CP3 June 2017

A10285W1
FIRST PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Trinity Term
Preliminary Examination in Physics
Paper CP3: MATHEMATICAL METHODS 1
also
Preliminary Examination in Physics and Philosophy
Wednesday 7 June 2017, 2.30 pm – 5 pm
Time allowed: 2 21 hours
Answer all of Section A and three questions from Section B.
Start the answer to each question on a new page.
The use of calculators is not permitted.
The numbers in the margin indicate the weight that the Moderators expect to
assign to each part of the question.
Do NOT turn over until told that you may do so.
1
Section A
1. Evaluate the following:

(a) the real part of (2i)1/2
PN inδ
(b) the modulus of the expression n=1 e where n is an integer and δ is a real
constant
(c) the value of cos (2i ln 2). [7]
2. Define the integration factor and describe how it is used to solve first order linear
differential equations. Using this method or otherwise find the solution y(x) that satisfies
the equation
dy y 2 − x2 − 2x
+ =0
dx 2y
subject to the boundary condition y(0) = 1. [6]
3.
(i) Show that the eigenvalues of a Hermitian matrix are real and that the eigenvectors
corresponding to distinct eigenvalues are orthogonal. Explain what it means for
an eigenvalue to be degenerate.
(ii) Show that an eigenvalue λ of a unitary matrix must satisfy the condition |λ| = 1.
[7]
4. Consider the set of linear equations in R with variables x, y, z,
3x + y + λz = 1
x + y + 2λz = 5
x − z = −2µ
where λ and µ are real constants.
(a) Let λ = 2. For which value of µ will the above equations have a solution? Is this
solution unique?
(b) Show that for λ = 1 and µ = 12 , the set of equations will have a unique solution
and find the values of x, y, z corresponding to this solution. [6]
5. Consider the vector σ with components (σx , σy , σz ) given by the Pauli matrices:

0 1 0 −i 1 0
σx = , σy = , σz = .
1 0 i 0 0 −1
Let n̂ be a unit vector in R3 with Cartesian components (nx , ny , nz ). Express the

components of n̂ in the spherical coordinates (r, θ, φ) and hence find the matrix H
given by the “dot” product,
H = σ · n̂ = nx σx + ny σy + nz σz .
Show that H is Hermitian and find the normalised eigenvectors of the matrix H. [7]
A10285W1 2
6. The force acting on a charged particle moving at velocity v in a magnetic field B
may be written as F = qv × B where q is the particle charge. Write the components of
the cross product using the Levi-Civita symbol ijk defined as

 1 if (i, j, k) is an even permutation of (1,2,3)
ijk = −1 if (i, j, k) is an odd permutation of (1,2,3)
0 otherwise

and hence show that the components of F can be expressed in the matrix equation
F = Mv
where M is a traceless and antisymmetric matrix. Calculate the elements of the matrix
M and show that it is not invertible. [7]
A10285W1 3 [Turn over]

Section B
7.
(a) A form of the Euler differential equation may be written as
d2 y dy
x2 + 2x − 2y = x .
dx2 dx
Make a suitable substitution to transform the equation into the linear differential
equation,
d2 y dy
+ − 2y = et .
dt2 dt
[4]
Find a particular solution for this equation and hence find the general solution
y(x) to the Euler equation as given above, subject to the boundary conditions
dy
y = 0 for x = 1 and = 0 for x = 1 . [7]
dx
(b) Consider the differential equation
d2 y
+ 2y = 2 cos x + 4x sin x .
dx2
Find a complex function f (x) so that the right hand side of the above equation is
the imaginary part of f (x). [4]
Using this result or otherwise, find a particular solution y(x) for the differential
equation. [5]
A10285W1 4
8.
(a) Consider the unitary matrix U whose columns are the eigenvectors of the matrix
M . Show that U satisfies the relation
U †M U = D ,
where D is a diagonal matrix. [4]

(b) A system of particles is located in the (x, y) plane of a Cartesian coordinate
system. The particles are allowed to rotate about an axis in the (x, y) plane, with
an angular velocity vector ω = (ωx , ωy ). The general definition of the kinetic
energy of rotation may be written as
1
T (ωx , ωy ) = ω T M ω
2
where M is a 2×2 symmetric matrix.

Assume that in a particular case, the kinetic energy of the particles is given by
the expression
1
T (ωx , ωy ) = I0 [2ωx 2 + 2ωy 2 − 2ωx ωy ]
2
where I0 is constant.
(i) Find the elements of the matrix M . [3]
(ii) Find the eigenvalues and normalised eigenvectors of M . Find the elements
of the unitary matrix U which is defined by the relation, U −1 M U = D,
where D is a diagonal matrix. [4]
(iii) Show that U is a rotation matrix and find the angle of rotation θ. [3]
(iv) Assume that the angular velocity components are given by the new coor-
dinates ω 0 = (ωx 0 , ωy 0 ), where U ω 0 = ω. Use the above general defini-
tion of the kinetic energy to calculate an expression for the kinetic energy
T 0 (ωx 0 , ωy 0 ).
Show that the constant kinetic energy curve T 0 (ωx 0 , ωy 0 ) = 1 describes an
an ellipse in the (ωx 0 , ωy 0 ) plane and find the major and minor axes of this
ellipse. Sketch the constant kinetic energy curve T (ωx , ωy ) =1, showing
both the (ωx , ωy ) and the (ωx 0 , ωy 0 ) axes, and justify your plots. [6]
A10285W1 5 [Turn over]

9.
(a) Let L: V → W be a map of the vector space V to the vector space W over a field
F . State the conditions for the map L to be linear. Define the kernel of L and
show that it is a sub–vector space of V. [4]
(b) Using the summation convention or otherwise prove the vector identity
a × (b × c) = (a · c)b − (a · b)c
where a, b, c ∈ R3 . [5]
(c) Consider the linear map f : R3 → R3 defined as: f (r) = u × (r × u) where
r ∈ R3 and u is a unit vector in R3 . Show that this map is linear and describe
the geometry of the image and the kernel. [4]
Let u = (u1 , u2 , u3 ) where the ui are real numbers. Evaluate the elements of a
matrix A that satisfies f (r) = Ar, in terms of u1 , u2 , u3 . Show that the set of
three linear equations defined by Ar = r, where r = (x, y, z), has a non-trivial
solution and describe the geometry of the solutions. [7]
10.
(a) Show that any two vectors that are not parallel can form the basis of R2 and that
any three vectors that are not coplanar can form the basis of R3 . [4]
(b) Let the three vectors (v1 , v2 , v3 ) (which are not necessarily orthogonal nor unit
vectors) be a basis set of R3 . The reciprocal vector set (u1 , u2 , u3 ) is defined by
ui · vj = δij
where δij is the Kronecker delta. Show that the reciprocal basis set is also a basis
set of R3 and find expressions for u1 , u2 , u3 in terms of the basis set vectors vi . [5]
(c) The position vector r of points on a plane in R3 may be defined by the relation
r = r0 + t1 p + t2 q
where r0 , p, q are constant vectors and t1 , t2 are scalar parameters.

(i) Explain this definition using sketches showing the vectors r0 , p, q. Show
that this relation may be expressed in the form n · r = c0 where n is a unit
vector perpendicular to the plane and c0 is a constant.
Write the equation of the plane that passes through the points (3, 1, −2),
(−1, 2, 4) and (2, −1, 1), in terms of the coordinates x, y, z. [6]
(ii) The plane described in (i) intercepts a sphere of radius R, centred at the
point (x0 , y0 , z0 ) resulting in a circle of radius r. Calculate the distance
between the centre of the sphere and the centre of the circle and find the
radius of the circle. [5]
A10285W1 6 [LAST PAGE]

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A10285W1

FIRST PUBLIC EXAMINATION

Preliminary Examination in Physics

Paper CP3: MATHEMATICAL METHODS 1

Preliminary Examination in Physics and Philosophy

Wednesday 7 June 2017, 2.30 pm – 5 pm

Time allowed: 2 21 hours

Answer all of Section A and three questions from Section B.

Start the answer to each question on a new page.

The use of calculators is not permitted.

Do NOT turn over until told that you may do so.

1. Evaluate the following:

4. Consider the set of linear equations in R with variables x, y, z,

Let n̂ be a unit vector in R3 with Cartesian components (nx , ny , nz ). Express the

A10285W1 3 [Turn over]

(b) Consider the differential equation

where D is a diagonal matrix. [4]

where M is a 2×2 symmetric matrix.

A10285W1 5 [Turn over]

where r0 , p, q are constant vectors and t1 , t2 are scalar parameters.

A10285W1 6 [LAST PAGE]

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