Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 359 1 a i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
The sobolev embedding theorem in three dimensions and the periodic elliptic estimate for the Stokes operator giveThe last step uses the absence of the zero Fourier mode: on mean-zero periodic fields, the Poincare inequality makes the homogeneous norm controlled by .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 359 1 c ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
DefineThe first equation and the bounded inverse of the Stokes operator show that and thatin . In fact, the strong convergence from part (i) and convergence of the spectral projections implyIn three dimensions , so in . Because ,and the nonlinear term consequently converges in distributions and in the required weak sense. The linear terms pass by weak convergence, while tends strongly to the identity. Hencein . Together with part (i), this proves existence of a global weak solution of the Rayleigh-Bénard convection system on every finite interval.
Rayleigh-Bénard convection Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
Rayleigh-Bénard convection is buoyancy-driven flow caused by heating a fluid from below. In an infinite-Prandtl-number reduction, velocity is determined instantaneously by a forced Stokes equation, while temperature satisfies an advection-diffusion equation.