Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / Paper 1 / 2 / iv / Solution

Let $d_n$ be the even Fourier coefficient of the initial displacement, with the normalization ${\int }_{-L}^L{\cos }^2(k_{n}x)dx=L$. Writing $s_n=\sin (n\pi /2)=(-1{)}^{(n-1)/2}$ givesZero initial velocity requires the real modal time factorOne consistent choice in the question's complex representation is thereforeFor real ${\omega }_n$, $B_n=\overline{A_n}$; the real-part notation otherwise makes the complex coefficients nonunique. For imaginary ${\omega }_n$, the same formula is interpreted using hyperbolic functions. Its limit at ${\omega }_n=0$ is $d_n{e}^{-\alpha t/2}(1+\alpha t/2)$.

For $l/L\to 0$ at fixed mode number,which can be substituted into $A_n,B_n$ above. The profile specified at $t=0$ is actually nonzero at $x=\pm L$. Thus for finite $l/L$ it cannot be the initial data of a solution continuous at the initial endpoint corners with fixed endpoints. The Fourier series reproduces it in the open interval, with zero endpoint values; it is an L2 space initial-data interpretation. The assumption $l\ll L$ makes this compatibility error exponentially small, rather than exactly zero.