Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 344 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The post-quench Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process has . Its future noise is independent of the initial field. Consequently the cross term between the initial Fourier mode and its future noise integral has zero expectation. The Itô isometry, or the given white-noise covariance, then yieldsThe initial Gaussian Boltzmann distribution, with , gives in the same unitary normalization. Thus the Gaussian Model A quench hasThe static structure factor interpolates monotonically mode by mode between its two positive equilibrium values. The covariance relaxes at twice the amplitude decay rate. These statements assume that , and are unchanged by the quench; both exclude a spinodal instability.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 344 1 f Solution 2026-09-28
The covariance of a centered multivariate Gaussian distribution is the inverse of its quadratic kernel. Writing , one findsConsequently the composition static structure factor is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 337 2 g Solution 2026-09-28
For a damped ferromagnetic spin wave, shifting both poles into the lower half-plane preserves causality:Its spectral function isThe classical Fluctuation-dissipation theorem then givesHence the zero-frequency static structure factor iswhich has the stated proportionality after absorbing the normalization .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 337 2 h Solution 2026-09-28
Write , so , and take . The small-wavenumber static structure factor behaves asThe spatial Fourier transform of in dimensions scales as . Thusand in three dimensions . Since this two-point correlation function tends to zero rather than to a nonzero constant at large separation, it is incompatible with true long-range ferromagnetic order and hence with spontaneous symmetry breaking at this higher temperature.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 344 1 a Solution Created 2026-09-28 Updated 2026-10-03
Use the Fourier transform conventionThe zero mode vanishes because the compositional order parameter has zero spatial average. Parseval identity and the Fourier transform of a derivative turn the quadratic part of the dimensionless free energy intoHere is the positive-wavevector sum for a real field. Each independent complex amplitude has density proportional to , so its elementary Gaussian integral gives the static structure factorwhenever .
The stationary points of the Brazovskii model kernel obeyBecause , the nonzero minimum is the nonzero-wavevector soft-mode sphereAt this wavevector,The first Gaussian field theory divergence therefore occurs at
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 344 1 g Solution 2026-09-28
Write the optimized kernel asNear the soft-mode sphere, the supplied asymptotic result saysThus the self-consistency equationcannot reach for any : the fluctuation correction diverges first. The isotropic static structure factor therefore remains finite, and the isotropic state never undergoes the continuous Gaussian instability predicted in part (a).
The modulated minimum from part (b), however, has negative free energy for sufficiently low and amplitude . For small positive , its free energy must cross that of the still locally stable isotropic variational state. At the crossing the isotropic inverse susceptibility is positive and the smectic amplitude is nonzero. The order parameter consequently jumps, which is the Brazovskii fluctuation-induced first-order transition.
Structure through pair correlations. For a homogeneous isotropic monatomic liquid of number density , the radial distribution function is defined byIt compares the conditional density around a tagged particle with the bulk density. A repulsive core makes close neighbours unlikely; a first peak identifies a preferred coordination shell, and damped peaks at larger radii describe short-range order. Far away, in the bulk limit. Unlike a crystal, an ordinary liquid has no indefinitely repeated positional order. An ideal uncorrelated gas has away from the tagged particle. The shell factor must not be confused with itself.
Original schematic radial distribution function showing a core exclusion region and damped liquid-like coordination shells; the curve is illustrative rather than measured data
. Details. The same pair structure enters the static structure factor measured through scattering. In the bulk isotropic convention,Thus real-space coordination and reciprocal-space scattering peaks describe the same correlations.
Energy from the structure. If interactions are sums of a central pair potential , the equipartition theorem gives the classical kinetic energy . Count the interaction of a tagged particle with its neighbours and divide by two to avoid counting each pair twice. The pair-correlation expression for internal energy isThis makes structure thermodynamically useful: short-distance repulsion and the attractive region contribute with different weights. Additional internal molecular modes or many-body interactions require extra terms. The formula is a classical bulk pair-potential result, not a universal energy formula for every liquid.
Pressure and the dilute expansion. The mechanical virial theorem relates the pair forces to pressure. The virial pressure from pair correlations isAt low density, , giving the virial expansionThe second virial coefficient has units of volume per particle; higher coefficients encode additional cluster correlations. A hard-sphere exclusion diameter gives . Attractions contribute negative terms and can make negative. Although the pair-correlation formulas can describe a dense liquid when its actual is known, truncating the virial series after a few terms is normally a dilute-fluid approximation. It should not be silently extrapolated through condensation or into a dense liquid.
Radial distribution function 2026-10-18
In a homogeneous isotropic one-component fluid, is the conditional number density at separation from a tagged particle divided by the bulk number density . Thus the displayed shell contains the mean number of neighbours. For an uncorrelated ideal gas away from the tagged particle; repulsive cores suppress small separations, while liquid coordination shells can produce damped oscillations approaching one at large distance. This is a pair correlation, not a normalized one-particle radial probability density. The static structure factor measures its Fourier-space counterpart.
