Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 2 37E c ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Write . For ,The potential is strictly increasing from to and crosses the energy line atThe expanding universe reaches this turning point, reverses, and ends in a Big Crunch. Thus a negative cosmological constant forces recollapse in this spatially flat pressureless model.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 ii Paper 3 40C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Let a slowly varying wave have phase , wavevector , and angular frequency . The local dispersion relation is the Hamilton-Jacobi equation . Equality of mixed derivatives, followed along a curve with velocity , gives the Hamiltonian ray-tracing equationsHere is the total derivative evaluated along a ray, and is the group velocity.
For , , , and are conserved. If is the angle between the ray and the -axis, then and . Hence Snell's law is
For , write . Since the ray and wavevector are parallel,Near the upper turning point, put . Expansion givesIf at the turn, integration yields the local ray pathThe ray is tangent to the line , turns smoothly, crosses , and repeats symmetrically between and . Increasing decreases , while sends the turning level outward.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ia Paper 4 9C Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The work done along the trajectory isBy Newton's second law, , soThis is the work-energy theorem: the work equals the change in kinetic energy.
A force is conservative when its work between two points is independent of the path, equivalently when it is the negative gradient of a potential energy. Here a potential with isConservation of energy for givesThus
If , the particle escapes with asymptotic speed ; the graph decreases from to this horizontal asymptote. At the escape velocity , it decreases as and approaches zero only at infinity. If , it reaches the turning pointwhere , then returns on the negative branch of the same curve and oscillates symmetrically about the origin.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 iii Paper 336 1 b Solution 2026-09-29
For , the stationary-point equation would requireso the two saddles leave the real axis. The contour can be deformed through the appropriate complex saddle or saddles, and their contributions become exponentially small or large according to the sign of the real part of . The real-axis oscillatory saddle contributions present for therefore disappear across the turning point . The admissible deformation and the pole's residue must still respect the prescribed branch cuts and the instruction that the contour pass above .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 320 2 b Solution 2026-09-28
For a bound orbit let be the specific energy and the specific angular momentum. Introduce the dimensionless radius suggested in the question,The radial energy equation becomeswhere and are the two turning points. Comparing coefficients givesThe time from periapsis to apoapsis isThus the radial orbital period isIt depends on but not on , which is the defining isochrone property.