Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2024 / ia / Paper 1 / 5A / b

PutSince $x,y,z$ are unit vectors,The feasible inner products with two unit vectors satisfyThe desired pair $p=q=1/2$ is feasible exactly when $c\ge -1/2$. In that case every maximizer has these inner products. If $c<-1/2$, symmetry and strict convexity force $p=q$, and the nearest feasible diagonal point isUsing the vector triple product,Hence

Rotations preserve dot products and cross-product lengths, while $z^{\prime }=2z$. ThusLetThe target pair is feasible precisely whenorOn this interval,

Outside this interval, let $\lambda >0$ be the unique number for whichand write $r=(p,q{)}^T$. These equations give the unique weighted projection of $t$ onto the feasible ellipse, and therefore determine the maximizing inner products solely from $c=y\cdot z$. In the remaining cases,Neither answer depends on ${\theta }_1$ or ${\theta }_2$.