Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2019 / ib / Paper 3 / 15D / Solution

In the sense of distribution theory, $H^{\prime }(t)=\delta (t)$. Since $\sin (\alpha t)$ vanishes at zero,and therefore

Let $G_{\mathrm{ret}}(\mathbf{x},t;\mathbf{y})$ solveThe spatial Fourier transform turns this into the preceding oscillator equation with $\alpha =ck$, soInverting with the supplied radial integral gives the three-dimensional retarded Green function

For zero initial displacement and initial velocity $f$, convolution with this kernel gives the Kirchhoff formulaThus the value at $(\mathbf{x},t)$ depends only on the initial data on the sphere of radius $ct$, not on its interior. This is the Huygens principle and describes propagation at the finite wave speed $c$.