Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 327 2 a Solution 2026-09-28
Let contain the support of . Choose a cutoff function that equals one near . It makeswell-defined, and differentiating the parameter under the pairing givesThus the Fourier transform of a compactly supported distribution is a smooth function. Since a compactly supported distribution has finite order, some and satisfyApplying this estimate to the exponential yields .
Now take , multiply by a cutoff function supported in and equal to one near , and regard the result as an element of . Choose so large thatis Lebesgue integrable. The inverse Fourier transform is a bounded continuous function, and the Fourier transform of a derivative givesas a distributional identity. This is the Bessel potential proof of the structure theorem for compactly supported distributions.
The function itself need not have compact support. Choose another cutoff equal to one near . Then . Repeatedly usingexpresses as a finite sum , where every coefficient is continuous and compactly supported in .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2026 iii Paper 327 1 d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be a compactly supported distribution. It has some finite order . Choose so large that the Bessel potential kernel has enough continuous derivatives forto be bounded and continuous. Compact support of makes boundedness uniform under translation. Since distributionally,Expanding each power of expresses as a finite sum of derivatives of the bounded continuous function . This proves the structure theorem for compactly supported distributions.