Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 336 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The expansion is singular near the moving lower limit, so expanding throughout the original integral would lose its constant term. Introduce the symmetric exponential integralUnder , the discarded piece becomesThis is a uniform Taylor expansion because . To derive the logarithmic expansion of a symmetric exponential integral without needing another special function, first exploit the same substitution to writeThe estimate follows from . Here is Euler's constant and the small-argument expansion of the exponential integral fixes the constant as well as the logarithm.
Differentiate under the integral and integrate the derivative of over ; the exponentially small endpoint terms vanish. This gives the ordinary differential equationFor the Frobenius method at its regular singular point, write . Substitution gives and . The preceding leading calculation sets , , henceSubtracting the moving-cutoff correction to a symmetric exponential integral yields the requested answer, including the logarithmically enhanced first-order term:Thus the switchback term must be retained when asking for all contributions through order .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 ib Paper 1 18C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-05
Assume is sufficiently smooth, for example near the exact trajectory. Write at the current value, with a linear map and a bilinear map when the ordinary differential equation is vector valued. Taylor expansion of the stages givesThe exact flow has Taylor expansionMatching the terms through in the Runge-Kutta method gives the sufficient third-order conditions for an explicit Runge-Kutta methodFor scalar , replace by and by in the scalar sense. The resulting local error is ; under a local Lipschitz continuity assumption and bounded derivatives on a finite time interval, the standard one-step error recurrence gives global error , hence third order.
On the linear test equation , putting gives the stability functionThus , so lies inside the linear stability domain. The four order conditions are compatible, for example and .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 322 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Set , and , the reduced mass. Newton's law of universal gravitation gives and . Subtraction establishesFor fixed masses, the orbital energy and angular momentum areTaking derivatives gives and . These are conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum in the unperturbed Kepler orbit. To see directly that the orbital eccentricity is fixed, put and . The eccentricity vector isSince , the cross product identity gives , so . Its magnitude is the orbital eccentricity. Equivalently,Thus the semi-major axis and orbital eccentricity of a bound noncollision Kepler orbit are constant, including .
Take the centre of mass as origin. The two positions are and . For , a Taylor expansion givesThe mass dipole vanishes because , and the second mass moment tensor is . The gravitational quadrupole potential of a point-mass binary is consequentlyBoth printed tensors are trace-free. Contracting them with the Kronecker delta summed over three spatial dimensions givesThis proves the requested expression through second order. In particular the printed convention is , where is the standard mass quadrupole moment; the radiation coefficient must be adjusted accordingly. No mass dipole term may be retained in centre of mass coordinates.
To evaluate the quadrupole formula without assuming a circular orbit, put , and . Differentiating the gravitational acceleration gives the kinematic jerkFor , the product rule then givesInserting these into the printed mass quadrupole moment convention yieldsThe two tensors in brackets are orthogonal in their tensor contraction, because . Their squared norms are and , respectively. HenceThe instantaneous quadrupole luminosity of a Kepler binary is thereforeThe radial derivative is not the vector speed. The bracket equals , so the radiated luminosity is nonnegative for every instantaneous velocity.
For a slowly evolving circular orbit, there is no preferred orbital phase at which to excite a persistent eccentricity vector. More precisely, the rotating mass quadrupole moment emits at twice the orbital frequency, with angular harmonic number two; its gravitational-wave energy and angular-momentum balance is . The circular Kepler orbit sequence has and , so this loss is tangent to the sequence. At leading adiabatic order it preserves zero secular orbital eccentricity. This is a circular gravitational-wave inspiral, with a small radial drift rather than an exactly fixed-radius Newtonian circle. The energy flux alone would not establish circularity without this symmetry and angular momentum balance.
To leading radiation order use , and in the loss formula. Combining it with givesKeeping the fixed masses and leading quadrupole formula, integration givesThis formal coalescence time displays the strong dependence: gravitational-wave emission from a binary system matters far more for close binary stars than for wide ones. The orbital period decreases as and the gravitational-wave frequency increases, producing a chirp. A detached binary can be driven into Roche-lobe overflow; further evolution then depends on mass-transfer stability. A sufficiently close compact pair may merge. The weak-field, slow-motion, point-mass approximation ceases to apply before literal ; finite stellar radii or strong relativistic effects determine the final interaction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 336 2 a iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For fixed , the linear term vanishes at . Put and resolve its neighborhood using . The integral is dominated by the resulting narrow peak:The local Taylor expansion of the logarithm changes it by a vanishing relative amount on this width, while both endpoints are many peak widths away for fixed .
There is no additional breakdown when : the peak approaches , but its distance from that endpoint is , whereas its width is . Thus . The relative logarithm variation over a width is , also improving as grows. For with fixed these separation conditions hold uniformly, including arbitrarily large . In particularThe only endpoint transition requiring a new distinguished limit is the earlier one near , where the peak approaches . Moving toward an endpoint is not by itself a reason for nonuniformity; the peak width must be compared with its endpoint distance.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 341 3 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The printed formula is not a consistent spatial discretization of the stated PDE. The original PDF genuinely has , rather than . Writing , the Taylor expansion givesso it approximates a diffusion coefficient tending to zero. Moreover, and cover , whereas the given Dirichlet boundary conditions belong to . No value at the interior location was prescribed. These are actual source defects, not repairs justified by the TeX conversion.
A conditional analysis of the literal ordinary differential equation system is still possible. If it is closed by imposing on the displayed grid, the negative Dirichlet discrete Laplacian has positive frequencies squaredand each normal mode obeys . For a fixed mesh, every solution is bounded for all time exactly whenEquality produces a linearly growing normal mode for nonzero modal initial velocity; above the threshold there is an exponentially growing normal mode. Since , any gives bounded continuous solutions but unbounded literal discrete solutions on sufficiently fine meshes. For example, , gives , and a growing first sine normal mode. At , every fixed mesh is bounded for all time, but unit first-mode initial velocity has maximal displacement , which diverges on mesh refinement. For uniform-in-mesh, all-time displacement bounds for arbitrary bounded displacement/velocity data in the mesh-weighted L2 norm, the literal closed system therefore requires .
This differs from finite-time stability of a numerical method, governed here by displacement stability of a symmetric semidiscrete wave equation. For the conditional closure above, diagonalization of a matrix gives, with ,Oscillatory modes use , including its value at ; growing modes use . Thus the displacement map is mesh-uniformly bounded on each fixed finite time interval for every fixed real . This is a legitimate finite-time displacement stability estimate, but neither consistency of a numerical method nor the all-time conclusion of part (i). It does not assert a velocity bound in the unweighted displacement norm.
If the intended method instead uses and the full interval, take interior indices , , with zeros at . Its first positive discrete eigenvalue isThe corrected, fixed-mesh all-time condition is , with the same strictness at equality. For every fixed , this holds on all sufficiently fine meshes. This corrected interpretation is stated separately rather than silently replacing the PDF.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 341 7 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For a fully discrete linear partial differential equation evolution, write in a specified discrete norm. Finite-time stability of a numerical method meanswith independent of the allowed meshes. For a multistep method, augment the state with its time-history values and include a stable starter. Bounds may grow as when the continuous problem has growth; demanding decay for all time would be a stronger assertion. The treatment of initial data, forcing, Dirichlet boundary conditions, and the norm is part of the hypothesis, not a detail supplied by an interior calculation.
For constant coefficients on an infinite or periodic uniform grid, von Neumann stability analysis substitutes the Fourier mode . The discrete Fourier transform and the Parseval identity turn a uniform multiplier estimate into a discrete L2 norm estimate. In a one-step scalar scheme, proves contractivity, while gives finite-time stability. In a multilevel scheme, every root of a polynomial in its amplification polynomial of a multilevel finite difference scheme matters, as does uniform control of the associated companion matrix.
For the Forward Euler diffusion scheme with ,Thus for all frequencies exactly whenSufficiency follows since ; necessity follows from the highest-frequency mode on even periodic grids. This gives the usual parabolic mesh restriction . For the Backward Euler diffusion scheme,so every is stable. The Crank-Nicolson method hasagain of modulus at most one for all , but stiff modes approach rather than zero. These are PDE manifestations of the A-stability and L-stability distinctions for time integration.
For advection , assume and set . The upwind finite difference scheme is , withIt is contractive when . This also has a direct maximum-norm proof: each newest value is a convex combination of two old values. The resulting Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy condition expresses that the numerical domain of dependence covers the physical one. For negative , the upwind direction must be reversed. By contrast, Forward Euler method time stepping with the centered first finite difference has and for nonzero . Under fixed nonzero refinement it is unstable, since a fixed nontrivial mode grows geometrically over steps. This is not a claim of instability under every imaginable mesh coupling: instead bounds its spurious finite-time growth, since .
The leapfrog advection scheme illustrates a multilevel subtlety. Its amplification polynomial of a multilevel finite difference scheme isFor , both roots of a polynomial have unit modulus and separation at least . A uniformly conditioned eigenbasis of the companion matrix then proves power boundedness of a two-level Fourier scheme for arbitrary history data. At and a grid admitting , the roots coincide on the unit circle, and a Jordan block produces growth. Thus the endpoint fails the ordinary arbitrary-history root condition for a multistep method; checking only that both moduli equal one misses the instability. Restricting the starter or filtering the parasitic mode is an additional hypothesis.
The energy method handles variable coefficients and finite boundaries for which Fourier stability analysis may be unavailable. For the Backward Euler diffusion scheme with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions, define . The discrete summation by parts identity isTake the inner product of with . The elementary identity givesThis proves unconditional contractivity including the actual boundary treatment. More generally, a dissipative operator gives of operator norm at most one: with , dissipativity implies , and the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality gives . In finite dimensions this also proves invertibility. For the second-order backward differentiation formula, the BDF2 discrete energy identity used in question 4 controls both time levels and proves unconditional diffusion stability. A repeated root strictly inside the disk is harmless here; the energy argument supplies the uniform bound without a singular eigenvector formula.
A second technique is eigenvalue stability analysis of a finite difference method. Under the method of lines, a time integrator advances by . If is a normal matrix, the scalar linear stability domain criterion on all controls its powers exactly in the corresponding L2 norm. For the centered Dirichlet discrete Laplacian, its eigenvalues lie between and zero; intersecting this interval with a time integrator's stability interval determines its mesh restriction. A uniform bound on the diagonalization of a matrix is needed for nonnormal diagonalizable systems. Eigenvalues alone can be misleading. For example,has both eigenvalues inside the disk for , but the upper-right entry of is . Taking , , this grows like . Hence stable scalar eigenvalues do not give mesh-uniform stability. Boundary closures can introduce precisely the extra growth that an interior Fourier symbol overlooks, so boundary stability of a finite-difference method must be checked separately.
For nonlinear spatial discretizations, a useful replacement for Fourier stability analysis is a convexity argument. If the Forward Euler method map is nonexpansive in a chosen norm for , the second-order strong stability preserving Runge-Kutta methodis also nonexpansive under the same restriction. Indeed, for two inputs, the triangle inequality gives . Its Taylor expansion is , proving order two. Such strong stability preserving Runge-Kutta methods transfer suitable forward-step bounds without relying on a linear spectral calculation.
Finally, consistency of a numerical method explains what stability buys. For a linear Hadamard well-posed problem, the Lax equivalence theorem equates convergence of a consistent discretization with its stability, under the stated approximation-space and norm hypotheses. Directly, if the error satisfies , iteration gives the discrete Duhamel principleThus vanishing normalized local truncation error and initial error yield convergence. With a nonlinear Lipschitz step estimate, the discrete Gronwall inequality plays the same role. A stable but inconsistent stencil, such as the literal defective formulas in questions 3 and 4 under their usual refinement, is not rescued by any amplification bound. The decisive checks are a mesh-uniform evolution bound, a valid boundary closure, and consistency with the actual PDE.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ib Paper 3 15A e i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
For a test function , substitute and use the Taylor expansion . Oddness removes the first term, while the Gaussian integral gives . HenceTherefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ib Paper 3 20H Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Under the null hypothesis that treatment and recovery are independent, estimate each expected cell count byand form the Pearson chi-squared test of independence statistic . For a table its asymptotic null law is a chi-squared distribution with one degree of freedom. A second-order Taylor expansion of the generalized likelihood-ratio test statistic around the fitted counts gives this Pearson statistic, which explains its asymptotic null distribution.
Writing the four residuals over their fitted counts and simplifying givesFor ,whose one-degree-of-freedom p-value is about . There is no evidence of an effect. One fitted count is only , however, so the chi-squared approximation is questionable; Fisher's exact test would be preferable.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 201 6 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Write and . The given two-sided limit implies , so . For each fixed real , independence and the characteristic function of a sum of independent variables giveSet . For , and . The local Taylor expansion of the complex logarithm at givesThus ; at the identity is immediate. The limit is continuous at zero and is the characteristic function of the constant random variable . The Lévy continuity theorem proves the weak law from a characteristic-function expansion:No integrability hypothesis has been used. The conclusion is also convergence in probability by (d)'s convergence in distribution to a constant implies convergence in probability. If the word “constant” were to allow complex , the characteristic function symmetry forces , so it is necessarily real.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 210 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
For independent and identically distributed random variables with distribution function , let be the sample maximum. In extreme value theory, belongs to the maximum domain of attraction of a nondegenerate distribution function when there exist and such thatat every continuity point of . Thus the normalized sample maxima have convergence in distribution to .
A positive measurable function has regular variation at infinity with index , written , ifThe case defines a slowly varying function; equivalently a regularly varying function is with a slowly varying function.
Write for the survival function and for the right endpoint of a distribution. For , use the following standard extreme value theory normalization conventions:They are respectively the Fréchet distribution, the negative Weibull distribution, and the Gumbel distribution for maxima. The negative Weibull distribution is supported to the left of its finite endpoint; it is not the usual positive Weibull distribution.
The necessary and sufficient maximum domain of attraction criteria are:
- For the Fréchet distribution,Equivalently for every .
- For the negative Weibull distribution,Equivalently as , for every .
- For the Gumbel distribution,Here is a Gumbel auxiliary function, and can be finite or infinite. For each fixed , the shifted argument lies below eventually. This exponential tail-ratio condition, rather than regular variation with a fixed finite index, characterizes this case.
For the corresponding sufficient hazard function conditions, assume is absolutely continuous near , its survival function tends to zero there, and its probability density function is positive there. Write . The Von Mises conditions for extreme values giveThe last condition additionally assumes that the reciprocal hazard function is continuously differentiable near the endpoint. It concerns the derivative of the reciprocal hazard function, not the derivative of the hazard function itself. Equivalently, when is differentiable, it is .
To see the connection, taking an integral of the hazard function givesThe first two limits make the logarithmic tail ratios over multiplicative or endpoint-distance intervals tend to or , giving the required regular variation. For the Gumbel distribution, set . The derivative condition makes uniformly on bounded -intervals, soThe endpoint assumptions ensure these shifts are admissible: at an infinite endpoint , and at a finite endpoint . These are sufficient smooth-tail conditions; the tail-ratio characterizations above are necessary and sufficient without differentiability assumptions. For a source using the same reciprocal-hazard convention, see Smith and Weissman's university lecture notes, equations (2.18)–(2.24).
For the Gamma distribution with integer shape and rate one, let . The base case is , and integration by parts givesInduction provesThis survival function has the asymptotic form ; for the relation is exact. Put . For every fixed real , and . The proposed centering satisfiessoOnly the highest-degree term contributes to the limit, with the same reasoning covering . The Taylor expansion now givesbecause . Therefore the Gumbel limit for gamma maxima isEquivalently, has convergence in distribution to the standard Gumbel distribution, with scale .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 210 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Let and . To prove the Hoeffding lemma, take a centered random variable and its cumulant-generating function . Under exponential tilting, is the variance of . The Popoviciu inequality on variances givessince under any such tilt the support remains , and . Because , integrating twice gives for ; applying the same argument to handles the opposite tail.
The independence of the gives . The Markov inequality, in the Chernoff bound argument, yieldswhere the minimum is at when . Apply the same argument to and add the bounds to obtain the Hoeffding inequality:If , every centered is identically zero and the tail probability is zero; the displayed exponential is interpreted by its zero-variance limit.
For the Bennett inequality, write , and first assume and . For , boundedness and centering giveFor , expanding the moment-generating function and using the permitted interchange of sum and expected value,Negative odd moments cause no difficulty because the estimate is an upper bound term by term. The independence of the and the Chernoff bound then giveThe derivative vanishes at , and substitution gives with the Bennett rate function . The same absolute bounds apply to , soIf , all centered are zero almost surely; if , the same is immediate. Handle those cases directly rather than divide by zero. Both derived concentration inequalities also hold with , by the same Markov inequality argument or by letting a smaller positive threshold increase to .
For the binomial distribution, write with independent and identically distributed random variables having the Bernoulli distribution with parameter . Then has range , width one, and variance . For large , , so and . Set .
The Hoeffding inequality givesAfter truncation at one, this is asymptotically the trivial probability bound. The Bennett inequality instead givesSince and by a Taylor expansion,Thus the Bennett bounds for sparse binomial fluctuations yieldThe Bennett inequality supplies the smaller raw exponential bound for every fixed and all sufficiently large . If , clipping probability upper bounds at one makes both eventually trivial; for , the Bennett inequality retains a nontrivial limiting bound. This distinction avoids claiming a probability improvement after clipping when both raw bounds exceed one.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 304 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Assume and take . The free Gaussian integral gives , and the normalized free Gaussian measure has covariance . Expanding only the interaction exponential gives the asymptotic expansionIn this zero-dimensional scalar field theory, the path integral has become an ordinary integral, but its combinatorics are precisely those of sextic scalar field theory.
The free generating functional is . Differentiating it proves Wick theorem: odd moments vanish, while each even moment is the sum over pairings of its factors. Each Wick contraction contributes , soThus the Feynman rules are a quantum field theory propagator for each internal line and a factor for each six-valent interaction vertex. The factorials and remove vertex and half-edge labels; the remaining weight is , where is the Feynman-diagram symmetry factor, the order of the automorphism group of the resulting diagram, including its half-edge symmetries. A tadpole diagram has an additional interchange symmetry of the two ends of its loop.
There is one empty Vacuum Feynman diagram, contributing . At one interaction vertex, the six half-edges form three loops. Its Feynman-diagram symmetry factor is , so its contribution is .
At two interaction vertices let count the lines joining them. Each interaction vertex has self-loops, so can only be . These four possibilities exhaust all Vacuum Feynman diagrams at this order. Their Feynman-diagram symmetry factors areHere the leading exchanges the two interaction vertices, permutes the joining lines, and the remaining factors permute and reverse the self-loops. The graph is disconnected and must be included in ; only a connected generating functional would discard it.
All Vacuum Feynman diagrams with at most two interaction vertices
. The empty diagram, the one-interaction vertex diagram, and the four two-interaction vertex diagrams, with their Feynman-diagram symmetry factors. Details.This is an asymptotic expansion, rather than a convergent perturbation series: the coefficient of contains and grows too rapidly for a nonzero radius of convergence. For any fixed truncation order, the Taylor expansion remainder bound for on , followed by the finite Gaussian moment integral, proves the stated remainder estimate. For negative real the original integral diverges.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 307 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Use the canonical Kähler potential and normalize superspace integration by . The superspace Lagrangian density isThe full superspace integration produces a D-term, while the chiral superfield integral produces an F-term. Work in chiral coordinates for the chiral-superfield component expansion, so the omitted spacetime-derivative terms do not enter the extraction of .
Set . A Taylor expansion of the superpotential givesHigher terms vanish because there are only two Grassmann variables . With and , their anticommutation gives . ThusThe canonical Kähler potential contributes . Consequently the part of the Lagrangian density containing the auxiliary field isThe fermion terms coming from the superpotential areThe Weyl spinor kinetic term and the complex scalar field kinetic term are canonical because .
Treat and as independent variables in their algebraic Euler-Lagrange equations. They giveEquivalently,After eliminating the auxiliary field, the Lagrangian density contains , so the F-term scalar potential isIt is nonnegative for arbitrary complex , since it is a modulus squared. A supersymmetric vacuum satisfies F-flatness, so its zeros are:If and these coincide; if and only the origin remains; if every constant is a supersymmetric vacuum.
To compare masses, expand around a supersymmetric vacuum satisfying , writing . With ,Writing gives the scalar field mass term ; the Weyl spinor has physical mass . Therefore the supersymmetric mass degeneracy isIn particular, at the boson and fermion masses are both . At the second supersymmetric vacuum the sign of reverses, but the physical mass is again . Equality here concerns fluctuations about a supersymmetric vacuum, not arbitrary backgrounds with .
In the convention and , the same superpotential coefficient gives and . The supersymmetric relation between quartic and Yukawa couplings is thereforeIf instead the Yukawa interaction is written , then and the same physical relation is . The numerical factor depends on the definition of the Yukawa coupling.
The perturbative non-renormalization theorem applies to the local holomorphic superpotential in the Wilsonian effective action, using regularization in quantum field theory that preserves supersymmetry. There are two complementary ways to see why it applies here.
First, in supergraph calculations in perturbative quantum field theory, the algebra of supersymmetric covariant derivatives puts any candidate local correction to the superpotential into a full superspace integration. It therefore corrects a D-term, such as the Kähler potential, rather than a local chiral F-term. Turning such a contribution into an apparent chiral integral would require nonlocal inverse spacetime derivatives, schematically . These are excluded from the local Wilsonian effective action with a fixed nonzero momentum cutoff. This gives the diagrammatic non-renormalization theorem.
Second, the holomorphy argument for superpotential non-renormalization treats and as background chiral spurions, so the Wilsonian effective action superpotential is a holomorphic function of , with no dependence on or . Assign an ordinary spurion charge and an R-charge as follows:The superpotential has ordinary charge zero and R-charge two, since has R-charge minus two. A prospective holomorphic monomial must therefore satisfyFor perturbative corrections, regularity at and requires nonnegative powers of the couplings. Regularity in is justified by keeping a nonzero Wilsonian momentum cutoff and retaining as a light field. Hence only and survive: the existing and structures. The quadratic coefficient is fixed by the free theory at , where there are no interaction loops. The cubic coefficient is fixed at first order in , where a connected three-field interaction has only its tree-level Feynman diagram; loop corrections would require further powers of the interaction couplings, which the holomorphy argument for superpotential non-renormalization charge constraints forbid. ThusA field-independent constant is physically irrelevant in this rigid model; the spurion charges would in any case require , which is not regular at .
The Kähler potential can still receive wave-function renormalization. For example, gives the canonical field normalization , and consequentlyThese canonically normalized parameters can run with the renormalization scale; this does not contradict the holomorphic non-renormalization theorem. When massless modes are included in the full quantum effective action, nonlocal terms associated with infrared divergences can also imitate an F-term. Distinguishing that action from the local Wilsonian effective action is part of the theorem's convention.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 321 2 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Distinguish the cylindrical radius from the spherical radius . A Taylor expansion of the central gravitational potential for givesThus the usual thin-disk expansion of the stellar gravitational potential isThe vertical acceleration is . The first term can be omitted when considering only vertical forces at fixed , but must be retained for radial dynamics.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 344 3 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Within this analytic quartic Landau theory, equilibrium of a nonconserved scalar order parameter requires . At a continuous phase transition, its restoring curvature vanishes, so . A nonzero would leave a cubic leading term in the Taylor expansion about that state and prevent it from being a local minimum. Thus a stable critical endpoint of a quartic Landau free energy requires all three derivatives to vanish, with . The condition alone can instead identify a spinodal point.
For , , the successive equations areThey giveAt these values, the free energy is exactly , proving stability. With no electric field, , so necessarily , followed by .
For and , the electric-field coupling to nematic order supplies the required negative atTuning the quadratic coefficient to simultaneously reaches the field-induced critical endpoint of the isotropic-nematic transition. The PDF's in the last clause is undefined; it is interpreted here as the previously defined . The endpoint is a prediction of the stable quartic, small-field mean-field approximation; higher-order terms or a field beyond the expansion's validity can shift it.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 1 35A b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Because increasing the length by requires work on the chain, its first law of thermodynamics isAll configurations have the same energy, so at fixed and ,Differentiating the entropy found above givesand hence the entropic Hooke law for a one-dimensional chain isWhen , the Taylor expansion of giveswhich is Hooke's law. Conversely, at fixed force,The extension decreases as the temperature rises and tends to zero as : the rubber contracts on heating at fixed tension.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 35A Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Label the two atoms in primitive cell by and , with understood modulo because of the periodic boundary condition. Choose the spring between them to have constant . Newton's second law gives
For a longitudinal normal mode, putPeriodicity requires , so . Since the primitive-cell length is , wavevectors differing by describe the same mode, and the first Brillouin zone may be chosen asThe amplitudes obeySetting its determinant to zero gives the alternating-spring chain dispersion relationThe lower sign is the acoustic phonon branch and the upper sign is the optical phonon branch.
At the edge of the Brillouin zone,so the frequency band gap isIt vanishes at , when the apparent two-atom primitive cell can be reduced to one atom.
Near the centre of the Brillouin zone, a Taylor expansion givesandThe group velocity of the acoustic branch at long wavelength is the speed of sound,
Dispersion relation of the alternating-spring chain
. The acoustic and optical branches for alpha equal to 0.35. The vertical separation at the Brillouin-zone edge is the frequency gap. Details. Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 40E c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
A stationary iterative method for a linear system converges from every initial vector exactly when the spectral radius of its iteration matrix is less than one. Here ranges between and , so all modes decay for a fixed exactly whenRequiring this for every grid size givesIndeed, leaves or amplifies the lowest mode, while any makes the highest-mode eigenvalue tend to as .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 4 30K a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
The dynamic programming principle over a short interval givesA first-order Taylor expansion of the value function givesAfter subtracting , dividing by and taking the limit, the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation is

