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Midterm Examination
Phys210: Mathematical Methods in Physics II

2024/04/18

Please carefully read below before proceeding!

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govern this course and how they also apply for this examination. I therefore accept that I will not
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This exam has a total of 7 questions, some of which are for bonus points. You can obtain a
maximum grade of 22+2 from this examination.

Question Points Score Question Points Score

1 6 5 2
2 2 6 6
3 3 7 0
4 3 Total: 22

Middle East Technical University Prepared by Soner Albayrak ©

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1 Notations & Conventions

• The non-negative integer power of an object A i1 ̸= i2 ̸= . . . ̸= in ∈ {1, . . . , n}. A permutation (i1 . . . in )

(denoted An ) is defined recursively as follows: is said to be an even (odd) permutation of (k1 . . . kn ) if
the two are identical after the permutation of an even
A0 = I , An = A · An−1 ∀n ≥ 1 (1) (odd) number of adjacent indices. For example, (2431) is
an even permutation of (2143) and an odd permutation
where the operation · is matrix multiplication if A is a
of (2134).
matrix, application of differentiation if A is a differen-
d
tial operator (such as dx ), or ordinary multiplication if A • Levi-Civita symbol is denoted as
is simply a scalar number. I is the identity object with
respect to the operation —identity matrix for matrix mul- ϵ :: {Z+ , . . . , Z+ } → Z (7a)

tiplication, the number 1 for ordinary multiplication, and if (a1 a2 . . . an ) is an even
1


so on.




 permutation of (12 . . . n)
• Exponentiation of an object A (denoted eA ) is de- ϵ = {a1 , . . . , an } → if (a1 a2 . . . an ) is an odd
fined as −1

permutation of (12 . . . n)

∞ 
X 1 n 
eA =

A (2)

0 otherwise
n!
n=0 (7b)
where An is the n−th power of the object A. For instance,
we can write down • The determinant function (denoted det) is defined
    as
d d d
e = cos
dx + i sin (3)
dx dx det :: Mn×n (A) → A (8a)
 
in accordance with the Euler formula. a11 a12 . . . a1n
 a21 a22 . . . a2n  X
• The Kronecker symbol (also called Kronecker- det =  → ϵi1 ...in a1i1 . . . anin
... 
delta) is defined as i1 ,...,in
an1 an2 . . . ann
δ :: {Z, Z} → Z (4a) (8b)
(
1 i=j where A is any field such that aij ∈ A , ∀i, j. Usually,
δ = {i, j} → (4b)
̸ j
0 i= we take A = C.
• The adjugate function (denoted adj) is defined as
• The Dirac-delta generalized function δ is (for all
practical purposes of a Physicist) defined via the relation adj :: Mn×n (A) → Mn×n (A) (9a)
   
( a11 a12 . . . a1n b11 b12 . . . b1n
f (x) if x ∈ A
Z
 a21 a22 . . . a2n 
f (y)δ(x − y)dy = (5)  →  b21 b22 . . . b2n 
 
0 otherwise adj = ... . . .
A  
an1 an2 . . . ann bn1 bn2 . . . bnn
A useful representation of Dirac-delta generalized func- (9b)
tion is
Z∞ 1
dk where bin kn = ϵi ...i ϵk ...k ai k . . . ain−1 kn−1
δ(x) = eikx (6) (n − 1)! 1 n 1 n 1 1
2π (9c)
−∞

• A particular permutation of n objects is denoted where A is any field such that aij ∈ A , ∀i, j. Usually,
as (i1 i2 . . . in ) where we take A = C.

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• Inverse of a matrix A is to be denoted as A−1 : it • Hermitian conjugation (also called conjugate trans-
satisfies the equations A · A−1 = A−1 · A = I where I is pose, adjoint, or dagger ) is a function to act on matrices
the identity matrix. One can prove (which is beyond the of complex entries as
scope of this course) that the inverse of a matrix A can
† :: Mn×n (C) → Mn×n (C) (14a)
be computed through its adjugate and its determinant:  ∗
a11 a∗21 . . . a∗n1
  
a11 a12 . . . a1n
adj(A)  a21 a22 . . . a2n   ∗ ∗ ∗ 
A−1 = (10) †=   →  a12 a22 . . . an2 
det A ...  ... 
an1 an2 . . . ann ∗ ∗
a1n a2n . . . ann∗
• The trace function (denoted tr) is defined as (14b)
tr :: Mn×n (A) → A (11a) • Characteristic polynomial of any square matrix A

a11 a12 . . . a1n
 is defined as
 a21 a22 . . . a2n  X det (A − λi I) = 0 (15)
tr =  → aii (11b)
...
• Fourier transforms are widely-used integral transfor-

i
an1 an2 . . . ann mations (and are the simplest example of the harmonic
analysis) which can be defined with any self-consistent
where A is any field such that aij ∈ A , ∀i, j. Usually,
convention. For this examination, please stick to the fol-
we take A = C.
lowing conventions for Fourier transformation (and its dif-
• Wronskian matrix of a set of functions ferent versions):
{f1 (x), . . . , fn (x)} is defined as a square matrix where
the first row is the set of the functions and the i−th row Z∞
is (i − 1)−th derivative of the functions for all n ≥ i ≥ 2. dk ikx ˆ
f :: R → C , f (x) = e f (k) (16a)
2π
• A complex number is (for all practical purposes of −∞
a Physicist) a pair of two real numbers, i.e. (z ∈ C) ↔ Z∞
(x ∈ R, y ∈ R) where one can construct z via z = x+iy (i fˆ ::R → C , fˆ(k) = dxe−ikx f (x) (16b)
is called the imaginary unit with the property i2 = −1); −∞
conversely, one can extract x and y via the functions Re
and Im: x = Re(z), y = Im(z). ∞
1 X i 2πn x ˆ
f :: [a, a + T ] → C , f (x) = e T f (n) (17a)
• Complex conjugation (denoted ∗) is a function de- T n=−∞
fined to act on complex numbers as a+T
Z
2πn

∗ :: C → C (12a) fˆ ::Z → C , fˆ(n) = dxe−i T

x
f (x) (17b)
a
∗ = z → (z ∗ = Re(z) − i Im(z)) (12b)
a+T
Z
• Matrix transpose (denoted T ) is a function defined 1 2πn
f ::Z → C , f (n) = dxei T
k
fˆ(k) (18a)
to act on matrices as T
a
∞
T :: Mn×n (A) → Mn×n (A) (13a) X 2πn
    fˆ :: [a, a + T ] → C , fˆ(k) = e−i T
k
f (n) (18b)
a11 a12 . . . a1n a11 a21 . . . an1 n=−∞
 a21 a22 . . . a2n 
 →  a12 a22 . . . an2 
 
T = ... ...
  N −1
1 X i 2πnm ˆ
an1 an2 . . . ann a1n a2n . . . ann f ::ZN → ZN , f (n) = e N f (m) (19a)
N
(13b) m=0
N −1
−i 2πnm
X
where A is any field such that aij ∈ A , ∀i, j. Usually, fˆ :: ZN → ZN , fˆ(m) = e N f (n) (19b)
we take A = C. n=0

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where (16), (17), (18), and (19) are called Fourier Trans- • Skew field is defined as a triplet (S, +, ·) where S ::
form, Fourier Series, Discrete-time Fourier Transform, Set, +, · :: (S, S) → S for which the following statements
and Discrete Fourier Series respectively. We will stick to are true:
this naming in this examination, but please be reminded 1. (S, +, ·) :: Ring
that different communities (engineering, math, physics,
2. (S\{0}, ·) :: Group
etc.) use different naming conventions in general.
where 0 denotes the identity element with respect to +.
• “Even part of ” and “odd part of ” (denoted E and
• Field is defined as a triplet (S, +, ·) where S :: Set,
O) are higher order functions defined as
+, · :: (S, S) → S for which the following statements are
E :: (A → A) → (A → A) (20a) true:

f (x) + f (−x)
 1. (S, +, ·) :: Ring
E = (x → f (x)) → x → fE (x) = 2. (S\{0}, ·) :: Commutative Group
2
(20b) where 0 denotes the identity element with respect to +.
O :: (A → A) → (A → A) (20c) • Linear space (also called vector space) over a field

f (x) − f (−x)
 F = (S, +, ·) shall be denoted as V (F ) and is defined
O = (x → f (x)) → x → fE (x) = as a triplet (V, ⊕,
2
⊙) V :: Set, ⊕ :: (V, V ) → V , and
(20d) ⊙ :: (S, V ) → V for which the following statements are
true:
with which any single-argument function satisfies f = 1. (V, ⊕) :: Commutative Group
E · f + O · f , or with a more common notation, f (x) = 2. (∀v ∈ V ) 1 ⊙ v = v (1 is the identity element of ·)
fE (x) + fO (x). Here A is any field, but we usually take
3. (∀v ∈ V )(∀s ∈ S) s ⊙ v ∈ V
it to be C.
4. (∀v ∈ V )(∀a, b ∈ S) (a · b) ⊙ v = a ⊙ (b ⊙ v)
• Inner product between two functions f and g 5. (∀v ∈ V )(∀a, b ∈ S) (a + b) ⊙ v = (a ⊙ v) ⊕ (b ⊙ v)
shall be denoted in this exam as ⟨f, g⟩A
ω: 6. (∀v, w ∈ V )(∀s ∈ S) s ⊙ (v ⊕ w) = (s ⊙ v) ⊕ (s ⊙ w)

⟨,⟩A The elements of the set S (V ) are called scalars (vectors).

ω :: (A → C, A → C) → C (21a)
Z  ∗ • Linear algebra (also called vector algebra) over a field
A
⟨f, g⟩ω = f (x) g(x)ω(x)dx (21b) F = (S, +, ·) shall be denoted as L(F ) and is defined as
A a quadruple (V, ⊕, ⊙,
⊗) V :: Set, ⊕, ⊗ :: (V, V ) → V ,
and ⊙ :: (S, V ) → V for which the following statements
for A ⊆ R. are true:
• Group is defined as a pair (S, o) where S :: Set and 1. (V, ⊕, ⊙) :: Linear Space
where o :: (S, S) → S for which the following statements 2. (∀x, y, z ∈ V ) x ⊗ (y ⊕ z) = (x ⊗ y) ⊕ (x ⊗ z)
are true:
3. (∀x, y, z ∈ V ) (x ⊕ y) ⊗ z = (x ⊗ z) ⊕ (y ⊗ z)
1. (∃e ∈ S)(∀s ∈ S) o(e, s) = o(s, e) = s 4. (∀x, y ∈ V )(∀a, b ∈ S) (a ⊙ x) ⊗ (b ⊙ y)
2. (∀s ∈ S) o(s, i(s)) = o(i(s), s) = e = (a · b) ⊙ (x ⊗ y)
3. (∀a, b, c ∈ S) o(a, o(b, c)) = o(o(a, b), c) • Lie algebra is a linear algebra (V, ⊕, ⊙, ⊗) with the
for a unique function i :: S → S. additional condition that (∀x, y ∈ V ) x ⊗ y = −y ⊗ x.
• Commutator is a higher order function which takes
• Ring is defined as a triplet (S, +, ·) where S :: Set,
two functions f, g :: A → A for any type A, and
+, · :: (S, S) → S for which the following statements are
gives a new function [f, g] :: A → A by cascading
true:
their action. It is defined on an object x ∈ A as
1. (S, +) :: Commutative Group [f, g](x) = f (g(x)) − g(f (x)).
2. (∀a, b, c ∈ S) a · (b + c) = a · b + a · c • Basis B of a vector space V is (B ⊃ V ) :: Set for which
3. (∀a, b, c ∈ S) (b + c) · a = b · a + c · a following statements are true:

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1. (∀k ∈ {1, 2, dim B})(∀e1 , . . . , ek ∈ B)(∀c1 , . . . , ck ∈ • Contraction is the action of applying a dual vector
S)[c1 = · · · = ck = 0] ∨ [c1 e1 + · · · + ck ek ̸= 0] (V → S) to a vector (V ), hence reducing a (r, s)−tensor
2. (∀v ∈ V )(∃!a1 , . . . , adim B ∈ S) to a (r − 1, s − 1)−tensor. In an orthonormal basis with
v = a1 e1 + · · · + adim B edim B ei (ek ) = δki (such as Cartesian coordinates), this amounts
• Normed vector space over a field F is a vector space to summing over a covariant and a contravariant indices.
V (F ) over which a function norm :: V → R exists with the • Manifold is (for our purposes) any space that resem-
notation norm = x → ∥x∥, for which following statements bles Rd near its every point, for instance the sphere S 2 .
are true: • (Co)tangent space to a manifold M at a point x
1. (∀v ∈ V )[∥v∥ =
̸ 0] ∨ [v = 0] is Rd centered at x and is denoted as Tx M (Tx∗ M ).
2. (∀v ∈ V )(∀s ∈ F )∥s ⊙ v∥ = |s|.∥v∥ The (co)tangent space is inhabited by the (co)vectors at
∂
3. (∀v, w ∈ V )∥v ⊕ w∥ ≤ ∥v∥ + ∥w∥ x ∈ M , with the basis vectors usually chosen as ∂x i (dxi ).

• Inner product vector space over a field F is a vec- • (Co)tangent bundle is the disjoint union of all
tor space V (F ) over which a function ⟨⟩ :: (V, V ) → C (co)tangent spaces of a manifold M , and is denoted as
exists for which following statements are true: T M (T ∗ M ).
1. (∀v, w ∈ V ) ⟨v, w⟩ = ⟨w, v⟩∗ • Musical isomorphism between a tangent and
2. (∀u, v, w ∈ V )(∀a, b ∈ F ) cotangent bundle is initiated with two functions:
⟨au + bv, w⟩ = a ⟨u, w⟩ + b ⟨v, w⟩
Z :: T M → T ∗ M and \ :: T ∗ M → T M , hence for in-
Z \
stance (xi ei ) = (xi ei ), and (xi ei ) = (xi ei ).
3. (∀v ∈ V \{0}) ⟨v, v⟩ > 0
4. ⟨0, 0⟩ = 0 • Field in Physicist terminology broadly refers to
any map from a manifold M to something (R, T M , . . . ).
• Dual of a vector space V (F ) is a vector space de-
The field is named appropriately depending on the out-
noted as V ∗ (F ) whose elements are linear functions from
put: scalar field (M → R), vector field (M → T M ),
the vector space V (F ) to the underlying field F .
tensor field (M → (T M ⊗ T M ⊗ T ∗ M ⊗ · · · )), and so on.
• Type (r, s) tensor on a vector space V is an ele-
• Differential forms (or forms for short) are func-
ment of vector space V ⊗ V ⊗ · · · V ⊗ V ∗ ⊗ V ∗ · · · ⊗ V ∗
| {z } | {z } tions that takes a point x from a Manifold M and
r s
where ⊗ is an associative bilinear map. yields a multi(co)vector from the exterior algebra of the
(co)tangent space of M at x, e.g. ω = (x, y) → dx + ydy.
• Tensor algebra T (V ) over a vector space V is the di-
rect sum of all possible (r, s) tensor spaces, with the ⊗ • Hodge dual of a multivector or a form α is de-
being the natural product between different tensors. noted as ⋆α, and their components in Rd are related
to one another for α = αi1 ...ik ei1 ∧ · · · ∧ eik and ⋆α =
• Multivector (also called k−vector) is an element of
(⋆α)ik+1 ...id eik+1 ∧ · · · ∧ eid as
the vector space whose elements are constructed via the
associative antisymmetric wedge product ∧ of the under- 1
(⋆α)ik+1 ...id = αi ...i ϵi1 ...ik ℓk+1 ...ℓd δik+1 ℓk+1 · · · δid ℓd
lying vectors; for instance, u ∧ v ∧ w is a 3-vector if u, v, w (d − k)! 1 k
are vectors. • Exterior derivative takes a p−form ω to p + 1 form
• Exterior algebra Λ(V ) over a vector space V is the dω; with the basis vectors {dxi }, it reads as
direct sum of all possible multivectors, with the wedge ω =ωi1 ...ip dxi1 ∧ · · · ∧ dxip (22a)
product ∧ being the natural product between different
∂ωi1 ...ip k
multivectors. dω = dx ∧ dxi1 ∧ · · · ∧ dxip (22b)
∂xk
• Covariant & Contravariant indices in our conven-
tions refer to downstairs and upstairs indices of a tensor’s • Gradient (denoted grad) is a function Scalar Field →
Vector Field, defined as grad = f → (df ) . ∇f is also
\
components, hence are multiplied with basis vectors of V ∗
and V to yield the full tensor, e.g. T = T ijk ei ○ ? ek
? ej ○
used as a notation for grad(f ). In Cartesian coordinates,
ij


with T k having one covariant and two contravariant in- grad = (x1 , . . . , xd ) → f (x1 , . . . , xd )
dices where ○ ? is the associative binary operation appro- (23)
 
∂f (x1 , . . . , xd )
priate to the algebra considered (⊗, ∧, . . . ). → (x1 , . . . , xd ) → x̂i
∂xi

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• Divergence (denoted div) is a function the position of a point on the curve, t is the parametriza-
Vector Field → Scalar Field, defined as grad = v → tion parameter, and t0 is the value of t at the starting
Z

⋆ d ⋆ v . ∇ · v is also used as a notation for div(v). In point of the curve. The arc-length itself can be used to
Cartesian coordinates, parametrize the curve.
div = (x1 , . . . , xd ) → v i (x1 , . . . , xd )x̂i


• Tangent vector to a curve in the arc-length
∂v i (x1 , . . . , xd ) (24) dx(s)
 
parametrization is the function t(s) = ds .
It has unit
→ (x1 , . . . , xd ) → i
∂x norm, and can be likened to the ratio velocity per speed.
• Curl (denoted curl) is a function Vector Field → • Curvature of a curve κ is a function of the arc-
(d − 2) − Vector Field, defined as curl = v → ⋆ dv .
Z
\ length whose value is κ(s) = dt(s)
ds .
In d = 3, ∇ × v is also used as a notation for curl(v); in
Cartesian coordinates, • Principle normal of a curve n is a function of the
1 dt(s)

∂vz ∂vy
 
∂vx ∂vz
 arc-length whose value is n(s) = κ(s) ds . It has unit
∇×v = − x̂ + − ŷ norm, and can be likened to the acceleration unit vector.
∂y ∂z ∂z ∂x
  (25)
∂vy ∂vx • Binormal vector of a curve b is a function of the
+ − ẑ
∂x ∂y arc-length whose value is b(s) = t(s) × n(s) (|b(s)| = 1).
• Laplacian (for our purposes) is a function • Torsion of a curve τ is a function of the arc-length
Tensor Field → Tensor Field, denoted as ∆, and is whose value is τ (s) = −n(s) · db(s)
ds .
defined as follows for practical purposes:
• The Frenet-Serret equations is a closed system of
R :: T M ⊗ · · · ⊗ T M ⊗ T ∗ M ⊗ · · · ⊗ T ∗ M equations which completely determine the properties of a
∂ ∂ curve as a function of the curvature and torsion functions.
R = Ri1 ...ikr1 ...ks i1 ⊗ · · · ⊗ ir ⊗ dxk1 ⊗ · · · ⊗ dxks
∂x ∂x They read as
∆R :: T M ⊗ · · · ⊗ T M ⊗ T ∗ M ⊗ · · · ⊗ T ∗ M
dt(s) db(s)
∂ 2 Ri1 ...ikr1 ...ks ∂ ∂ = κ(s)n(s) , = −τ (s)n(s) ,
∆R = ⊗ · · · ⊗ ir ⊗ dxk1 ⊗ · · · ⊗ dxks ds ds (28)
∂xm ∂xm ∂xi1 ∂x dn(s)
(26) = τ (s)b(s) − κ(s)t(s)
ds
• Helmholtz decomposition of a 3d vector field E
is a way of rewriting it in terms of its scalar potential • Generalized Stokes theorem equates the integra-
Φ (related to the divergence of the vector field) and its tion of a p−form ω over the boundary of a manifold ∂M
vector potential V (related to the curl of the vector field): to the integration of the exterior derivative of the p−form
E = constant − ∇Φ + ∇ × V where
R R
dω over the manifold M : ∂M ω = M dω.
∇′ · E(r′ ) ′
Z
1
Φ(r) = dV • Integral theorems are special cases of the generalized
4π |r − r′ | Stokes theorem. For a volume V ∈ R3 , a surface S ∈ R3 ,
manifold
1
I
n̂′ · E(r′ ) ′ a curve γ ∈ R3 , and a region D ∈ R2 (and for the notation
− dS (27a) ∂A being boundary of A), we have
4π |r − r′ |
boundary Z I Z I
∇′ × E(r′ ) ′
Z
1 ∇ · F dV = F · dS , ∇ × F · dS = F · dΓ
V (r) = dV
4π |r − r′ | V ∂V S ∂S
manifold Z final Z  
1
I
n̂′ × E(r′ ) ′ ∂M (x, y) ∂L(x, y)
− dS (27b) ∇f · dr = f , − dxdy
4π |r − r′ | initial ∂x ∂y
boundary γ D
I
• Arc-length is the length of a curve (denoted by s), = (L(x, y)dx + M (x, y)dy)
Rt dx(t) ′ ∂D
which satisfies s = dt′ dt . In this equation, x(t) is (29)
t0

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2 Fill-in the blanks

Each correct answer is worth 0.5 point.

Question: 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6 points)
Vectors (and their generalization tensors) are extremely important in science as they enable
observer-covariant expression of fundamental laws, however the proper way to understand them
requires us to analyze the abstract nature of linear spaces. Indeed, we started this semester by
discussion the chain topics of groups, rings, fields, and then linear/vector spaces of which
vectors are defined as elements. Let us review these concepts.
The group is a pair (S, f ) :: (Set, (S, S) → S) where f is a binary operation
on S, hence converting a pair of S elements into an element of S. Of course, not all (S, f ) pairs are
groups, we need three properties to be satisfied: (1) there is an identity element, (2) all elements
have inverses, and (3) f is an associative function: (f (f (a, b), c) = f (a, f (b, c))).
A particularly important subset of groups is those for which (∀a, b ∈ S) f (a, b) = f (b, a): these
are called commutative groups. If we add a second binary operation g to such a
group (S, f ), then the triplet (S, f, g) becomes a ring if g distributes over f .
Denote 0 the identity element of the group (S, f ); if (S\{0}, g) is a group, then ring
(S, f, g) actually becomes skew field (e.g. quaternions). From here, one moves
on to fields and linear spaces to define vectors properly.
The path described above to define vectors is rather different than the freshman approach of
stating that “vectors are quantities with magnitude and direction”. Indeed, we have seen that
not all vectors have magnitudes to begin with; this actually requires the existence of a function
f :: Vector → R with certain properties (such as triangle inequality). The vector spaces
for which this function exists are called normed vector spaces, which is the
overwhelming majority of the vector spaces considered in Physics. In fact, the most of the vector
spaces we deal with are of a more restricted kind, called inner product spaces , in which a
function g :: (Vector, Vector) → C exist with certain properties (such as conjugate symmetry):
p
g(v, v) can then be interpreted as the magnitude of any given vector v. Bereft of such a
function in the most general linear spaces, we can only obtain a scalar out of a vector by using
the dual vector (also called covector ) which is a linear function on the space of
vectors.
Vector laws include the existence of a scaling operation of a vector (e.g. (3, î − 2ĵ) → (3î − 6ĵ)),
whereas multiplication of vectors is not necessarily defined. We call a linear space
a linear algebra if such an operation is defined; depending on the properties of this operation,
the algebra gets a different adjective. For instance, we call it an exterior algebra if the
operation is an associative antisymmetric bilinear mapping.

3 Choose the correct option

You do not need to show your derivation in this part.
Incorrect answer for a question of X point is worth −X/4 points: this ensures that the
randomly given answer has an expectation value of 0 point.

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Question: 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2 points)

Consider a family of groups Ak = {eikx | x ∈ R}, (x, y) → x.y where . is the arithmetic multi-
plication and k is a label that parametrizes different groups.
(a) (1 point) What is the identity element of the group A1 ?

□ 0 ■ 1 □ eix □ eik □ None

(b) (1 point) Consider the function f = k → ei2k . For any given k, let g(k) be the inverse
of f (k) in the group Ak . If we integrate g(k) over the real line against h(x, k), it yields 0
unless x = 3 (i.e. the result is proportional to a Dirac-delta function). What is h(x, k)?

■ eik(x−1) □ eik(x+1) □ e−ik(x−1) □ e−ik(x+1) □ None

Question: 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3 points)
Consider a vector field v :: T R2 orthogonal to the direction i + j. If we also know that the vector
field satisfies the differential equation
(a) (11/2 points) ∇ · v(x, y) = n · v(x, y) for the vector n = i − j, which of the following can be
i · v(x, y)?

e−2y
□ □ e4x+2y (x + y)2 □ ex−y □ e2x ■ All
cos(x + y) + 1
(b) (11/2 points) ∆v(x, y) = −v(x, y), which of the following can be i · v(x, y)?
√
□ ex−iy □ ex □ ex+iy ■ ex+i 2y
□ All

Question: 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3 points)
A vector field E :: T R3 is defined as follows
y2 ∂
 
∂ ∂
E = (x, y, z) → cos(x + z) + + (cos(x) cos(z) − b sin(x) sin(z)) (30)
∂x 1 + az ∂y ∂z

(a) (11/2 points) For which parameters (a, b) can this vector field be described without a vector
potential in its Helmholtz decomposition?

□ (0, −1) □ (−1, 0) ■ (0, 1) □ (1, 0) □ None

(b) (11/2 points) What is ∇ · E evaluated at a point on the line (x, y, z) = (t, 0, t)?

■ −2 sin(2t) □ 2 sin(2t) □ −2 cos(2t) □ 2 cos(2t) □ None

Question: 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2 points)
∂
Consider a vector field E :: T R4 defined as E(x, y, z, t) = x . Which of the following bivector
∂y
field is the curl of this vector field in this four dimensional Euclidean space?
∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂ ∂
□ ∧ □ − ∧ ■ ∧ □ − ∧ □ None
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y ∂z ∂t ∂z ∂t

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4 Classical questions

Question: 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6 points)
Mahmûd bin Hüseyîn bin Muhammed el-Kâşgarî (known as Kaşgarlı Mahmut among the Turk-
ish speaking population) was an important 11th century lexicographer who specialized in Turkic
languages. His legacy, Dîvânu Lugâti’t-Türk (compendium of the languages of the Turks), was
written in 1074 and is widely accepted as one of the oldest Turkish lexicons; in it, we learn about
the famous Turkish mythological hero, Alp Er Tunga. In this question, we will consider the epic
of Alp Er Tunga and see how that epic can be endowed with a Mathematical group structure.

Alp Er Tunga, believed to have lived in the 7th century BC, was the ruler of Saka, a group
of normadic people in the central Asia with disputed Turkish/Persian origin. After several leg-
endary battles between the Iranians and Saka, Alp Er Tunga dies for whom the following timeless
requiem is written:

Alp Er Tunga öldi mü? (Note: You are not required to understand the
Isiz ajun kaldı mu? semantics of this requiem for this question.)
Ödlek öçin aldı mu?
Emdi yürek yırtılur.
Ödlek yırag közetti,
Ogrı tuzak uzattı,
Begler begin azıttı,
Kaçan kalı kurtulur.
Ulşıp eren börleyü,
Yırtıp yaka urlayu,
Sıkrıp üni yurlayu,
Sıgtap közi örtülür.

Let us try to see what kind of a mathematical structure we would obtain if we were to shuffle
the letters in this requiem. For this, we define the type String, which denotes any ordered
collection of characters (letters, space, punctuation, etc.). As is the tradition in computer sci-
ence, we will denote strings between double quotation; for instance, we can immediately write
"iz ajun kal":: String, "lşı":: String, "":: String. The last one simply states that an expression
with zero character can still be seen as a string.

Consider the set of functions whose both domain and codomain are String; among these, choose
the subset (denote S) of functions which prepend its input
with a string from the requiem

above.
For instance, the functions f = x → "Kaçan kalı" ++ x and
g = x → "örtü" ++ x are ele-
ments of S, whereas h = x → "Youtube shorts suck" ++ x is not. Here, the binary operation
++ is called string concatenation in computer science, and is a function from a pair of String’s
to a String, i.e. "Phys" ++ "210" = "Phys210" and "hard " ++ "exam" = "hard exam".

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Define the associative operation function composition, denoted by · as is the custom both in
math and computer science. For this question, we will define it as follows:

· :: (String → String , String → String) → (String → String) (31a)

· = x → f (x) , x → g(x) → x → f (g(x)) (31b)

We can now endow the set S with this operation; however, the pair (S, ·) is actually not a group.

(a) Explain why (S, ·) can not be a group!

Solution: (S, ·) can not be a group because elements do not have inverses. For instance,
there is no element f −1 ∈ S such that f −1 (f ("some text")) = "some text" as we need
a function f −1 ("Kaçan kalısome text") = "some text" in S, but all elements in S simply
prepend something.

A necessary step in turning (S, ·) into a group is to restrict the elements of S and the binary
operation · to a new type that we will call Restricted String. Restricted String’s are just
ordinary String’s with the additional condition that same characters at the beginning

and end
of the string are dropped. For instance, the function f = x → "Kaçan kalı" ++ x introduced
above would yield

f (" from Star TreK") = "Kaçan kalı from Star TreK" (when acting on String)
f (" from Star TreK") = "açan kalı from Star Tre" (when acting on Restricted String)
f (" is not a cloaK") = "Kaçan kalı is not a cloaK" (when acting on String)
f (" is not a cloaK") = "çan kalı is not a clo" (when acting on Restricted String)
(32)

(b) Is (S, ·) a group if we work with Restricted String instead of String? If yes,
argue how it satisfies all group axioms. If no, find out the set S ′ such that (S ∪ S ′ , ·)
is a group if we work with Restricted String, and argue how group axioms are now
satisfied!

Solution: With Restricted String, we could hope to avoid this problem as same char-
acters are automatically removed; however, it is still not sufficient as the example above is still
valid: we still do not have an inverse for
f as the only possible candidate is
f −1 = x → "txet emosılak naçaKsome text" ++ x which ensures
f −1 (f ("some text")) = "some text". But this function is simply not an element of S (no
such text in the requiem of Alp Er Tunga), hence (S, ·) can not be a group even if we restrict
to Restricted String.

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What we actually need is to enlarge the set S with another set S ′ defined as follows:

S : set of functions which prepend its input with a string from the requiem
S ′ : set of functions which append its input with an inverted string from the requiem

For instance, the function ϕ defined below is an element of S ′ and is actually inverse of the
function f

ϕ = x → x ++ "ılak naçaK" (34)
when we are working with Restricted String, i.e. ϕ(f (x)) = f (ϕ(x)) for any x.

With this definition, we can see that (S ∪ S ′ , ·) is a group:

1. There is an identity element e with respect to the group operation: e = x → x ++ "" .

2. Every element has an inverse with respect to the group operation (by our construction
of S ′ ).

3. The group operation (function composition) is associative as explicitly stated in the

question (as it is already given, you need not to prove this).

Bonus Question: 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2 points)

Which Mathematica code below would correctly define a function composition such that it takes
the functions f and g and the value x as inputs and then yields f (g(x)) as the output?
□ Composition[f,g][x]

□ f@*g@x

□ RightComposition[g,f][x]

□ g/*f@x

■ All

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