Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 327 2 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The multiplication of a distribution by a smooth function is . If is a Schwartz function, the Leibniz rule shows that is a continuous map , so is a tempered distribution. When both and are radial, , andThus Multiplication by a radial Schwartz function preserves radial tempered distributions.
For the convolution of a tempered distribution with a Schwartz function, setTranslations of depend smoothly on in the Schwartz space, so this is a smooth function with . The bound for by finitely many seminorms, together with , provesThus the function also defines a tempered distribution. For a radial function , put . Then , soHence Convolution with a radial Schwartz function preserves radial tempered distributions.
Smoothing alone need not give a Schwartz function: for the constant tempered distribution and a Schwartz function with integral one, . The radial Schwartz approximation of tempered distributions therefore combines smoothing with a large-radius cutoff. Choose a nonnegative radial mollifier , supported in the unit ball with integral one, and a radial cutoff function equal to one on the unit ball. PutEach is a smooth function of compact support, hence a Schwartz function, and the two invariance calculations above make it radial.
It remains to prove convergence, including the simultaneous changes of both scales. With , the distributional convolution pairing isFor every fixed , the Leibniz rule, rapid decay outside the radius- ball, and the chain rule for giveConvolution by is uniformly bounded in for , because its shifts have size at most one. The mean value theorem applied to similarly givesSplitting the error into the convolved cutoff error and the approximate identity error provesIf , this yieldsConsequentlyweakly, and even in the strong dual topology, since is uniformly bounded on every subset of the Schwartz space that is a bounded set in a topological vector space. No assertion that itself is rapidly decreasing is needed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 327 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For multi-indices , defineThese seminorms define the Fréchet space topology of the Schwartz space: exactly when every tends to zero. An equivalent increasing family isA tempered distribution is a continuous linear functional on this space. Equivalently, for some . The usual weak convergence of tempered distributions means for every fixed Schwartz function. The strong dual topology instead requires uniform convergence on every subset of the Schwartz space that is a bounded set in a topological vector space; the Fourier maps below are continuous in both topologies.
Using , differentiation under the integral and integration by parts giveThe omitted coefficient has modulus one. By the Leibniz rule, every integrand is a finite sum of a polynomial times a derivative of . Inserting the integrable weight bounds its L1 norm by finitely many Schwartz space seminorms. In particular . Thus the Fourier transform maps continuously into itself.
For completeness, the Fourier inversion theorem follows here by Gaussian regularization. The inverse transform of is . The Fourier transform of a Gaussian and Fubini's theorem showAs , the right side tends to by the approximate identity property, while the left side tends to the undamped inverse integral by dominated convergence theorem, since . HenceThe inverse is times reflection composed with the continuous Fourier transform, and is therefore continuous on the Schwartz space. This proves a continuous linear isomorphism with continuous inverse.
Define the Fourier transform of a tempered distribution byThe continuous map on Schwartz space makes this a tempered distribution; the transpose of supplies its inverse. Pointwise convergence of pairings proves weak continuity. For the strong dual topology, the transform of a bounded set of Schwartz functions is bounded, so uniform convergence of pairings on bounded sets proves continuity of both Fourier maps there too.
Now let be a rotation matrix in the special orthogonal group and write . A change of variables with unit Jacobian givesThe rotation equivariance of the Fourier transform on tempered distributions follows by duality:Therefore . Applying this identity and the inverse Fourier transform gives the two directions:This is precisely preservation of radial tempered distributions. For , acts transitively on spheres, so an invariant smooth function is an ordinary radial function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 327 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Take and the Fourier transform convention . Write the scalar polynomial as , with homogeneous of degree . The principal symbol of the constant-coefficient linear partial differential operator is . It is an elliptic differential operator exactly whenComplex coefficients are allowed, but the frequency is real.
By compactness of the unit sphere, . Homogeneity gives , whereas the lower-degree terms are bounded by for . The triangle inequality then gives the high-frequency lower bound for an elliptic polynomial:for sufficiently large . ThusThe Japanese bracket is . If , a nonzero constant satisfies the same assertion directly.
For real , the Sobolev space is the tempered distribution spaceOne may include in the squared norm for this Fourier transform normalization; it does not change the space. The Local Sobolev space iswhere multiplication of a distribution by a smooth function is followed by extension by zero.
If is a compactly supported distribution, choose a cutoff function equal to one near its compact support. The finite order of a distribution gives an integer and a boundfor a fixed compact set . This also makes a tempered distribution. Its Fourier transform of a compactly supported distribution is the smooth functionThe Leibniz rule gives the last estimate, and parameter differentiation under the finite-order pairing proves smoothness of this Fourier transform. Therefore the negative Sobolev regularity of a compactly supported distribution isIndeed is integrable precisely when . This proves the claimed existence of a sufficiently negative Sobolev space index.
We use three elementary Sobolev space facts: differentiation of order maps continuously into ; for ; and Sobolev multiplication by a smooth cutoff is bounded on for every real . The first two follow directly from the frequency weights. For the third, multiplication of a distribution by a smooth function becomes convolution with the rapidly decaying , andtogether with Young's convolution inequality gives the bound. These facts apply after localization as well.
The high-frequency lower bound for an elliptic polynomial gives a useful global implication. If and , split its Fourier transform into and . The low-frequency part is controlled by , while the high-frequency part is controlled by . Thus, for arbitrary real ,The conclusion that is obtained directly by integrating these frequency bounds; it is not an assumption made to state the estimate.
For the cutoff bootstrap for local elliptic regularity, fix . A cutoff function equal to one near makes a compactly supported distribution after multiplication, so the preceding negative-index argument gives for some finite . Suppose inductively that . For any test function ,The Leibniz rule shows that this commutator has order at most , with smooth functions as coefficients, all with compact support:A second cutoff function equal to one near lets us apply the stated Sobolev space bounds to every term. Hence , while . For , the global estimate yieldsThis holds for every such , so it improves the Local Sobolev space index by one until is reached. A finite number of iterations starting at provesSince was arbitrary, the conclusion holds throughout . For , division by the nonzero constant proves it immediately. This is the asserted elliptic regularity, proved without assuming an initial nonnegative Sobolev space index.
A first-order example on is the first-order Cauchy-Riemann operatorIt is an elliptic differential operator with complex coefficients. In one real variable, is already a first-order elliptic differential operator.
There is no scalar elliptic differential operator of odd order in three variables. If its order were odd, its principal symbol would satisfy on . Regard the continuous mapThe Borsuk-Ulam theorem gives for some . Oddness then gives , contradicting ellipticity. This is the odd-order obstruction for scalar elliptic operators in at least three dimensions; restricting to a three-dimensional subspace proves the higher-dimensional case too. For real coefficients alone, the same obstruction follows from the intermediate value theorem along a path between antipodal points.
The scalar qualification matters. An elliptic system of differential equations can be first order in three variables: with the Pauli matrices, the matrix symbol satisfies and is invertible for . This does not contradict the scalar polynomial obstruction.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 335 2 ii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
Fix a receiver position and define . Choose the two scalar fields in the Wigner distribution to be . Fourier inversion in the separation variable givesIndeed, substituting the defining Wigner distribution makes the integral a Dirac delta function, canceling its normalization and setting the separation equal to .
Average over the receiver plane, including the aperture:Then the receiver-averaged Wigner distribution represents the back-propagated field asThe fast decay of justifies its use as a test function. For oscillatory Green functions that are not integrable, the Wigner distribution and its inversion can be understood as tempered distributions, or derived with smooth cutoffs before taking their limits.
The printed expression can also be used literally, but its displayed integral is over source-plane coordinates, not receiver positions. The missing receiver average and source weight can be encoded by choosing vector fields whose channels are the receivers. LetContract the receiver channels in the product of the vector fields, so thatWith exactly the printed definitionthe same Fourier inversion now yields the requested compact formFor a finite array, the receiver integral in the contraction is a weighted sum. For a continuous array, these are fields valued in the receiver Hilbert space. An uncontracted vector outer product instead gives a matrix-valued Wigner distribution, whose receiver trace must be taken. Thus the printed formula is usable with these choices and this contraction convention, but its phrase “over the plane of the receiver” does not describe the displayed integral.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 327 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Schwartz space consists of the smooth functions for whichfor all multi-indices . Its topology is generated by these seminorms; means convergence in every seminorm. A tempered distribution is a continuous linear functional on this space. Convergence in here means weak convergence: for every Schwartz function.
Use the unnormalized angular-frequency Fourier transformThe transform is a continuous automorphism of the Schwartz space, so this duality defines a tempered distribution. Put , as required by the stated identities. Integration by parts and differentiation under the integral giveThus, keeping the transpose factor of explicit,andIterating gives the Fourier derivative identities for distributions
The logarithm defines a tempered distribution because it is locally integrable and grows more slowly than a polynomial. Its derivative is . The standard transform pair , obtainable by the residue theorem, givesAs , we have . DefineThis integral is absolutely convergent: the numerator is near zero, and the exponential controls the tails. It defines a tempered distribution satisfying the same multiplication equation. The kernel of multiplication by a coordinate therefore gives .
To determine , use the supplied Gaussian Fourier transform pair with . ThenAlso by the dominated convergence theorem: the relevant integrand is bounded by a constant times for . ConsequentlyThe cutoff limit agrees with the absolutely convergent integral; this particular subtraction convention fixes the otherwise ambiguous delta term. The reusable identity is Fourier transform of the logarithm of one plus x squared.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 327 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem in its closed-ball form says that a tempered distribution is supported in if and only if its Fourier transform is the real restriction of an entire function on satisfying, for some and integer ,The distribution is unique by Fourier inversion. More generally a compact convex support set replaces by its support function .
For the forward implication, a compactly supported distribution has finite order of a distribution, say , on a fixed neighborhood of its support. Defineusing a cutoff equal to one near the support. Differentiation with respect to each complex coordinate is allowed in this pairing and gives , so is entire.
To obtain the exact radius , rather than an enlarged radius, choose a cutoff function equal to one near and supported in , with derivatives through order bounded by . Set . The finite-order bound and the Leibniz rule giveThis proves the required growth estimate.
For the converse, has at most polynomial growth on real frequencies, so define its inverse tempered distribution byLet a compactly supported test function lie in a half-space , with and . By contour shifting,Here is the decay needed to justify the shift and then let grow. Repeated integration by parts, applying to , gives for every integer ,Choose . For each fixed , this decay makes the vertical sides of a large rectangle vanish in the one complex coordinate parallel to ; Cauchy integral theorem then supplies the contour identity. Combining the two bounds yieldsThus vanishes on such test functions. Every point outside has a neighborhood of this form. A partition of unity therefore proves , completing the converse. The same argument with separating half-spaces proves the compact-convex-set form. This is the contour-shift proof of the Paley–Wiener–Schwartz theorem.
For a regular function , the change of variables givesThe map is continuous on the Schwartz space, so duality extends the dilation of a distribution toIts Fourier transform obeys . If the original support is in the unit ball, the theorem bounds by . HenceThe converse theorem gives the support law for distributional dilation
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 350 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The notation denotes generalized Gaussian white noise over , not a Gaussian measure supported on : the identity is not a trace-class operator there. For example, realize the observation on a suitable space of tempered distributions. Its Cameron-Martin space of a Gaussian measure is . For deterministic , the stochastic pairing has normal distribution under and is the isonormal Gaussian process indexed by .
Interpret the stated maps between Sobolev spaces as bounded linear operators, as usual. In particular is bounded, so its adjoint operator is bounded on . Hence maps into , which is the property needed here. The stronger smoothing follows by Sobolev duality: boundedness of gives , and therefore . As , the shift belongs to the noise Cameron-Martin space of a Gaussian measure for -almost every .
The white-noise likelihood for a square-integrable shift, obtained from the Cameron-Martin theorem for a Gaussian measure in its white-noise form, isHere is the law of . In an orthonormal basis of , with white-noise coordinates , the pairing under isFor fixed this has mean-square convergence and converges almost surely, since . The stipulated joint measurability allows the likelihood to be used under . One must not replace this expression by a finite , because white noise is not -valued. On the unbounded domain , membership of white noise in a global unweighted negative Sobolev space must not be assumed either; the stochastic pairing avoids that issue.
Let be the actual joint law. The shift formula gives with Radon-Nikodym derivative . DefineFor each fixed admissible , the moment-generating function of a normal distribution givesBy Tonelli theorem, , so for -almost every . The likelihood is finite and strictly positive for -almost every ; Fubini's theorem then gives for -almost every . The marginal observation law is and is an equivalent probability measure to .
The Bayes formula for a dominated observation model therefore definesTo verify that it is the conditional distribution, for measurable sets of unknowns and of data,Thus the posterior distribution is well defined for almost every observation under the actual data law. This is the appropriate almost-everywhere assertion supplied by Bayes theorem; the stated assumptions do not prescribe a canonical posterior at every exceptional generalized datum.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 23I a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Let be the space of tempered distributions. For , the Sobolev space iswith normChanging the normalization of the Fourier transform changes this norm only by a fixed constant.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 23I b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Let be a multi-index with . The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality givesThe second integral is finite precisely under the sufficient inequality , which follows from . Hence is Lebesgue integrable for every .
The Fourier inversion theorem therefore defines a functionwhose derivatives through order may be obtained by differentiating under the integral sign. Those derivatives are continuous, so . The inverse transform represents the same tempered distribution as ; consequently almost everywhere. This is the Sobolev embedding theorem in this range.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 327 3 b Solution 2026-09-29
For a locally integrable , the change of variables formula givesThis motivatesBecause pullback by an invertible linear map acts continuously on the Schwartz space, the right side is a continuous linear functional of . It therefore defines a tempered distribution and agrees with ordinary pullback when is a function.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 327 3 Solution 2026-09-29
Using multi-index notation, the Schwartz space isIts topology is generated by the displayed seminorms. The tempered distribution is its continuous dual, with weak convergence defined by convergence of every pairing with a Schwartz function.
For the conventiondifferentiation under the integral and integration by parts giveThese identities bound every Schwartz seminorm of by finitely many seminorms of , proving continuity. The Fourier inversion theorem gives the continuous inverseso the Fourier transform is a continuous isomorphism of . By duality,defines a continuous isomorphism of .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 2 23H Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
The Schwartz space consists of smooth functions for which every seminormis finite. Convergence means convergence in every such seminorm. A tempered distribution is a continuous linear functional on this Fréchet space; in means for every test function .