Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 14 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
The Riemannian volume form of an oriented -dimensional Riemannian manifold is the unique positive -form taking value one on every positively oriented orthonormal frame. In positive coordinates,The metric induces an inner product on exterior powers of the cotangent bundle, with wedges of distinct orthonormal covectors forming an orthonormal basis. The Hodge star is the pointwise linear map specified byIt is an isometry and satisfies . With the positive-sign convention, the Hodge Laplacian on differential forms isHere is the exterior derivative and its formal adjoint; on functions is zero. On functions this is the Laplace-Beltrami operatorThe convention gives the negative of this operator. All subsequent Laplacians use the nonnegative convention above.
On a compact oriented manifold without boundary, the Hodge decomposition theorem gives an orthogonal decomposition of smooth real forms,The three component forms are uniquely determined, although the potentials in the last two summands need not be unique. The space is finite-dimensional, and each de Rham cohomology class has a unique harmonic representative. Integration by parts gives , so harmonic forms are exactly the closed and coclosed forms. Set outside . Compactness without boundary is a hypothesis of this version of the theorem; orientation alone does not supply it.
A connection on induces a dual connection on and then connections on its tensor and exterior powers by the Leibniz rule. Explicitly, for a -form ,To prove the parallelism of the Riemannian volume form, use a local positively oriented orthonormal frame , its dual coframe , and write . Metric compatibility makes the matrix skew-symmetric. Since , differentiating the wedge yieldsOff-diagonal terms vanish because they repeat a coframe factor. Thus ; equivalently parallel transport preserves both the metric and the continuously chosen orientation.
Now let be compact, oriented and without boundary. For representing functionals on harmonic forms by wedge pairing, choose an -orthonormal basis of and defineIf , linearity givesThis also works when , using the empty sum. Since the Hodge star commutes with the Hodge Laplacian, is harmonic of degree .
For the full ambiguity of harmonic wedge-pairing representatives, write another representative as . Because the star is an isometry,The forms range over all of . Hence gives zero functional exactly when its harmonic projection is zero. Hodge decomposition proves that the complete answer isBoth summands in this ambiguity are permitted; it is not only an exact-form ambiguity. The exact and coexact component forms are orthogonal to every harmonic form, so every displayed choice works. Conversely a nonzero harmonic component would pair nontrivially with some , and therefore cannot occur. The harmonic representative is unique; the arbitrary smooth representative generally is not. The formula also covers the endpoint degrees and any exceptional case where the ambiguity space is zero.
For a concrete coexact ambiguity, take the torus with metric . The form annihilates every harmonic one-form by orthogonality, yet is nonzero. Thus an annihilating representative need not even be closed, let alone exact.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 56 1 c i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Work on a connected regular radial interval, where is smooth and nonzero; replacing by allows us to take . The only nonzero Christoffel symbols areAlong the circle, write a tangent vector in the single-valued orthonormal basis , as . The equations for parallel transport reduce toConsequently acquires the factor after one circuit. The basis itself agrees at and , so no extra basis change is missing. The holonomy is the identity on every tangent vector precisely whenThe first condition makes this a regular circle of the Riemannian metric; the second is the actual transport condition. In particular, zero slope is sufficient but not necessary. This is holonomy around circular fibres.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 7 3 a Solution 2026-10-07
If is a finite-dimensional Hilbert space, a choice of orthonormal basis identifies its closed unit ball with a closed bounded ball in a finite-dimensional Euclidean space. The Heine-Borel theorem makes it compact in the norm topology.
Conversely, if is infinite-dimensional, choose a unit vector and inductively choose orthogonal to the span of . The finite span is a proper closed subspace, so its orthogonal complement contains a nonzero vector that can be normalized. The resulting orthonormal sequence lies in the closed unit ball and satisfiesIt has no norm-convergent subsequence. Sequential compactness is equivalent to compactness in a metric space, hence the closed ball is not compact. This proves the norm-compact unit ball criterion: a Hilbert space has a norm-compact closed unit ball exactly when it is finite-dimensional.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 ib Paper 2 1E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
Write for the conjugate transpose. Taking determinants in gives . Since the Hermitian matrix is invertible, every such is invertible and . The identity belongs to ; if , then ; and multiplying by and gives . Associativity comes from matrix multiplication, so this is a group.
The Hermitian form obeys precisely when . Thus is the group of linear isometries of this nondegenerate Hermitian form; positivity of is unnecessary.
For , is a unitary matrix. Here is a direct diagonalization of a matrix proof. Over , its characteristic polynomial has a root, giving a unit eigenvector with . Preservation of the inner product gives . If , then , so is invariant. The restriction is again a unitary matrix. Induction on the dimension supplies an orthonormal basis of eigenvectors. In that basis, is diagonal, with diagonal entries on the unit circle.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 15 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Fix the curvature conventionTo prove tensoriality, use and the connection rules. The two terms cancel, giving . Antisymmetry in gives linearity over smooth functions in the second input. Expanding the third input givesIt is therefore a smooth tensor of type . Lowering the output with gives the type Riemann curvature tensor .
For an independent pair , define sectional curvature byMetric compatibility gives by applying to . Together with antisymmetry in , this shows that replacing the pair by multiplies both numerator and denominator by . Thus the value depends only on the plane. Define Ricci curvature by for any orthonormal basis; a trace is independent of the orthonormal basis.
For the curvature of the round unit sphere, the outward unit normal is the position vector . The tangential projection of ambient differentiation is torsion-free and has metric compatibility, so uniqueness identifies it with . Ambient differentiation satisfies andsince differentiating gives its normal component. The ambient curvature is zero. Take tangential components of to obtainHenceEvery two-plane has sectional curvature one. Tracing the first formula gives , and consequentlyThus the sphere is an Einstein manifold. When there are no tangent two-planes, the curvature tensor is zero and the same Ricci formula gives zero. The declared slot convention fixes all signs.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 16 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Use the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator . A Riemannian submersion is a surjective smooth submersion for which, at every , the restriction of to is a linear isometry onto . The spaces and are its vertical and horizontal spaces. Its fibres are totally geodesic submanifolds precisely when is vertical for vertical vector fields : their second fundamental form vanishes. Equivalently, a geodesic initially tangent to a fibre remains in that fibre while defined.
For a smooth , its basic function is constant along each fibre. The Riemannian gradient of is the horizontal lift of a vector field through a submersion of , sincefor horizontal , and for vertical . In particular no derivative of in a vertical direction occurs.
Here is the needed connection fact, which also follows directly from the Koszul formula: for horizontal lifts of vector fields on , the horizontal component of projects to . To see this, pair the Koszul formula with a third horizontal lift . The horizontal inner products are pulled back from , and the horizontal components of their Lie brackets of vector fields project to the brackets on . Thus all six terms are the pullbacks of the corresponding terms on .
Choose an adapted Riemannian orthonormal frame , with the horizontal lifts. Using , the connection fact givesFor a vertical , both and , the latter because the fibres are totally geodesic submanifolds. Taking the negative metric trace of the Riemannian Hessian therefore proves the basic-function Laplacian identityThis identity is local and does not require compactness. Vanishing mean curvature of the fibres would already suffice; total geodesicity makes each vertical summand vanish separately.
For the discrete eigenspace assertion, assume the two Riemannian manifolds are closed manifolds. Without a discrete spectral realization, an unrestricted noncompact version need not have an eigenbasis. The projections of the Riemannian product are Riemannian submersions with totally geodesic submanifolds as fibres. Its Levi-Civita connection splits into the two factor connections. Consequently its positive Laplace-Beltrami operator isThe cross term in the product rule for the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator is zero because the two factor Riemannian gradients are orthogonal.
We use the standard compact elliptic compact elliptic spectral theorem: the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator on a closed manifold is self-adjoint, has compact resolvent, and has a complete orthonormal eigenbasis of smooth eigenfunctions, with finite-dimensional eigenspaces and eigenvalues tending to infinity. Let and . Fubini's theorem and completeness on each factor show that form a complete orthonormal basis of . For example, a function orthogonal to all these products has, for each , zero -coefficient as an function, hence is zero.
The displayed operator identity makes an eigenfunction with eigenvalue . Conversely, if , self-adjointness of the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator givesAll other coefficients vanish. Only finitely many pairs can have , since both spectra are nonnegative and have finitely many eigenvalues below any fixed bound. Thus the product Laplacian eigenspace decomposition isThe tensor product summands are mutually orthogonal; their elements are actual smooth eigenfunctions, so this is an equality of eigenspaces, not just a formal expansion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 25 1 a 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Choose an orthonormal basis of the separable Hilbert space and independent standard normal random variables on a common probability space. In finite dimension the sums below are finite; in dimension zero take . In infinite dimension defineIndependence, centring and unit variance giveBy the Parseval identity for a Hilbertian basis, the coefficient sequence is square-summable. Completeness of therefore supplies a limit, and we defineEvery partial-sum map is linear, and passage to the limit preserves this identity. Thus for each fixed , as an identity, hence an almost sure equality. This constructs an isonormal Gaussian process.
The usual meaning is almost-sure linearity for each fixed choice of arguments. A version linear simultaneously for every argument can also be chosen: select a Hamel basis of , choose a measurable representative of on each basis vector, and extend each sample algebraically by finite sums. For every fixed , this extension equals the constructed variable almost surely, so all its required distributions are unchanged.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 33 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Use half-open intervals and setThe Haar scaling functions and Haar wavelets areFor fixed , each scaling function has squared integral , and different have disjoint supports, proving that this family is orthonormal. Each wavelet also has norm one and integral zero. At a fixed level, distinct wavelets have disjoint supports. At different levels, their dyadic supports are either disjoint or the finer support lies in a half on which the coarser wavelet is constant. The finer wavelet has integral zero, so their inner product vanishes. Finally, a wavelet with is supported inside a unit interval; it is orthogonal to its containing because its integral is zero, and to all other unit scaling functions because their supports are disjoint. Thus both the scaling family at each fixed level and the complete stated Haar family are orthonormal sets.
The Haar refinement identity isIt shows that the closed scaling spaces satisfy , where is the closed span of the level- wavelets. The union of the is dense in : continuous compactly supported functions can be approximated in by their dyadic cell averages, and such continuous functions are dense in . Hence the orthonormal Haar family is also a complete orthonormal basis.
For a locally integrable function, define the compact-support coefficient integralsThese exist without requiring . The two formulas for the Haar approximation areFor the wavelet sum is empty. For every fixed , these sums are locally finite, so they make sense pointwise and locally in . The refinement identities and their orthogonal two-by-two coefficient transformation establish equality by induction, even for merely locally integrable . If , this is also the orthogonal projection onto .
In particular, for and ,Now impose the symmetry and monotonicity conditions. The limit zero and decrease on imply for . For , the cell average and every value inside lie between and . ThereforeSumming over the positive half-line telescopes and gives a bound . Reflection maps each dyadic cell to another dyadic cell up to endpoints. Since is even, its Haar approximation is even almost everywhere as well, so the negative half-line has the same error. ConsequentlyThe argument proves integrability of the difference, even if itself is not integrable on the whole line. It is the symmetric monotone case of the Haar approximation error for a function of bounded variation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 58 3 b i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Let denote the specified image of . Its components comprise distinct ordered-pair basis states, each with coefficient , together with with coefficient . Hence .
For distinct indices , only two output basis states occur in both images. Their common contributions have product , while the contributions have product . ThusThe specified map is therefore a linear isometry on the -dimensional input subspace. Complete the input vectors to an orthonormal basis of the -dimensional space, and independently complete their images to another orthonormal basis. Map the first full basis to the second. This is a unitary extension of a finite-dimensional isometry, giving the required . The prescribed columns are orthonormal, so a full unitary extension exists. Its construction depends only on , not on the unknown string, and is permitted by the question's exact-unitary assumption.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 66 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For each of the four standard pairs, integration by parts givesConsequently the eigenvalues are nonnegative. For a positive eigenvalue , the eigenvalue equation is . Its four characteristic roots are , soHere are coefficients, avoiding a collision with the filament bending modulus . The regular finite-interval self-adjoint operator has compact resolvent; applying the spectral theorem for compact self-adjoint operators to a shifted inverse supplies a complete orthonormal basis of eigenfunctions.
For clamped boundary conditions at zero, a clamped--clamped bending mode can be writtenAt , writing , the two remaining boundary conditions areThe determinant is . Hence the positive wavenumbers obeyEquivalently, intersect with . Numerical root bracketing givesThe entire sequence has the useful large- descriptionIndeed, put in and use and .
The apparent root in the determinant equation is spurious for the clamped problem: at zero eigenvalue, is a cubic polynomial, and its four clamped conditions force . For other endpoint choices, zero-energy filament modes must be treated separately from the trigonometric formula. The free-free kernel consists of affine functions, the torqued-torqued kernel consists of constants, and the hinged-hinged kernel is trivial. Including those kernels is necessary for a complete eigenfunction expansion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2013 iii Paper 66 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
For spatially varying tension in filament bending, keep the derivative of the filament tension as well as the curvature term. The first variation isTherefore the Euler-Lagrange equation and fluctuation operator areFor real, sufficiently smooth , the boundary form is the bending boundary form minus . Because vanishes at both ends, the four self-adjoint endpoint conditions for filament bending still apply. The natural endpoint force also reduces there to the bending shear term. Thus is a self-adjoint fourth-order scalar differential operator on the same chosen domain, with compact resolvent.
Choose a real orthonormal basis of eigenfunctions, , and write . Using the endpoint conditions in integration by parts givesThe equipartition theorem now gives, on the strictly positive subspace,This is a formal modal construction; no explicit eigenfunctions are needed. Nonnegative filament tension makes the energy nonnegative. Any surviving zero-energy filament modes must again be fixed. If signed permits compression, self-adjointness still holds but does not guarantee a canonical ensemble: sufficiently strong compression can create negative eigenvalues and Euler buckling of an elastic filament. For instance, on , take and the clamped trial function . Thenso the energy is negative when , despite . The equipartition theorem requires a stable positive quadratic energy, not merely a real modal spectrum.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 1 6A ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
If and , symmetry gives , proving necessity. Conversely, expand in the orthonormal basis from part (i), with . The zero-eigenvalue vectors span the kernel of a linear map. If is orthogonal to that kernel, then whenever , so the remaining coordinates can be solved independently.
For a nonzero eigenvalue and any associated nonzero eigenvector , symmetry gives . Thus the component vector along isFor the unit vectors , this coefficient is . Consequently the general solution isThis proves sufficiency as well as the claimed kernel criterion. If the compatibility condition fails, there is no solution; if it holds, the freedom is exactly an arbitrary kernel vector.