Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 2 16C Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A gauge transformation isBecause partial derivatives commute, the added contribution to isso the electromagnetic field tensor is gauge invariant.
The identityfollows directly from . Its spatial and mixed components areFor the other two equations define the four-currentThen givesand givesThis is the Covariant Maxwell equation with the minus-plus-plus-plus metric.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 2 8G a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The characteristic polynomial isTo prove triangularizability, use induction on . The result is immediate for . Over , has a root , so has an eigenvector . Extend it to a basis. In this basis,By induction, a change among the remaining basis vectors makes upper triangular. Thus the triangularization over an algebraically closed field gives
The minimal polynomial is the monic polynomial of least degree satisfying . To establish existence without quoting the Cayley-Hamilton theorem, let be an upper-triangular matrix similar to , with diagonal entries , and putThenThe factors commute, so applying all of them successively lowers the invariant flag to zero:Similarity gives the same polynomial identity for . Hence a nonzero monic annihilating polynomial of degree exists, and a least-degree one exists.
If and were two monic annihilating polynomials of the same least degree, then would be an annihilating polynomial of smaller degree unless it were zero. Thus the minimal polynomial is unique, and the minimal polynomial bound from a triangular invariant flag gives
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 1E ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 9G d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Proceed by induction on . Over , has an eigenvector , say . The normal operator satisfies the norm equality from part (c), soThus . Part (a) now shows that is invariant under both and . The restriction of to is normal. By induction it has an orthonormal eigenbasis, and adjoining the normalized vector proves the finite-dimensional spectral theorem for normal operators.
Hence
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 3 9G Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
Fix . The map is a linear functional, so the finite-dimensional Riesz representation theorem gives a unique vector such thatFor scalars ,Uniqueness givesso is linear.
For , apply this result toIt produces a unique linear map satisfyingwhich proves existence and uniqueness of the adjoint.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 4 8G b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For , the independent vectors lie in the coordinate subspace supported onwhich has dimension . Hence , and the stated form of Hall marriage theorem gives an injection with .
Let be the matrix whose th column is . Its column rank is . By equality of row and column rank, it has linearly independent rows. Let be their indices. The submatrix is invertible, so its columns are independent. Those columns are exactly the nonzero coordinates of , and therefore these truncated vectors are linearly independent.
Expanding gives a permutation for whichThus . Finally, order the coordinates with first. The matrix whose columns are the together with the for is block triangular, with diagonal blocks and an identity matrix. Its determinant is nonzero. Consequentlyis a basis of . This is the simultaneous basis exchange from a nonzero minor.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ib Paper 4 9E b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 327 2 Solution 2026-09-28
The space of test functions isA sequence converges to in when all supports lie eventually in one compact set andfor every multi-index . A distribution is a linear functional such that, for every compact , there are and withwhenever . Convergence in is pointwise convergence on test functions.
Continuity plainly implies sequential continuity. Conversely, suppose the linear form is sequentially continuous but the displayed estimate fails for some compact . For every , choose supported in such thatThen in , while , a contradiction. Hence the seminorm estimate holds on every compact set and .
For a translation vector and a multi-index , defineThese definitions extend ordinary translation and differentiation to distributions.
If for every , differentiating its pairing at gives . Conversely, if , then for every test functionThe pairing is constant in , hence . This proves both directions of translation invariance and vanishing distributional derivative.
Finally, the distributional differentiation obeys the linear chain rule under the linear coordinates and . Thusand likewiseas distributions. Adding the two identities givesthe one-dimensional wave equation; this is the low-regularity form of the travelling waves in the D'Alembert formula.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 19H Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A complex representation of is a complex vector space together with a homomorphismIt is faithful when , equivalently when is injective. Every finite group has a faithful complex representation: in the regular representation, permutes the basis byand a group element fixing every basis vector must be the identity.
If is conjugate to , then is similar to . Thus the two matrices have the same spectrum, while an eigenvalue of gives the eigenvalue of . Hence
Now take a -cycle . It is conjugate to for every . Faithfulness makes have order , so its spectrum contains a nontrivial th root of unity . The preceding implication puts all the distinct valuesin the spectrum. Therefore . This is the spectrum orbit bound for a faithful symmetric-group representation.
Finally let be the group of all permutations of . It has no faithful finite-dimensional complex representation. For every , contains a subgroup generated by disjoint transpositions. In a -dimensional complex representation, commuting involutions are simultaneously diagonalizable and hence map into the group of diagonal sign matrices, which has order . A faithful restriction would require for every , an impossibility.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 22G Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
The closest point theorem in a Hilbert space states that every nonempty closed convex subset of a Hilbert space has a unique point nearest to any given .
Let and choose with . The parallelogram identity and convexity giveso is Cauchy. Completeness and closedness give a limit with . If were both minimizers, the same identity with their midpoint would force .
Apply the theorem to a closed subspace . For , let be closest and put . For every , minimality of at for real and imaginary gives . HenceThe intersection is zero, so .
If is a shift with orthonormal basis , it is an isometry,Conversely, suppose these three properties hold. Choose a unit vector spanning and set . Isometry makes this sequence orthonormal. Iterating the orthogonal decompositiongivesA vector orthogonal to every lies in every and is therefore zero. Thus is an orthonormal basis and , so is a shift. This is the wandering-vector characterization of a unilateral shift.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 30L b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
If and , thenbut strict positivity of and the nonzero vector make the left side positive. Thus the two sets cannot both be nonempty.
Conversely, suppose . The subspace is disjoint from the compact simplexStrict separation gives a vector that vanishes on and is positive on all of . The first property says ; testing the vertices of shows every . After normalization , this gives . This is Stiemke theorem in normalized form. Therefore
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 30L c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be the state-by-asset matrix of discounted gains and identify with its state vector. Fix . If , , and , thenbelongs to . The assumption and passage to the limit imply for every nonnegative .
The finite-state superhedging alternative now gives withThis residual cannot vanish identically, since then every would have . Hence it is strictly positive in at least one state, which has positive physical probability. This is the required inequality.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 30L d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 31K a i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Let be independent Rademacher signs. For the set of evaluation vectorsthe empirical Rademacher complexity isFor an independent sample ,
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 31K b ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Condition on the sample. The set of vectorshas at most distinct members, each with Euclidean norm at most . The Massart finite-class lemma, the Sauer-Shelah growth bound, and giveTaking expectations and substituting this into part (i) yields
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 ii Paper 1 34B a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Set . The off-diagonal Hermiticity identity holds automatically, whilemust be real. Thusis necessary and sufficient. For , put . Since the two normalized spanning vectors are linearly independent, .
The normalized eigenvectors and eigenvalues areDirect application of verifies the eigenvalue equations. Their unnormalized inner product isso the distinct eigenvectors are orthogonal, as required for a Hermitian operator. If , and every vector is an eigenvector.