Part II, 2003, Paper 1
Part II, 2003, Paper 1
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B1.23
commentDefine the differential cross section . Show how it may be related to a scattering amplitude defined in terms of the behaviour of a wave function satisfying suitable boundary conditions as .
For a particle scattering off a potential show how , where is the scattering angle, may be expanded, for energy , as
and find in terms of the phase shift . Obtain the optical theorem relating and .
Suppose that
Why for may be dominant, and what is the expected behaviour of for ?
[For large
Legendre polynomials satisfy
A1.10
comment(i) We work over the field of two elements. Define what is meant by a linear code of length . What is meant by a generator matrix for a linear code?
Define what is meant by a parity check code of length . Show that a code is linear if and only if it is a parity check code.
Give the original Hamming code in terms of parity checks and then find a generator matrix for it.
[You may use results from the theory of vector spaces provided that you quote them correctly.]
(ii) Suppose that and let be the largest information rate of any binary error correcting code of length which can correct errors.
Show that
where
[You may assume any form of Stirling's theorem provided that you quote it correctly.]
B1.5
commentLet be a graph of order . Prove that if has edges then it contains two triangles with a common edge. Here, is the Turán number.
Suppose instead that has exactly one triangle. Show that has at most edges, and that this number can be attained.
A1.13
comment(i) Suppose , are independent binomial observations, with , , where are known, and we wish to fit the model
where are given covariates, each of dimension . Let be the maximum likelihood estimators of . Derive equations for and state without proof the form of the approximate distribution of .
(ii) In 1975 , data were collected on the 3-year survival status of patients suffering from a type of cancer, yielding the following table
\begin{tabular}{ccrr} & & \multicolumn{2}{c}{ survive? } \ age in years & malignant & yes & no \ under 50 & no & 77 & 10 \ under 50 & yes & 51 & 13 \ & no & 51 & 11 \ & yes & 38 & 20 \ & no & 7 & 3 \ & yes & 6 & 3 \end{tabular}
Here the second column represents whether the initial tumour was not malignant or was malignant.
Let be the number surviving, for age group and malignancy status , for and , and let be the corresponding total number. Thus , . Assume . The results from fitting the model
with give , and deviance . What do you conclude?
Why do we take in the model?
What "residuals" should you compute, and to which distribution would you refer them?
B1.8
commentState the Implicit Function Theorem and outline how it produces submanifolds of Euclidean spaces.
Show that the unitary group is a smooth manifold and find its dimension.
Identify the tangent space to at the identity matrix as a subspace of the space of complex matrices.
B1.17
commentConsider the one-dimensional map , where with a real parameter. Find the range of values of for which the open interval is mapped into itself and contains at least one fixed point. Describe the bifurcation at and find the parameter value for which there is a period-doubling bifurcation. Determine whether the fixed point is an attractor at this bifurcation point.
A1.6
comment(i) State and prove Dulac's Criterion for the non-existence of periodic orbits in . Hence show (choosing a weighting factor of the form ) that there are no periodic orbits of the equations
(ii) State the Poincaré-Bendixson Theorem. A model of a chemical reaction (the Brusselator) is defined by the second order system
where are positive parameters. Show that there is a unique fixed point. Show that, for a suitable choice of , trajectories enter the closed region bounded by , and . Deduce that when , the system has a periodic orbit.
B1.21
commentA particle of charge and mass moves non-relativistically with 4 -velocity along a trajectory . Its electromagnetic field is determined by the Liénard-Wiechert potential
where and denotes the spatial part of the 4 -vector .
Derive a formula for the Poynting vector at very large distances from the particle. Hence deduce Larmor's formula for the rate of loss of energy due to electromagnetic radiation by the particle.
A particle moves in the plane in a constant magnetic field . Initially it has kinetic energy ; derive a formula for the kinetic energy of this particle as a function of time.
B1.25
commentConsider a two-dimensional horizontal vortex sheet of strength at height above a horizontal rigid boundary at , so that the inviscid fluid velocity is
Examine the temporal linear instabililty of the sheet and determine the relevant dispersion relationship.
For what wavelengths is the sheet unstable?
Evaluate the temporal growth rate and the wave propagation speed in the limit of both short and long waves. Comment briefly on the significance of your results.
A1.3
comment(i) Let be a continuous linear map between two Hilbert spaces . Define the adjoint of . Explain what it means to say that is Hermitian or unitary.
Let be a bounded continuous function. Show that the map
with is a continuous linear map and find its adjoint. When is Hermitian? When is it unitary?
(ii) Let be a closed, non-empty, convex subset of a real Hilbert space . Show that there exists a unique point with minimal norm. Show that is characterised by the property
Does this result still hold when is not closed or when is not convex? Justify your answers.
B1.7
commentWhat does it mean to say that a field is algebraically closed? Show that a field is algebraically closed if and only if, for any finite extension and every homomorphism , there exists a homomorphism whose restriction to is .
Let be a field of characteristic zero, and an algebraic extension such that every nonconstant polynomial over has at least one root in . Prove that is algebraically closed.
A1.15 B1.24
comment(i) The worldline of a massive particle moving in a spacetime with metric obeys the geodesic equation
where is the particle's proper time and are the Christoffel symbols; these are the equations of motion for the Lagrangian
where is the particle's mass, and . Why is the choice of worldline parameter irrelevant? Among all possible worldlines passing through points and , why is the one that extremizes the proper time elapsed between and ?
Explain how the equations of motion for a massive particle may be obtained from the alternative Lagrangian
What can you conclude from the fact that has no explicit dependence on ? How are the equations of motion for a massless particle obtained from ?
(ii) A photon moves in the Schwarzschild metric
Given that the motion is confined to the plane , obtain the radial equation
where and are constants, the physical meaning of which should be stated.
Setting , obtain the equation
Using the approximate solution
obtain the standard formula for the deflection of light passing far from a body of mass with impact parameter . Reinstate factors of and to give your result in physical units.
A1.8
comment(i) State Brooks' Theorem, and prove it in the case of a 3 -connected graph.
(ii) Let be a bipartite graph, with vertex classes and , each of order . If contains no cycle of length 4 show that
For which integers are there examples where equality holds?
A1.4
comment(i) Let be a prime number. Show that a group of order has a nontrivial normal subgroup, that is, is not a simple group.
(ii) Let and be primes, . Show that a group of order has a normal Sylow -subgroup. If has also a normal Sylow -subgroup, show that is cyclic. Give a necessary and sufficient condition on and for the existence of a non-abelian group of order . Justify your answer.
B1.3
comment(i) Let be a prime number. Show that a group of order has a nontrivial normal subgroup, that is, is not a simple group.
(ii) Let and be primes, . Show that a group of order has a normal Sylow -subgroup. If has also a normal Sylow -subgroup, show that is cyclic. Give a necessary and sufficient condition on and for the existence of a non-abelian group of order . Justify your answer.
B1.10
commentLet be a Hilbert space and let .
(a) Define what it means for to be (i) invertible, and (ii) bounded below. Prove that is invertible if and only if both and are bounded below.
(b) Define what it means for to be normal. Prove that is normal if and only if for all . Deduce that, if is normal, then every point of Sp is an approximate eigenvalue of .
(c) Let be a self-adjoint operator, and let be a sequence in such that for all and as . Show, by direct calculation, that
and deduce that at least one of is an approximate eigenvalue of .
(d) Deduce that, with as in (c),
B1.14
commentA binary Huffman code is used for encoding symbols occurring with probabilities where . Let be the length of a shortest codeword and of a longest codeword. Determine the maximal and minimal values of and , and find binary trees for which they are attained.
A B1.12
comment(i) State Zorn's Lemma. Use Zorn's Lemma to prove that every real vector space has a basis.
(ii) State the Bourbaki-Witt Theorem, and use it to prove Zorn's Lemma, making clear where in the argument you appeal to the Axiom of Choice.
Conversely, deduce the Bourbaki-Witt Theorem from Zorn's Lemma.
If is a non-empty poset in which every chain has an upper bound, must be chain-complete?
A1.1 B1.1
comment(i) Let be a simple symmetric random walk in , starting from , and set . Determine the quantities and and .
(ii) Let be a discrete-time Markov chain with state-space and transition matrix . What does it mean to say that a state is recurrent? Prove that is recurrent if and only if , where denotes the entry in .
Show that the simple symmetric random walk in is recurrent.
B1.19
commentBy considering the integral
where is a large circle centred on the origin, show that
where
By using , deduce that .
B1.9
commentLet , where , and let be the ring of algebraic integers of . Show that the field polynomial of , with and rational, is .
Let . By verifying that and determining the field polynomial, or otherwise, show that is in .
By computing the traces of , show that the elements of have the form
where are integers. By further computing the norm of , show that can be expressed as with integers. Deduce that form an integral basis for .
A1.9
comment(i) Let be an odd prime and a strictly positive integer. Prove that the multiplicative group of relatively prime residue classes modulo is cyclic.
[You may assume that the result is true for .]
(ii) Let , where and are distinct odd primes. Let denote the set of all integers which are relatively prime to . We recall that is said to be an Euler pseudo-prime to the base if
If is an Euler pseudo-prime to the base , but is not an Euler pseudo-prime to the base , prove that is not an Euler pseudo-prime to the base . Let denote any of the primes . Prove that there exists a such that
and deduce that is not an Euler pseudo-prime to this base . Hence prove that is not an Euler pseudo-prime to the base for at least half of all the relatively prime residue classes .
A1.20 B1.20
comment(i) The linear algebraic equations , where is symmetric and positive-definite, are solved with the Gauss-Seidel method. Prove that the iteration always converges.
(ii) The Poisson equation is given in the bounded, simply connected domain , with zero Dirichlet boundary conditions on . It is approximated by the fivepoint formula
where , and is in the interior of .
Assume for the sake of simplicity that the intersection of with the grid consists only of grid points, so that no special arrangements are required near the boundary. Prove that the method can be written in a vector notation, with a negative-definite matrix .
B1.18
comment(a) Define characteristic hypersurfaces and state a local existence and uniqueness theorem for a quasilinear partial differential equation with data on a non-characteristic hypersurface.
(b) Consider the initial value problem
for a function with initial data given for . Obtain a formula for the solution by the method of characteristics and deduce that a solution exists for all .
Derive the following (well-posedness) property for solutions and corresponding to data and respectively:
(c) Consider the initial value problem
for a function with initial data given for . Obtain a formula for the solution by the method of characteristics and hence show that if for all , then the solution exists for all . Show also that if there exists with , then the solution does not exist for all .
A1.2 B1.2
comment(i) Consider particles moving in 3 dimensions. The Cartesian coordinates of these particles are . Now consider an invertible change of coordinates to coordinates , so that one may express as . Show that the velocity of the system in Cartesian coordinates is given by the following expression:
Furthermore, show that Lagrange's equations in the two coordinate systems are related via
(ii) Now consider the case where there are constraints applied, . By considering the , and a set of independent coordinates , as a set of new coordinates, show that the Lagrange equations of the constrained system, i.e.
(where the are Lagrange multipliers) imply Lagrange's equations for the unconstrained coordinates, i.e.
A1.12 B1.15
comment(i) A public health official is seeking a rational policy of vaccination against a relatively mild ailment which causes absence from work. Surveys suggest that of the population are already immune, but accurate tests to detect vulnerability in any individual are too costly for mass screening. A simple skin test has been developed, but is not completely reliable. A person who is immune to the ailment will have a negligible reaction to the skin test with probability , a moderate reaction with probability and a strong reaction with probability 0.1. For a person who is vulnerable to the ailment the corresponding probabilities are and . It is estimated that the money-equivalent of workhours lost from failing to vaccinate a vulnerable person is 20 , that the unnecessary cost of vaccinating an immune person is 8 , and that there is no cost associated with vaccinating a vulnerable person or failing to vaccinate an immune person. On the basis of the skin test, it must be decided whether to vaccinate or not. What is the Bayes decision rule that the health official should adopt?
(ii) A collection of students each sit exams. The ability of the th student is represented by and the performance of the th student on the th exam is measured by . Assume that, given , an appropriate model is that the variables are independent, and
for a known positive constant . It is reasonable to assume, a priori, that the are independent with
where and are population parameters, known from experience with previous cohorts of students.
Compute the posterior distribution of given the observed exam marks vector
Suppose now that is also unknown, but assumed to have a distribution, for known . Compute the posterior distribution of given and Find, up to a normalisation constant, the form of the marginal density of given .
B1.13
commentState and prove the first Borel-Cantelli Lemma.
Suppose that is a sequence of events in a common probability space such that whenever and that .
Let be the indicator function of and let
Use Chebyshev's inequality to show that
Deduce, using the first Borel-Cantelli Lemma, that infinitely often .
A1.14
comment(i) An electron of mass and spin moves freely inside a cubical box of side . Verify that the energy eigenstates of the system are where the spatial wavefunction is given by
and
Give the corresponding energy eigenvalues.
A second electron is inserted into the box. Explain how the Pauli principle determines the structure of the wavefunctions associated with the lowest energy level and the first excited energy level. What are the values of the energy in these two levels and what are the corresponding degeneracies?
(ii) When the side of the box, , is large, the number of eigenstates available to the electron with energy in the range is . Show that
A large number, , of electrons are inserted into the box. Explain how the ground state is constructed and define the Fermi energy, . Show that in the ground state
When a magnetic field in the -direction is applied to the system, an electron with spin up acquires an additional energy and an electron with spin down an energy , where is the magnetic moment of the electron and . Describe, for the case , the structure of the ground state of the system of electrons in the box and show that
Calculate the induced magnetic moment, , of the ground state of the system and show that for a weak magnetic field the magnetic moment is given by
B1.6
commentDefine the inner product of two class functions from the finite group into the complex numbers. Prove that characters of the irreducible representations of form an orthonormal basis for the space of class functions.
Consider the representation of the symmetric group by permutation matrices. Show that splits as a direct sum where 1 denotes the trivial representation. Is the -dimensional representation irreducible?
B1.11
commentProve that a holomorphic map from to itself is either constant or a rational function. Prove that a holomorphic map of degree 1 from to itself is a Möbius transformation.
Show that, for every finite set of distinct points in and any values , there is a holomorphic function with for .
B1.22
commentA gas in equilibrium at temperature and pressure has quantum stationary states with energies in volume . What does it mean to say that a change in volume from to is reversible?
Write down an expression for the probability that the gas is in state . How is the entropy defined in terms of these probabilities? Write down an expression for the energy of the gas, and establish the relation
for reversible changes.
By considering the quantity , derive the Maxwell relation
A gas obeys the equation of state
where is a constant and is a function of only. The gas is expanded isothermally, at temperature , from volume to volume . Find the work done on the gas. Show that the heat absorbed by the gas is given by
A1.16
comment(i) Explain briefly how the relative motion of galaxies in a homogeneous and isotropic universe is described in terms of the scale factor (where is time). In particular, show that the relative velocity of two galaxies is given in terms of their relative displacement by the formula , where is a function that you should determine in terms of . Given that , obtain a formula for the distance to the cosmological horizon at time . Given further that , for and constant , compute . Hence show that as .
(ii) A homogeneous and isotropic model universe has energy density and pressure , where is the speed of light. The evolution of its scale factor is governed by the Friedmann equation
where the overdot indicates differentiation with respect to . Use the "Fluid" equation
to obtain an equation for the acceleration . Assuming and , show that cannot increase with time as long as , nor decrease if . Hence determine the late time behaviour of for . For show that an initially expanding universe must collapse to a "big crunch" at which . How does behave as ? Given that , determine the form of near the big crunch. Discuss the qualitative late time behaviour for .
Cosmological models are often assumed to have an equation of state of the form for constant . What physical principle requires ? Matter with is called "stiff matter" by cosmologists. Given that , determine for a universe that contains only stiff matter. In our Universe, why would you expect stiff matter to be negligible now even if it were significant in the early Universe?
A1.11 B1.16
comment(i) In the context of a single-period financial market with traded assets, what is an arbitrage? What is an equivalent martingale measure?
A simple single-period financial market contains two assets, (a bond), and (a share). The period can be good, bad, or indifferent, with probabilities each. At the beginning of the period, time 0 , both assets are worth 1 , i.e.
and at the end of the period, time 1 , the share is worth
where . The bond is always worth 1 at the end of the period. Show that there is no arbitrage in this market if and only if .
(ii) An agent with strictly increasing strictly concave utility has wealth at time 0 , and wishes to invest his wealth in shares and bonds so as to maximise his expected utility of wealth at time 1 . Explain how the solution to his optimisation problem generates an equivalent martingale measure.
Assume now that , and . Characterise all equivalent martingale measures for this problem. Characterise all equivalent martingale measures which arise as solutions of an agent's optimisation problem.
Calculate the largest and smallest possible prices for a European call option with strike 1 and expiry 1, as the pricing measure ranges over all equivalent martingale measures. Calculate the corresponding bounds when the pricing measure is restricted to the set arising from expected-utility-maximising agents' optimisation problems.
A1.17
comment(i) Define the character of a representation of a finite group . Show that if and only if is irreducible, where
If and , what are the possible dimensions of the representation
(ii) State and prove Schur's first and second lemmas.
A1.19
comment(i) Explain the concepts of: traction on an element of surface; the stress tensor; the strain tensor in an elastic medium. Derive a relationship between the two tensors for a linear isotropic elastic medium, stating clearly any assumption you need to make.
(ii) State what is meant by an wave in a homogeneous isotropic elastic medium. An SH wave in a medium with shear modulus and density is incident at angle on an interface with a medium with shear modulus and density . Evaluate the form and amplitude of the reflected wave and transmitted wave. Comment on the case , where and .
A1.18
comment(i) A solute occupying a domain has concentration and is created at a rate per unit volume; is the flux of solute per unit area; are position and time. Derive the transport equation
State Fick's Law of diffusion and hence write down the diffusion equation for for a case in which the solute flux occurs solely by diffusion, with diffusivity .
In a finite domain and the steady-state distribution of depend only on is equal to at and at . Find in the following two cases: (a) , (b) ,
where and are positive constants.
Show that there is no steady solution satisfying the boundary conditions if
(ii) For the problem of Part (i), consider the case , where and are positive constants. Calculate the steady-state solution, , assuming that for any integer .
Now let
where . Find the equations, boundary and initial conditions satisfied by . Solve the problem using separation of variables and show that
for some constants . Write down an integral expression for , show that
and comment on the behaviour of the solution for large times in the two cases and .
B1.26
commentConsider the equation
with and real constants. Find the dispersion relation for waves of frequency and wavenumber . Find the phase velocity and the group velocity , and sketch the graphs of these functions.
By multiplying by , obtain an energy equation in the form
where represents the energy density and the energy flux.
Now let , where is a real constant. Evaluate the average values of and over a period of the wave to show that
Comment on the physical meaning of this result.