Generalized Lane-Emden equation 2026-10-14
A Generalized Lane-Emden equation is a semilinear partial differential equation whose highest-order term is the Laplacian:For a radial function in dimensions it becomes . The case gives the classical Lane-Emden equation.
In three dimensions set for a radial function satisfying . If the source has support in and , the Duhamel principle bounds its contribution to by for . Its backward characteristic interval meets the source in a set of length at most one, and . Division by gives for compactly supported initial data.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 7 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For each rotation, unitarity givesAveraging and using self-adjointness of yields the Dirichlet form of the Kac collision operatorThe velocity integral is necessary: its omission from the printed right-hand side would leave a function of rather than a scalar. This identity applies to every function, with complex modulus when necessary, and is nonnegative.
If , every nonnegative angular integral is zero, so for almost every angle. Strong continuity in angle extends equality to every angle. The coordinate-plane Givens rotations generate the special orthogonal group , hence is invariant in under every element of this group. To identify its shape rigorously despite almost-everywhere representatives, average over the normalized Haar measure of . This averaging leaves unchanged, while transitivity of the rotation group on each sphere makes the average a radial function. Thus almost everywhere.
Conversely, every radial function is fixed by every coordinate-plane rotation, and so by . ThereforeThis is the radial kernel of the Kac collision operator. The rotation correction is essential to this conclusion: with the literal printed map, even in dimension two is not fixed. At its printed-map angular average is the average of , strictly greater than its value .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 10 1 3 Solution 2026-10-06
For a radial function, the Laplacian is . Introduce the retarded and advanced null coordinates and the radial reduction of the three-dimensional wave equation:The chain rule gives and . Consequently the inhomogeneous wave equation isMultiplying the radial wave equation by removes its first-order radial derivative:Thus the particularly useful retarded and advanced null coordinates form isThese formulas hold for . At the axis, smooth spherical symmetry imposes and ; equivalently has a smooth odd extension across .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 327 2 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The multiplication of a distribution by a smooth function is . If is a Schwartz function, the Leibniz rule shows that is a continuous map , so is a tempered distribution. When both and are radial, , andThus Multiplication by a radial Schwartz function preserves radial tempered distributions.
For the convolution of a tempered distribution with a Schwartz function, setTranslations of depend smoothly on in the Schwartz space, so this is a smooth function with . The bound for by finitely many seminorms, together with , provesThus the function also defines a tempered distribution. For a radial function , put . Then , soHence Convolution with a radial Schwartz function preserves radial tempered distributions.
Smoothing alone need not give a Schwartz function: for the constant tempered distribution and a Schwartz function with integral one, . The radial Schwartz approximation of tempered distributions therefore combines smoothing with a large-radius cutoff. Choose a nonnegative radial mollifier , supported in the unit ball with integral one, and a radial cutoff function equal to one on the unit ball. PutEach is a smooth function of compact support, hence a Schwartz function, and the two invariance calculations above make it radial.
It remains to prove convergence, including the simultaneous changes of both scales. With , the distributional convolution pairing isFor every fixed , the Leibniz rule, rapid decay outside the radius- ball, and the chain rule for giveConvolution by is uniformly bounded in for , because its shifts have size at most one. The mean value theorem applied to similarly givesSplitting the error into the convolved cutoff error and the approximate identity error provesIf , this yieldsConsequentlyweakly, and even in the strong dual topology, since is uniformly bounded on every subset of the Schwartz space that is a bounded set in a topological vector space. No assertion that itself is rapidly decreasing is needed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 327 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For multi-indices , defineThese seminorms define the Fréchet space topology of the Schwartz space: exactly when every tends to zero. An equivalent increasing family isA tempered distribution is a continuous linear functional on this space. Equivalently, for some . The usual weak convergence of tempered distributions means for every fixed Schwartz function. The strong dual topology instead requires uniform convergence on every subset of the Schwartz space that is a bounded set in a topological vector space; the Fourier maps below are continuous in both topologies.
Using , differentiation under the integral and integration by parts giveThe omitted coefficient has modulus one. By the Leibniz rule, every integrand is a finite sum of a polynomial times a derivative of . Inserting the integrable weight bounds its L1 norm by finitely many Schwartz space seminorms. In particular . Thus the Fourier transform maps continuously into itself.
For completeness, the Fourier inversion theorem follows here by Gaussian regularization. The inverse transform of is . The Fourier transform of a Gaussian and Fubini's theorem showAs , the right side tends to by the approximate identity property, while the left side tends to the undamped inverse integral by dominated convergence theorem, since . HenceThe inverse is times reflection composed with the continuous Fourier transform, and is therefore continuous on the Schwartz space. This proves a continuous linear isomorphism with continuous inverse.
Define the Fourier transform of a tempered distribution byThe continuous map on Schwartz space makes this a tempered distribution; the transpose of supplies its inverse. Pointwise convergence of pairings proves weak continuity. For the strong dual topology, the transform of a bounded set of Schwartz functions is bounded, so uniform convergence of pairings on bounded sets proves continuity of both Fourier maps there too.
Now let be a rotation matrix in the special orthogonal group and write . A change of variables with unit Jacobian givesThe rotation equivariance of the Fourier transform on tempered distributions follows by duality:Therefore . Applying this identity and the inverse Fourier transform gives the two directions:This is precisely preservation of radial tempered distributions. For , acts transitively on spheres, so an invariant smooth function is an ordinary radial function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 327 1 c Solution 2026-09-28
Because , is locally integrable at the origin and has only polynomial growth at infinity, so it defines a tempered distribution. It is a homogeneous distribution of degree and is radial. Its Fourier transform is therefore radial and homogeneous of degree , so it must have the form . In particular, .
To determine the constant, use the stated Gamma integral representation, Fubini's theorem, and the Fourier transform of a Gaussian:The change of variables formula then givesThis is precisely the Fourier transform of the Riesz kernel.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 107 2 d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Seek a radial function on the unit ball. The equation and regularity at the origin giveHence , and the zero Dirichlet boundary condition givesThe power is twice differentiable at the origin exactly when . Here , so at the origin exactly when . Under the assumption , this weak solution is never at the origin, exhibiting the regularity loss caused by degenerate ellipticity.
Radial kernel of the Kac collision operator 2026-10-06
Zero Dirichlet form of the Kac collision operator forces invariance under every pair rotation; strong continuity upgrades almost every angle to every angle. Coordinate-plane rotations generate the special orthogonal group, whose action is transitive on each sphere for . Averaging over normalized Haar measure therefore identifies the invariant functions with radial functions. Conversely radial functions are fixed by every pair rotation.
Radial modified Helmholtz equation Created 2026-10-05 Updated 2026-10-06
For a radial function in three dimensions, becomes . Setting gives , reducing it to a constant-coefficient linear ordinary differential equation. If , a decaying particular solution obtained by variation of parameters isThe small-argument expansion of the exponential integral givesThe undetermined decaying homogeneous coefficient is fixed by a boundary condition or by a matched asymptotic expansion.
Radial tempered distribution 2026-10-06
For , a tempered distribution on is radial when for every , where . This agrees with the usual radial function definition for regular smooth distributions, because the special orthogonal group acts transitively on spheres.