Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2004 / iii / Paper 76 / 1 / b / ii / Solution

The locally integrable function $\log |x|$ defines a tempered distribution. Its distributional derivative is $\mathrm{PV}(1/x)$: perform integration by parts outside $(-a,a)$, and observe that the boundary contribution $\log a[\phi (a)-\phi (-a)]$ tends to zero. By the Fourier transform of a derivative and the preceding result,Division by $|k|$ needs a finite-part inverse-absolute-value distribution, since $1/|k|$ is not locally integrable at zero. One possible normalization isIt satisfies $k\mathrm{Pf}(1/|k|)=\mathrm{sgn}k$. The general solution of $kT=0$ is a multiple of the Dirac delta distribution: a test function vanishing at zero can be written $k\psi (k)$, so $T$ depends only on its value at zero. Consequently the Fourier transform of the absolute logarithm isChanging the finite-part normalization changes $C$. The printed reciprocal expression is meaningful with this interpretation, not as an ordinary function at $k=0$.