Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2026 / iii / Paper 327 / 1 / d / Solution

Let $u$ be a compactly supported distribution. It has some finite order $m$. Choose $k$ so large that the Bessel potential kernel $G_k={\mathcal{F}}^{-1}(1+|\xi {|}^2{)}^{-k}$ has enough continuous derivatives forto be bounded and continuous. Compact support of $u$ makes boundedness uniform under translation. Since $(1-\Delta {)}^k{G}_k={\delta }_0$ distributionally,Expanding each power of $\Delta$ expresses $u$ as a finite sum of derivatives of the bounded continuous function $f$. This proves the structure theorem for compactly supported distributions.

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