Past exam of the mathematics course of the year 2 of the natural sciences course of the University of Cambridge / 2023 / Paper 1 / 4 / b / Solution

Assume the necessary derivatives decay enough for all boundary terms to vanish. One integration by parts givesRepeating proves the Fourier transform of a derivative rule $\boxed{\widetilde{f^{(m)}}=(ik{)}^m\tilde{f}}$. On the other hand, differentiation under the integral givesand therefore $\boxed{\widetilde{x^{m}f}=i^m{\tilde{f}}^{(m)}}$.

Write $p_n(x)={\sum }_{j=0}^n{a}_j{x}^j$, with $a_n\ne 0$. Applying the second rule and part (a) giveswhereOnly the $j=n$ term can contribute degree $n$. Its leading coefficient is $\sqrt{2\pi }{a}_n(-i{)}^n\ne 0$, so $q_n$ has exactly the same degree $n$, with no possible leading-term cancellation. The coefficients of this transformed polynomial can be complex even when those of $p_n$ are real.