Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / Prelims / Mathematics V / 5 / a / Solution

Write $u(x,t)=U(\xi ,\eta )$, where $\xi =x-t$ and $\eta =x+t$. The chain rule givesFor a twice continuously differentiable classical solution, mixed partial derivatives commute, so the wave equation becomesHence $U_{\xi }$ depends only on $\xi$. Integrating first in $\xi$ yields the countertravelling decomposition of the one-dimensional wave equation:On a rectangular domain in $(\xi ,\eta )$ this follows immediately; on the full line for $t\ge 0$, the connected characteristic slices give the same representation. The two terms travel at wave speed one in opposite directions.

Impose the initial conditions. At $t=0$,Differentiate the first identity and combine:If $H(x)={\int }_{x_{\ast }}^{x}g(s)ds$, then $F=(f-H)/2+C$ and $G=(f+H)/2-C$. Substitution cancels $C$ and the arbitrary base point $x_{\ast }$, giving D'Alembert's formula:For example, $f\in C^2$ and $g\in C^1$ make this a classical solution of the wave equation satisfying both initial conditions. The same formula defines a weak solution for less regular data, including the continuous piecewise smooth data of part (b).