Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 ia Paper 3 12A c i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Split the array in its first two slots:For every symmetric second-rank tensor , antisymmetry gives . Hence the stipulated vector equals .
Let change the orthonormal frame, so . The vector transformation law givesfor every symmetric test . Both coefficient arrays in are symmetric, so equality against every symmetric matrix forces equality of the coefficients; one may test the individual diagonal entries and the symmetric off-diagonal basis matrices. Multiplying by and using orthogonality yieldsThis is exactly the rank-three tensor law. It is the symmetric-test criterion for a third-rank Cartesian tensor, a form of the quotient theorem for Cartesian tensors. Equivalently one may test for arbitrary vectors and apply the quotient theorem twice.