Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2022 / ii / Paper 2 / 13E (Further Complex Methods)

Substitution ofand integration by parts giveThus takeand require the endpoint term to vanish. Infinite contour ends must lie in sectors where $\mathrm{Re}(t^4)>0$, namely sectors centred on the positive and negative real and imaginary axes, each of angular width $\pi /4$.

Let the common final segment be the positive real ray from $0$ to $+\infty$, and choose the initial rays from $-\infty$, $+i\infty$, and $-i\infty$ to $0$. Call the resulting contours ${\gamma }_1,{\gamma }_2,{\gamma }_3$. PutSince $w_i^{(r)}(0)={\int }_{{\gamma }_i}{t}^r{e}^{-t^4/4}dt$, for $r=0,1,2$ the three rows areConsequentlyUsing the Gamma function reflection identity,The initial-data vectors are therefore linearly independent, so the three contour integrals are linearly independent solutions.