For a conformal bijection and smooth of compact support on , . The Jacobian matrix of is a rotation times . Consequently the chain rule introduces into the gradient pairing, while the change of variables formula introduces precisely the same factor into area. They cancel. The identity extends by completion to the Dirichlet energy spaces; it does not preserve the term of an inhomogeneous Sobolev norm.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 203 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For real smooth functions of compact support in a planar domain , use the Dirichlet inner productChanging the positive normalization factor does not change orthogonality. For complex functions, insert complex conjugation in the second factor to obtain the corresponding Hermitian form.
Let be a conformal bijection, and let be smooth functions of compact support on . Its real Jacobian matrix is , where is a rotation. By the chain rule,The change of variables formula has Jacobian determinant , so this factor cancels:This proves conformal invariance of the planar Dirichlet inner product. By completion it is also an isometry between the corresponding Dirichlet energy spaces. It asserts invariance of the energy form, not of the inhomogeneous Sobolev norm, whose term has a different transformation rule.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 203 2 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Using the usual zero-boundary Sobolev space convention,where weak derivatives define and is the space of test functions. In the Gaussian free field convention, the same notation often denotes the Dirichlet energy space, the completion in the gradient norm alone. On bounded domains the Poincare inequality makes the two definitions equivalent; on unbounded domains one must distinguish them. The following gradient-pairing argument applies in either setting whenever the energy completion is realized as weak functions.
Identify with a vector subspace of by zero extension of H01. Approximating by test functions in shows that this is an isometric embedding in the inhomogeneous Sobolev norm and also in the Dirichlet inner product norm. In particular, arbitrary irregularity of causes no additional boundary term.
DefineThese are weakly harmonic Sobolev functions. For , integration by parts in the weak sense gives . If , choose converging to in , or in energy for the homogeneous convention. The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality givesHence the orthogonality of supported and harmonic Dirichlet functions isBoth are linear vector subspaces. In the inhomogeneous convention they are closed: the first is the isometric image of a complete space, and the second is the intersection of the kernels of the linear functionals . No spanning assertion is needed. The PDF contains this orthogonality statement; the TeX has badly corrupted it into an assertion about openness.