy. The backward differentiation formula instead differentiates an interpolating polynomial; its order- members are zero-stable only for .
Finally, high order and favorable stiff stability are separate design goals. By the Second Dahlquist barrier, an ordinary A-stable linear multistep method has order at most two. One may accept a smaller linear stability domain, use suitable backward differentiation formula members for stiff problems, or switch to high-order implicit Runge-Kutta methods or multiderivative multistep methods. A convergent high-order formula still needs time steps appropriate to its stability properties and the problem's eigenvalues.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 75 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A linear, or “three-thirds”, boundary heat transfer closure needs its own dimensional conductance , so . One cannot simply keep the dimensions of the previous nonlinear coefficient . With equal conductances at both boundaries, the mean-temperature equation becomesIntegrating this linear ordinary differential equation givesThe relaxation time is . If the conductances differed, conservation of energy would instead select their weighted boundary temperature; the arithmetic mean follows from the assumed upper/lower symmetry.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 75 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Put and , the reduced gravity. Use the Boussinesq approximation, hydrostatic pressure, uniform vertical velocity and concentration profiles, negligible fluid entrainment and drag, and a flat bed. Integrating volume conservation, momentum conservation and the particle budget over the layer givesThe hydrostatic pressure resultant is ; the last right-hand side is the deposition flux. With , these areThe quasilinear coefficient matrix in variables isIts eigenvalues are , where . Therefore the characteristic curves and their compatibility ordinary differential equations areFor the last equation the left eigenvectors are , and multiplying the quasilinear equations by them gives the displayed source terms. This is the sedimenting rectangular-channel characteristic compatibility relation; it supplies one differential relation on each wave family, rather than three independently closed scalar equations there. The contact eigenvector has and . For reference, an equivalent form isOnly for constant without settling do become genuine Riemann invariants. With settling, the spatial buoyancy gradient cannot be silently omitted.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 77 1 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A freely swimming body has neither an imposed end couple nor an imposed end transverse force. Its end bending moment is therefore zero, and the transverse force is also zero at both ends. These are the four free-end bending boundary conditions; they do not require the end displacement or slope to vanish.
Put , using the physically consistent sign. Integrating with the two leading-end conditions givesThe two trailing-end conditions consequently requireThese free-end compatibility for a swimming beam conditions are total transverse force and torque balances. They explain why an arbitrary plausible prescribed does not suffice: two integration constants can satisfy only two end conditions unless the forcing already satisfies both compatibility integrals.
The missing freedom is the swimming recoil correction. An observed or prescribed deformation relative to the body must be supplemented by a lateral translation and a small yaw :To identify with the actual centre of mass displacement, first remove the body-mass-weighted mean from . One may also remove its body-mass-weighted first moment about to define the yaw reference uniquely. This changes the decomposition of the observed motion, not the physical displacement.
For , the recoil contribution to the forcing isInsert into the two compatibility integrals, using and as weights. This gives two coupled ordinary differential equations for the two recoil motions. Their principal acceleration matrix isFor a nondegenerate positive mass distribution it is a positive-definite matrix: its quadratic form at is unless . Thus initial translation and yaw determine the recoil through these equations, and the corrected supplies the two compatibility conditions. The four free-end conditions determine the bending moment together with two rigid recoil motions; they do not overdetermine a physically complete swimming motion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 71 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A spatially uniform pressure is a useful leading approximation when the sound speed makes the acoustic crossing time much shorter than the radiative cooling and thermal conduction times. The motions must remain at low Mach number, and gravity and other stresses must be negligible. Sound then redistributes pressure before appreciable thermal evolution occurs. Small pressure corrections can still drive the slow motion; imposing exactly zero pressure gradient in the full momentum equation at every order would be a stronger assumption.
The equation of state gives the specific internal energy of an ideal gas as . With , the continuity equation is . Differentiating therefore yieldsInsert this into the internal energy equation, whose compressional term is , and use spatially uniform pressure, so . The result isFor temporally constant pressure put , so the mass density is . The continuity equation now gives . Multiplication of the last equation by , with , givesThis is the isobaric conductive cooling in mass coordinates transformation before changing coordinates.
There is a boundary assumption implicit in the proposed Lagrangian coordinate. For a mass integral from a fixed origin, integration of the continuity equation givesThus is material when the base mass flux vanishes, as appropriate for the stationary cold reservoir below. If the origin permits mass flux, replace by ; this corrected label has zero material derivative. In a material mass coordinate, and . In particularThe conduction coefficient therefore becomes , with the same as the cooling coefficient. With , the equation is
In the hot gas there is no volumetric radiative cooling. The initial temperature is uniform and the cold boundary introduces no finite mass length. The remaining nonlinear diffusion equation is invariant under , with the same temperature scale. Its natural similarity solution is thereforeThe far-field condition also recovers the initial temperature at every fixed as . Substitution gives the ordinary differential equationFor , this reduces to . Integrating first for gives . The two boundary conditions fix , hence the error-function isobaric cooling front isHere the error function has normalization , as printed in the original PDF; the converted TeX's is incorrect. The following original sketch shows the temperature profiles. The cooling layer broadens as , and at fixed positive mass label the temperature falls as time increases, while the remote hot gas remains at .
For , the magnitude of the heat flux into the cold reservoir isAlthough the thermal conductivity tends to zero there, the physical temperature gradient diverges: their product has this finite limit. The stationary reservoir has no incoming advective energy flux and radiates the conducted energy immediately. Since , the radiated power per unit area isThus the requested exponent is . The initial divergence is the usual idealization of an instantaneous temperature discontinuity in a diffusion equation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 71 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Set . The axisymmetric Poisson equation for Newtonian gravity integrates to . Regularity on the axis fixes the integration constant, so . Radial force balance in the rotating fluid givesWith the stated central pressure, , this is a perfect square:The free surface lies at the first zero of pressure. For the source's positive rotation parameter, ; allowing either rotation direction requires in the denominator. The inward effective gravity is , so . In particular . This is the critically rotating self-gravitating cylinder.
For a normal mode proportional to , the background material derivative becomes , where . Linearizing the centrifugal term gives in the radial equation. In the azimuthal equation the background velocity gradient and cylindrical geometric term together give . Since the interior mass density is constant, write . The two momentum equations and incompressible flow condition are consequentlyFor , the last two equations express the other amplitudes in terms of :Differentiate the second expression using and , then substitute into the radial momentum equation. Before any division by , the result isAway from corotation this gives the required ordinary differential equationAt corotation the original coupled equations, or the undivided equation, must be used. A regular axisymmetric radial velocity would vanish by the incompressible flow condition; the requested dipolar calculation has .
For , use the amplitude normalization , which remains useful when tends to zero. Substitution into the undivided equation gives zero identically. For nonzero this is the source's after choosing . The other amplitudes areThese formulas also satisfy the three original equations directly. By the regularity assumption in the question, this is the interior velocity family to which the free surface conditions must be applied.
The gravitational potential of a displaced cylindrical interface supplies an essential part of those conditions. For surface fluid displacement , the bulk mass density perturbation vanishes but the displaced mass density step contributes . The interior and exterior gravitational potential amplitudes solve Laplace's equation, are proportional to and for , and are continuous at the surface. Integrating the Poisson equation for Newtonian gravity across the mass density step givesSince the two radial derivatives at the surface are and , respectively,It would be incorrect to set the entire potential perturbation to zero merely because the bulk mass density is unchanged.
Let , so . Zero fluid Lagrangian perturbation of surface pressure gives , hence . The surface momentum potential and kinematic condition for are thereforeIf , the kinematic condition fixes . The same value follows if the radial fluid Lagrangian displacement is required to extend continuously to the free surface, including a possible surface-corotation limit. Comparing the gravitational condition with the interior value of then givesfor a nontrivial perturbation. These dipolar perturbations of a critically rotating cylinder describe a displacement of the whole cylinder's axis. Translating an isolated self-gravitating system gives another equilibrium, so there is no external restoring force and the translation is neutral. A uniform drift of the centre also follows from invariance under a Galilean transformation, explaining the double zero of the frequency equation. The singular in the originally chosen velocity normalization does not obstruct the finite-amplitude limiting solution.
There is an admissibility qualification to the frequency conclusion as printed. Regular interior fluid Eulerian perturbation of velocity alone does not justify cancelling the surface factor . Eliminating without that cancellation instead givesThe additional surface-corotation case formally satisfies every displayed velocity equation and the usual linearized surface conditions withHere , and the velocity is finite on the axis. However, its interior radial fluid Lagrangian displacement tends to , whereas the undisplaced surface has . Thus a regular single-frequency fluid Lagrangian displacement continuous up to the surface excludes this degenerate branch. The intended conclusion holds with that regular-displacement condition, or with surface corotation excluded; the printed velocity regularity assumption by itself leaves this formal exception.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 iii Paper 73 1 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Work at one radius and write . Use the surface density to fix the mass density normalization and introduce the height scaleChoose the dimensionless variablesThe pressure and temperature scales make the hydrostatic and ideal gas equations parameter-free. The flux scale fixes the heating coefficient at , and the choice of makes the diffusion coefficient unity. Direct substitution gives the universal ordinary differential equationsFor example, the dimensionless coefficient in the temperature equation is .
Let the upper free surface be at , so its physical semithickness is . Midplane symmetry and the radiative-zero disk surface conditions giveThe last condition is precisely . The unknown surface position and the two positive midplane values are determined as part of the normalized boundary value problem. Symmetry makes even and odd; already follow from the equations and are not additional independent boundary conditions.
The zero conditions do not mean zero surface flux. Integrating the heating equation gives . Near a regular surface with finite outgoing flux, dividing the hydrostatic equation by the temperature equation yields . Thus , and , so mass density also vanishes. The apparent singular quotient in the diffusion equation has a finite regular limit. All boundary conditions and equations are independent of the physical parameters: this is homologous vertical structure of a constant-opacity alpha disk.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 15 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A Riemannian isometry is a diffeomorphism satisfying . A local isometry is a local diffeomorphism with the same pullback identity; equivalently is an isometric linear isomorphism for every . An isometric immersion into a higher-dimensional manifold does not satisfy this local-diffeomorphism requirement.
Let be the local flow of the generating vector field . The identity differentiates to , where is the Lie derivative of a tensor field. For arbitrary vector fields , metric compatibility and the torsion-free connection giveThis proves the Killing equation. Conversely, a smooth Killing field has a local flow, andSince is the identity, wherever the flow is defined. Its inverse is locally, so the local flow consists of local isometries. Neither direction assumes that is complete.
Put and . These expressions are tensorial in . Take the covariant derivative in direction of the Killing equation, subtracting the terms from differentiating and . It follows thatWith the curvature convention of Solution 1, the torsion-free connection also givesDefine . It is skew in by skew-adjointness of the Riemann curvature tensor. The first Bianchi identity givesso has the same antisymmetrization in as . Consequently is symmetric in its first two slots and skew in its last two. These symmetries force it to vanish:We have proved the second covariant derivative of a Killing vector identity, including its sign:The printed identity uses the opposite curvature-sign convention in Killing derivative identities. If , namely , the same result reads , exactly as printed. The convention must change with the sign; under , writing would be incorrect.
Finally let have zero value and zero first covariant derivative at . Along any geodesic issuing from , the identity just proved saysThus is a Jacobi field with zero initial value and derivative. Uniqueness for this linear ordinary differential equation implies on each such geodesic, hence on a convex normal neighborhood of . Consider the set of points where both and vanish. It is closed by continuity and open by this same local argument; on the resulting neighborhood vanishes identically, so its derivative does too. It is nonempty, and is connected, therefore it is all of . This proves everywhere and the general statement that a Killing field is determined by its value and first covariant derivative.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 31 1 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the truncated tensor algebra , with truncated concatenation product. The step- path signature isThese iterated integrals of a path exist as Riemann-Stieltjes integrals, since a Lipschitz continuous path on a compact interval has bounded variation. The degree-zero coordinate is , and the degree-one coordinate is .
Let and write for its degree- coordinate. Integrating first over all variables except the last givesThus for . If is a standard basis vector, define the linear vector field , with degrees above discarded. The component identities are precisely the controlled ordinary differential equationFor a Lipschitz driver this may also be written almost everywhere. Recursive integration of its levels proves uniqueness and recovers the signature formula. The Chen identity follows by splitting each integration simplex at an intermediate time.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 31 4 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the Cameron-Martin space of Wiener measure on : its elements start at zero, are absolutely continuous, and have square-integrable derivatives. For , let solve the controlled ordinary differential equationThe Stroock-Varadhan support theorem in the uniform topology isOne may equivalently take piecewise linear or smooth controls starting at zero. The skeleton uses the displayed vector fields, as appropriate for the Stratonovich equation.
Choose and work in the complete separable space of anchored geometric p-rough paths, with its rough path metric . The enhanced Brownian motion is a random element of this space. Its support of a measure isWe explain this Brownian support step using the permitted results about the enhancement. The almost-sure polygonal convergence proved in Question 3 gives the inclusion of its support in . Indeed, polygonal controls belong to , and the enhancement belongs to their closed signature closure almost surely. Hölder rough-path convergence at an exponent greater than implies -variation convergence: for the level- differences, sum the bound proportional to over a partition. Since , these sums are uniformly bounded and tend to zero with the Hölder distance.
For the reverse inclusion, use Brownian rough path small-ball positivity, namely for every , and Cameron-Martin quasi-invariance of enhanced Brownian motion. These are the Brownian input results used without proof here. For , the rough path translation is continuous and sends to . The law of is equivalent to that of . Given an open neighborhood of , continuity supplies an identity neighborhood mapped into . Small-ball positivity gives positive probability that ; equivalence of the two laws gives . Hence belongs to the Brownian support for every . Closedness of support proves the equality with .
Let be the state-path solution map of the rough differential equation driven by these vector fields, with the fixed initial value . The assumed identification of the Stratonovich solution says . Boundedness of the fields and all their derivatives ensures global existence and the regularity needed by the universal limit theorem. That theorem makes continuous from the rough-path space into the uniform state-path space. For a control signature, consistency with ordinary equations gives .
We use the elementary support under a continuous map identityTo prove it, a neighborhood of with has an open inverse image containing , and therefore positive measure. This puts , and its closure, in the image support. Conversely, the image closure is closed and has full image measure, since the original support has full measure. The minimal closed full-measure characterization from Question 4(i) gives the other inclusion.
Apply this identity to and the Brownian rough-path law. We obtainContinuity and the definition of imply . The reverse inclusion after taking closures follows from . Therefore the last displayed support is exactly the uniform closure of the skeleton paths, proving the theorem.
Finally, piecewise constant and smooth approximations of converge in , hence in on a finite interval. Their controls converge in total variation, their signatures converge in the rough-path metric, and the universal limit theorem gives uniform convergence of the corresponding skeleton solutions. This proves the stated equivalence of the control classes.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 56 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use , , acting on columns. Expanding the two compositions and cancelling their ordinary derivative terms givesCompatibility means local solvability for arbitrary initial vectors, equivalently the existence of an invertible parallel bundle frame with . Such a bundle frame gives , hence . A single specified parallel vector only implies : for example , and have although . This is why arbitrary-data compatibility is the necessary interpretation of “consistent.”
Conversely assume . On , solve with . For each , extend it along by . Linear ordinary differential equations with smooth coefficients give global invertible matrices on these finite coordinate paths. Put . Since ,Uniqueness of the homogeneous transport equation gives . Thus is a full parallel bundle frame. This proves the parallel-frame compatibility criterion without assuming a nonzero vector spans the whole fiber.
Geometrically is a gauge connection on the trivial real rank- vector bundle, and is its gauge curvature. The displayed nonlinear equation is flat connection. Writing gives its general solution on :Conversely substitution, or the Maurer-Cartan equation, proves that every such gauge potential is flat. The parallel sections are for constant columns . Multiplying on the left by a constant matrix leaves unchanged. On a nonsimply connected domain a flat connection can have nontrivial holonomy, so a single-valued global pure-gauge expression needs an extra holonomy condition; the specified plane has no such obstruction.
For the Bogomolny equations, complexify the auxiliary vector space and introduce the spectral parameter . Let denote multiplication by the Higgs matrix, while denotes its adjoint gauge covariant derivative. Define the Lax pair for the Bogomolny equationsThe auxiliary equations are . To check their compatibility, use and . PutThe constant, linear and quadratic terms in the matrix commutator are respectivelyThus vanishing for every forces , , , and those conditions also make the matrix commutator zero. They are exactly . No spectral-parameter derivative is needed. Homogenizing in the two projective coordinates of includes the point at infinity.
The dimensional-reduction interpretation is equally explicit. On Euclidean with orientation , take fields independent of and set . Then . Anti-self-duality of gauge curvature says , , and , which reduce to the same three Bogomolny equations. Translation symmetry reduction therefore turns the four-dimensional ASDYM zero-curvature system into the parameter-dependent three-dimensional system above.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 66 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use the prescribed-speed time parametrization of a curve. On a regular part traversed in increasing , let and assume the prescribed speed is positive. The chain rule for velocity givesIntegrate this scalar ordinary differential equation with an adaptive Runge-Kutta method, arranging output at the exact times . Evaluate . Internal integration steps may be shorter than ; output interpolation must meet the same error tolerance, so variable numerical steps do not create variable frame times.
An equivalent implementation precomputesby adaptive numerical integration. This function is strictly increasing. Bracket each in the table and invert using safeguarded Newton method or interval bisection; monotonicity makes each solution unique. Stop at , with a shorter final time interval if the total travel time is not a multiple of . This accounts for changes in both the curve's parameter speed and the physical speed, unlike equal increments in .
If the specified speed vanishes, examine the reciprocal-speed integral at that event. It may diverge, giving asymptotic approach, or be integrable, giving arrival in finite time. A scalar speed does not determine whether motion reverses or how it resumes after stopping; such behavior needs the physical dynamics or a chosen continuation. The positive-speed formula applies between these events, with the direction changed if the traversal reverses.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 79 3 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Combining the Kolmogorov two-thirds law with the Kolmogorov four-fifths law gives the velocity increment skewness in the inertial range:The constant-skewness turbulence closure assumes this same value throughout the universal equilibrium range, including the dissipative crossover. This is an extra modeling assumption; neither similarity law establishes it near .
Write , , and . Since and , substituting into the Kolmogorov equation for structure functions givesDividing by yields the normalized constant-skewness structure-function equation:At small , , recovering for differentiable velocity increments. At large , the dominant balance gives , recovering the assumed Kolmogorov two-thirds law.
This turbulence closure is inexpensive: a single ordinary differential equation interpolates between the two regimes while respecting the local third-order balance. Its prescribed skewness cannot independently predict scale-dependent derivative statistics, transient spectral evolution or internal intermittency.
EDQNM closure instead evolves the turbulent energy spectrum through modeled spectral triad interactions. Its quasi-normal fourth-order approximation is supplemented by eddy damping and a Markovian treatment of correlation memory. It retains more information about scale-dependent transfer and evolving spectra, at the cost of spectral integrals and modeled damping times. It is still approximate and does not automatically describe coherent structures or internal intermittency. The simple constant-skewness model is therefore useful as an equilibrium interpolation; EDQNM closure addresses a broader spectral evolution problem.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 83 3 Solution 2026-10-14
Model the post-eruption flow as an axisymmetric, shallow, hydrostatic, turbulently mixed layer on a horizontal bed. Neglect entrainment, erosion, heat exchange, rotation and large-scale viscous drag. Particles are dilute, with density , uniform-in-depth particle volume fraction and constant downward settling speed relative to the carrier gas. Deposited particles are not resuspended. Their volume is small enough that settling does not significantly change the bulk carrier volume. Let be ambient air density and carrier-gas density at its local temperature, and use a leading Boussinesq approximation for the mixture motion. DefineThe hot gas reduces the density excess; the ground-hugging current model requires . If density contrasts are too large for Boussinesq dynamics, density-weighted balances would be needed instead. The equations below are a stated shallow-layer model, not a description of the initial explosive vent jet.
For layer height and radial depth-averaged speed , the appropriate shallow-water balances areThe hydrostatic force gives the nonconservative momentum equation . In particular a spatially varying particle fraction must not be treated as constant reduced gravity when differentiating pressure. With no heat exchange or entrainment, a carrier-temperature anomaly is advected:At this order is proportional to . At the bed the carrier has no normal penetration and particles have absorbing deposition flux ; at the top the pressure equals ambient pressure. Axis regularity requires and smooth scalar fields, with no further source after the initial pulse. The initial height, particle inventory and temperature anomaly specify the released volume and ash content. Outside the front , the current layer is absent. At a resolved advancing head, use the material-front condition and the gravity-current front condition , where is an order-one front Froude number and refer to the fluid feeding the head. The front closure replaces unresolved head dynamics; simply prescribing both a zero-depth mathematical edge and a finite-depth box-head speed would be inconsistent.
To obtain a gravity-current box model, assume horizontal as well as vertical mixing, uniform in a disk of radius , and a negligible-volume head whose feeding depth is the box depth. The conserved bulk volume givesA bulk velocity satisfies interior continuity for this box. Rather than impose a uniform pressure on the full shallow-water equations and thereby lose the head force, replace their momentum dynamics by the front closure. Total suspended particle volume is , so bed deposition givesThese ordinary differential equations, together with initial , are the axisymmetric settling box model. The maintained negative thermal term may eventually cancel particle buoyancy and cause lift-off; beyond this horizontal gravity-current model does not apply.
For the requested particle-only calculation set and define the initial reduced gravity . The equations reduce toEliminating time gives . Integrating from the release state yieldsThus the monodisperse circular ash runout has limiting radiusThe maximum outward distance beyond the initial release edge is . When the vent scale is negligible, set in this late-time source idealization. The resulting radius scales as ; it is not obtained by conserving reduced gravity after particles settle out.
To determine the time, put , and . The concentration relation becomes , and the front equation reduces toConsequentlyThe furthest reach is a limiting radius, approached asymptotically rather than attained at a finite stopping time. As the residual particle concentration vanishes, the front slows exponentially. A finite observational threshold for remaining ash would give a finite practical stopping time, but no such threshold is part of these balances.
The local ash deposit density is most naturally its mass per horizontal area, . Once the front has arrived at , its local deposition flux is . For , define ; the arrival time is zero inside the initial footprint and otherwise . Sincewe can integrate the flux exactly. Using gives the circular ash deposit profileIt is constant under the initial disk, then decreases to zero at the limiting edge. Particle solid volume per area is ; deposit thickness is if a bulk deposit density including voids is supplied. The problem does not determine that packing density.
For a negligible initial radius this simplifies toIts integral confirms that the complete initial ash inventory is deposited. The finite- formula gives the same budget including its central flat portion.
Monodisperse axisymmetric ash box: asymptotic runout and decreasing radial deposit density
. Details. The diagram uses the negligible-vent-radius idealization and time normalized by . It illustrates both the asymptotic approach to and the smoothly vanishing outer deposit. All these predictions depend on the mixing and constant-Froude head closure; they do not claim to resolve the initial blast or the ultimate inertia-dominated motion of almost particle-free gas.

