Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / Prelims / Mathematics IV / 2

The quadric surface $x^2+y^2+z^2=1$ is the unit sphere centered at the origin. Each section $z=c$, for $|c|<1$, is a circle of radius $\sqrt{1-c^2}$.

The quadric surface $z=x^2+y^2$ is a circular elliptic paraboloid, opening in the positive $z$ direction with vertex at the origin. Its horizontal sections $z=c>0$ are circles of radius $\sqrt{c}$, and its vertical sections through the $z$ axis are parabolas.

For $a{x}^2+y^2=0$, $z$ is unrestricted. If $a>0$, both nonnegative terms must vanish, so the locus is the $z$ axis, a straight line. If $a=0$, it is the plane $y=0$, represented by the repeated factor $y^2$. If $a<0$, factorization givesso the locus is two distinct planes, $y=\pm \sqrt{-a}x$, meeting along the $z$ axis. These are degenerate quadrics, not ordinary curved cylinders.

Choose the rotated Cartesian coordinatesTheir inverse is $x=(X-Y)/\sqrt{2}$, $y=(X+Y)/\sqrt{2}$. Consequently $x^2+y^2=X^2+Y^2$ and $xy=(X^2-Y^2)/2$, giving the canonical form of a quadricThe orthogonal diagonalization identifies the eigenvalues $1+a/2,1-a/2,1$ of the symmetric matrix of the quadratic form.

For $|a|<2$, all three coefficients are positive: the surface is an ellipsoid with semiaxes $(1+a/2{)}^{-1/2},(1-a/2{)}^{-1/2},1$. At $a=0$ it is a sphere.

For $a=2$, the equation is $2X^2+Z^2=1$, an elliptic cylinder parallel to the $Y$ axis. For $a=-2$, it is $2Y^2+Z^2=1$, an elliptic cylinder parallel to the $X$ axis. The absent coordinate is unrestricted; its disappearance does not turn the surface into an ellipse.

For $a>2$, the negative coefficient is that of $Y^2$: this is a one-sheet hyperboloid with axis $Y$. For $a<-2$, the negative coefficient is that of $X^2$: it is a one-sheet hyperboloid with axis $X$. This gives the signature transition from an ellipsoid to an elliptic cylinder and a one-sheet hyperboloid, including both transition values.

Write $N=(n_1,n_2,n_3)$. Restriction to the plane $z=0$ givesThis is an equation of degree at most two in two Cartesian coordinates, the general algebraic form of a conic, with possible degenerate conics and an empty set of real points. No determinant hypothesis is needed for this substitution.

For an arbitrary plane, choose a point ${\mathbf{x}}_0$ and an orthonormal basis $\mathbf{e},\mathbf{f}$ of its direction linear subspace. Put $B=(\mathbf{e}\mathbf{f})$ and $\mathbf{x}={\mathbf{x}}_0+B\mathbf{\xi }$, where $\mathbf{\xi }=(s,t{)}^T$. With $S=(M+M^T)/2$, the symmetric part of a matrix, the restricted equation isThis proves the plane-section result whenever “conic” allows the appropriate degeneracies. A rigid motion taking the chosen plane to $z=0$ gives the same argument.

The source's assumption $\det M\ne 0$ does not guarantee a nondegenerate conic. Even with $M=I$ and $f=x^2+y^2+z^2-1$, the section $z=1$ is a single point, and $z=2$ has no real points. With the nonsingular symmetric matrix giving $f=2xz+y^2$, the section $z=0$ is the repeated straight line $y=0$.

There is a further literal omission: the source does not assume $M$ is symmetric. Forone has $\det M=2$ but $f=2xz$. Thus the section $z=0$ is the entire plane, rather than a conic. Only $S$ controls the quadratic form; invertibility of an arbitrary $M$ cannot remove this exception. If the intended hypothesis is that $M$ is symmetric and nonsingular, the quadratic restriction to a plane cannot vanish identically: otherwise $B^{T}MB=0$, so $M$ would map a two-dimensional linear subspace injectively into its one-dimensional orthogonal complement, which is impossible. Degenerate and empty sections still remain possible.