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Test Code : PHB : (Short Answer Type) 2015
Junior Research Fellowship in Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics
The candidates for Junior Research Fellowships in Applied Mathematics and The-
oretical Physics will have to write two papers − Test MMA (objective type) in the
forenoon session and Test PHB (short answer type) in the afternoon session.
The PHB test booklet will consist of three parts. The candidates are required to
answer Part I and only one of the remaining parts II & III.
The syllabi and sample questions for the test are as follows.
PART-I
Mathematical and logical reasoning
Syllabus
B.Sc. Pass Mathematics syllabus of Indian Universities.
Sample Questions
1. Let
xe1/x − x
f (x) = ; x ∈ IR
e1/x
Find lim f (x).
x→∞
2. Let f be a real valued function defined on the interval [−2, 2] as:

( ¡ 1
¢
− + x1
f (x) = (x + 1) 2 |x| for x 6= 0
0 for x=0
(a) Find the range of the function.

(b) Is f continuous at every point in (−2, 2)? Justify your answer.
3. Let " √ #
1 1 3
A= √
2 − 3 1
Find the eigenvalue of A2014 .
4. The position of a particle moving in a plane is given by x = sin ωt, y = cos αωt.
Show that the trajectory repeats itself periodically, only if α is a rational
number.
1
Zx
5. It is given that φ(1) = 2 and f (x) = φ(t)dt. Find f ′ (1).
x2
6. X is a uniformly distributed random variable with probability density function


5 a a

 a for − 10 ≤x≤ 10
f (x) =
 0

for otherwise
where a is a non-negative constant. If P (|x| < 2) = 2P (|x| > 2), then find a.
7. Find the roots of the equation z 5 = −i, and indicate their locations in the
complex plane.
8. A point is chosen randomly from a triangle with sides of lengths 3 cm, 4 cm

and 5 cm, respectively. What is the probability that the point will lie outside
the in-circle?
Zx
d
9. Let f : R → R and f (x) = dx f (x) + f (t) dt where it is given that f (x) ≥ 0
0
for all x. Find the possible values of f (1).
10. Displacement of a particle executing periodic motion is given by y = 4 cos2 (t) sin(5t).
How many harmonic waves need to be superposed to get the above displace-
ment?
π/2
dx
Z
11. Evaluate .
1 + (tan x)100
0
12. Let p, q be two prime numbers each greater than or equal to 5 and p > q.
Show that p2 − q 2 is divisible by 24.
r2
13. Show that the area of the triangle formed by z, iz, and z + iz is 2, where
r = |z| and z = a + ib, with a, b being real non-zero numbers.
14. A particle sliding on a smooth inclined plane requires 4 sec to reach the bottom
starting from rest at the top. How much time does it take to cover 41 th distance
starting from rest at the top?
15. Given any polynomial A(x) with coefficients in R, show that there exists a
polynomial B(x) such that A(x).B(x) = C(x2 ), where C(y) is some polyno-
mial in y with coefficients in R.
16. Find the maximum possible value of xy 2 z 3 subject to the conditions x, y,

z ≥ 0 and x + y + z = 3.
2
17. A ball of unit mass is dropped from a height h. The frictional force of air is
proportional to the velocity of the ball (with a constant of proportionality α).
Show that the height of the ball in time t is
g 1³
· ´ ¸
y(t) = h − t− 1 − e−αt
α α
where g is the acceleration due to gravity.
18. A 1.5 Kg mass is attached to the end of a 90 cm string. The system is whirled
in a horizontal circular path. The maximum tension that the string can with-
stand is 400 N. What is the maximum number of revolutions per minute al-
lowed if the string is not to break?
19. A particle is constrained to move along the X-axis under the influence of the
net force F = −kx with amplitude A and frequency f , where k is a positive
constant. What is the speed of the particle at x = A/2?
20. A particle of mass m that moves along the X-axis has potential energy V =
a + bx2 , where a and b are positive constants. Its initial velocity at x = 0 is
v = 0. Find the frequency with which it will execute simple harmonic motion.
21. Suppose a, b, c are positive integers such that
abc + ab + bc + ca + a + b + c = 1000
Find the value of a + b + c.
22. Determine the greatest and least values of the function
f (x) = x3 − 3x2 + 2x + 1
in the interval [2, 3].
23. If the lines 3x − 4y + 4 = 0 and 6x − 8y − 7 = 0 are tangents to the same

circle, evaluate the radius of the circle.
3
PART-II
Applied Mathematics
Syllabus
1. Linear algebra : Matrices.
2. Abstract algebra : Groups, Rings, Fields.
3. Real analysis : Functions of single and several variables, Metric space,

Normed linear space, Riemann integral, Fourier series, Integral transform.
4. Differential equations : ODE − Existence of solution, Fundamental system

of integrals, Elementary notions, Special functions. PDE upto second order,
Equations of parabolic, Hyperbolic and elliptic types.
5. Dynamics of particles and rigid bodies : Motion of a particle in a plane and

on a smooth curve under different laws of resistance, Kinematics of a rigid
body, Motion of a solid body on an inclined smooth or rough plane.
6. Functions of complex variables : Analytic function, Cauchy’s theorem, Taylor

and Laurent series, Singularities, Branch-point, Contour integration, Analytic
continuation.
7. Fluid Mechanics : Kinematics of fluid, Equation of continuity, Irrotational

motion, Velocity potential, Dynamics of ideal fluid, Eulerian and Lagrangian
equations of motion, Stream function, Sources, Sinks and doublets, Vortex,
Surface waves, Group velocity, Viscous flow – Navier Stokes equation, Bound-
ary layer theory, Simple problems.
8. Probability and statistics : Probability axioms, Conditional probability, Prob-

ability distribution, Mathematical expectations, Characteristic functions, Co-
variance, Correlation coefficient, Law of large numbers, Central limit theorem.
Random samples, Sample characteristics, Estimation, Statistical hypothesis,
Neyman Pearson theorem, Likelihood ratio testing.
Sample Questions
1. Consider a concave mirror in the shape of a parabola with focus F whose

equation is given by y 2 = 4x. Let P be a point source of light inside the
parabola. Find Q on the parabola such that the ray P Q on reflection passes
through the focus F .
2. Let φ : (Q, +) → (Q, +) be a homomorphism of the additive group of rationals

into itself. Show that for some λ ∈ Q
φ(x) = λx, for all x ∈ Q.
4
3. (a) If G is a group of even order, then prove that it has an element a 6= e,
satisfying a2 = e.
(b) Let A = {a : a = 9x + 15y, x, y are integers and |a| ≤ 1000}. Find the
cardinality of A.
4. (a) Does there exist a hexagon with sides of lengths 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 (with

certain order) and with each angle equal? Justify your answer.
(b) Let a, b be positive integers with a odd. Define the sequence {un },
1
un+1 = un , if un is even
2
= un + a otherwise
Show that un ≤ a for some n ∈ N .
5. (a) A body of mass M is suspended from a fixed point O by a light inexten-

sible string of length l and mass m.
i. Find the tension in the rope at a distance z below O.
ii. If the point of support now begins to rise with velocity 2g, what is
the tension in the string?
(b) A stone of mass m is thrown vertically upwards with initial speed V . If
the air resistance at speed v is mkv 2 , where k is a positive p
constant, show
that the stone returns to its starting point with speed V 1 + kV 2 /g.
6. (a) Show that

∞
1 − t2
(2n + 1) Pn (x) tn
X
=
(1 − 2tx + t2 )3/2 n=0
where Pn (x) denotes Legendre polynomial of degree n.
(b) Use the generating function for the Hermite polynomials to find H0 (x),
H1 (x) and H2 (x).
7. (a) Show that x3n + yn3 → 0 implies xn + yn → 0. Is the reverse implication

true?
(b) A function is defined as follows:
f (x) = 0, where x is irrational

1 p
= , where x = .
q q
p and q are two positive integers prime to each other. Show that at
x = a, f (x) is continuous if a is irrational and f (x) is discontinuous if a
is rational.
5
8. Show that if the solution of the ODE
2xy ′′ + (3 − 2x) y ′ + 2y = 0
∞
an xn+σ , where σ can take two possible values.
P
is expressed in the form y =
n=0
Find the relation between an and an+1 , and show that one solution reduces
to a polynomial.
9. (a) Using Laplace transformation, solve the differential equation
d2 y(t) dy(t)
+ at − 2ay(t) = 1
dt2 dt
subject to the conditions y(0) = y ′ (0) = 0, where a > 0 being a constant.
∞
X (−1)n+1 π2
(b) Using f (x) = x2 , −π < x < π, show that = .
n=1
n2 12
10. Expand the function

f (x) = x2 , 0 < x < 2π
in a Fourier Series when the period is 2π. Hence show that
1 1 π2
+ + . . . = .
12 22 6
11. Show that

∞
Ã !
sin x Y x2
= 1− 2 2
x r=1
r π
(Hint: If n is an even integer and n = 2m, xn − 1 = 0 has two real roots and
m − 1 complex conjugate pairs)
12. (a) Find the set of all possible z in C when it is given that the group (with
respect to multiplication ) generated by the complex number z = reiθ is
finite.
(b) Let A : k × k be real symmetric matrix and xn be a sequence in Rk .
Show that if A is positive definite then x′n A xn → 0 ⇒ xn → 0.
13. Consider the following upper-triangular matrix A over Z5 , the field of integers
modulo 5:  
1 3 0 2
 0 4 1 3 
A= .
 
 0 0 1 1 
0 0 0 2
Show that A is invertible and find its inverse over Z5 .
6
14. Find the integral surface of the equation
(x − y)y 2 p + (y − x)x2 q = (x2 + y 2 )z

∂z ∂z
passing through the curve xz = a3 , y = 0, where p = and q = .
∂x ∂y
Z2π
dθ
15. Using a suitable contour evaluate .
3 − 2 cos θ + sin θ
0
RRp
16. (a) Evaluate 4x2 − y dx dy over the triangle formed by the straight
lines y = 0, x = 1, y = x.
(b) Use Laplace transform to solve the following differential equation
Y ′′ (t) − Y (t) = 1 + e3t

d2 Y
given Y (0) = − 78 , Y ′ (0) = 0. [Here, Y ′ (t) = dY
dt and Y ′′ (t) = dt2
]
17. (a) The velocity along the centre line of a nozzle of length L is given by
¶2
0.5x
µ
u = 2t 1 −
L
where u is the velocity in m/s, t is the time in seconds from the com-
mencement of flow and x is the distance of the inlet from the nozzle.
Find the convective acceleration and the local acceleration when t = 3,
x = L/2, and L = 0.8 m.
(b) Identify the type of the partial differential equation
∂2f ∂2f
− =x−y
∂x2 ∂y 2
and find its generalized solution including the particular integral.
18. Water flows through a circular pipe. At one section, diameter of the pipe is
0.3 m, static pressure is 260 KPa gauge, velocity is 3 m/sec and the elevation
is 10 m. The pipe diameter at the other section is 0.15 m with zero elevation.
Find the pressure at the downstream section neglecting the frictional effect.
Density of water may be assumed as 999 Kg/m3 .
19. (a) Let a number be drawn at random from {1, 2, . . . n}. Call it X. A
number is drawn at random from {1, 2, . . . x}. Call it Z. Find E(z) and
Var(z).
(b) Let X ∼ exp(λ) with λ > 0. Show that for all t > 0, the value of
E(X/X > t) − t does not depend on t.
7
PART-III
Theoretical Physics
Syllabus
1. Classical Mechanics
Mechanics of a particle and system of particles, Scattering in a central field,
Lagrange’s equation and their applications, Hamilton’s equation, Canonical
transformation, Special theory of relativity, Small oscillation, Vibration and
acoustics.
2. Electromagnetic theory
Electrostatics, Magnetostatics, Classical electrodynamics, Maxwell’s equations,
Gauge transformation, Poynting’s theorem, Wave equation and plane waves,
Radiating system and scattering.
3. Statistical Physics and Condensed Matter Physics

Statistical basis of thermodynamics, Ensembles – microcanonical, canonical
and grand canonical, Quantum statistics, Phase transitions, Statistical fluctu-
ations, Free electron theory, Band theory of electrons, Semiconductor physics,
Transport phenomena, Magnetism, Superconductivity.
4. Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory

Inadequacy of classical physics, Schrödinger wave equation, General formal-
ism of wave mechanics, Exactly solvable eigenvalue problems, Approximation
methods, Scattering theory, Time dependent perturbation theory, Symmetries
and conservation laws, Relativistic quantum mechanics, Quantum field theory
– scalar and spinor fields, Quantum electrodynamics.
5. Elementary Particles
Elementary particles, Weak and strong interactions, Selection rules, CPT the-
orem, Symmetry principles in particle physics.
Sample Questions
1. Consider a particle of mass m constrained to move on a frictionless circular

loop of radius R. The loop is rotated with angular frequency ω about a vertical
axis passing through its center. [Assume that at any instant of time the mass
is at a position θ(t)]
(a) Set up the Lagrangian for this system (upto a constant).

(b) Write down the equation of motion for the particle.
8
(c) Find out the equilibrium positions where the mass would settle down
when ω changes.
2. A projectile is fired uphill over the ground which slopes at an angle α to the
horizontal (as shown in the figure). Find the direction in which it should be
aimed to achieve the maximum range. (Hint: Use a relation between x and y
co-ordinates where the projectile touches the ground)
y
projectile
ground
α x
3. Two pendulums of mass m and length l are coupled by a massless spring

of spring constant k. The unstretched length of the spring is equal to the
distance between the supports of the two pendulums. Set up the Lagrangian
in terms of generalized coordinates and velocities and derive the equations of
motion.
4. A uniform flat disc of mass M and radius r rotates about a horizontal axis
through its center with angular speed ω0 . A chip of mass m breaks off the
edge of the disc at an instant such that the chip rises vertically above the point
at which it broke off. How high does the chip rise above the point before it
starts to fall off? What is the final angular momentum of the disc?
5. (a) A photon of energy Ei is scattered by an electron of mass me that is

initially at rest. Final energy of the photon is Ef . Let θ be the angle
between the directions of the incident photon and the scattered photon.
Using the principles of Special Theory of Relativity find θ.
(b) A person standing at the rear of a railroad car fires a bullet towards the
front of the car. The speed of the bullet, as measured in the frame of
the car, is 0.5 c (where c is the speed of light in vacuum) and the proper
length of the car is 400 m. The train is moving at 0.6 c as measured by
observers in the ground. For the ground observers, find
i. the length of the railroad car,
ii. the speed of the bullet,
iii. the time required for the bullet to reach the front of the car.
9
6. (a) A sphere of radius R1 has charge density ρ uniform within its volume, ex-
cept for a small spherical hollow region of radius R2 located at a distance
a from the centre.
i. Find the field E at the centre of the hollow sphere.
ii. Find the potential φ at the same point.
(b) An electric charge Q is uniformly distributed over the surface of a sphere
of radius r. Show that the force on a small charge element dq is radial
and outward and is given by
1
dF = E dq
2
1 Q
where E = r̂ is the electric field at the surface of the sphere and
4πε0 r2
ε0 is the permittivity of the free space.
7. (a) Consider a possible solution to Maxwell’s equation given by
~ x, t) = A0 ei(~k.~x−ωt) , φ(~x, t) = 0
A(~
where A ~ is the vector potential and φ is the scalar potential. Further,
suppose A ~ 0 , ~k and ω are constants in space-time. Give and interpret the
constraints on A ~ 0 , ~k and ω imposed by each of the Maxwell’s equations
given below
~
~ B
(i) ∇. ~ =0 (ii) ∇ ~ ×E~ + 1 ∂B = 0
c ∂t
~
~ E
(iii) ∇. ~ =0 (iv) ∇ ~ ×B~ − 1 ∂E = 0
c ∂t
(b) A parallel plate capacitor with plate separation d is filled with two layers
of dielectric material a and b. The dielectric constant and conductivity
of materials a and b are ǫa , σa and ǫb , σb respectively. The thicknesses
of the materials a and b are da and db , respectively.
i. Calculate the electric fields in the materials a and b.
ii. Find the current flowing through the capacitor.
8. (a) Consider a gas in a container obeying Van der Waals gas equation
a
µ ¶
P+ (V − b) = nRT
v2
where a and b are constants. The initial volume is V and then isother-
mally it is compressed to one half of its volume. Find the work done by
the gas.
(b) Find the energy gap at the Brillouin zone boundary for nearly ³ free
´ elec-
2πx
trons in a linear lattice with potential energy U (x) = U0 cos a , where
a is the lattice spacing.
10
9. (a) A one dimensional lattice consists of a linear array of N particles (N >>
1) interacting via spring-like nearest neighbor forces. The normal mode
frequencies (radians/sec) are given by
r
2πn
ωn = ω̄ 2(1 − cos( ))
N
where ω̄ is a constant and n an integer ranging from −N/2 to +N/2.
The system is in thermal equilibrium at temperature T .
i. Compute Cv , the specific at constant volume for the regime T → ∞,
ii. Show that for T → 0, Cv → A ω −α T γ , where A is a constant.
Determine the exponents α and γ. (Treat the problem quantum
mechanically)
(b) Consider the 2p → 1s electromagnetic transition in an atom formed by
a muon and a strontium nucleus (Z = 38). Given the lifetime of the 2p
state of hydrogen is 10−9 second, calculate the fine structure splitting
energy.
10. A hypothetical semi-conductor has a conduction band (cb) that can be de-
scribed by Ecb = E1 −³E2 ćos(ka) and valence band (vb) which is represented
by Evb = E3 − E4 sin2 ka
2 where E3 < (E1 − E2 ) and −π/a < k < π/a. Find
out expressions for
(a) the band widths of the conduction band and the valence band,
(b) the band gap of the material,
(c) the effective mass of the electrons at the bottom of the conduction band.
11. Consider a simple harmonic oscillator in one dimension with the Hamiltonian
1
µ ¶
H = h̄ω a† a +
2
where a and a† are the annihilation and creation operators respectively and
the other symbols have their usual meanings. The ket vector of the harmonic
oscillator at t = 0 is given by
|ψ(0)i = N (|0i + 2|1i + 3|2i)
where N is the normalization

³ constant
´ and |ni is the eigenket of corresponding
1
energy eigenvalue En = h̄ω n + 2 .
(a) Find the normalization constant N .

3
(b) Calculate the probability of finding the energy to be 2 h̄ω on energy
measurement.
11
(c) Find the ket vector |ψ(t)i at time t and calculate expectation value of
the energy for this ket vector.
12. A particle, initially (i.e., t → −∞) in its ground state in an infinite potential
well whose walls are located at x = 0 and x = a, is subjected at time t = 0 to
2
a time-dependent perturbation V̂ (t) = ǫx̂e−t where ǫ is a small real number.
Find the probability that the particle will be found in its first excited state
after a sufficiently long time (i.e., t → ∞).
13. (a) A particle is initially in its ground state in a one-dimensional harmonic

oscillator potential V (x) = 21 ωx2 . If the coupling constant ω is suddenly
doubled, calculate the probability of finding the particle in the ground
state of the new potential.
(b) Let S± = Sx ± iSy where Sx , Sy and Sz are Pauli spin matrices. If |±, 12 i
are eigenvectors of Sz , then find S± |±, 12 i.
14. (a) Consider the Dirac Hamiltonian H = c~ p + βmc2 + V (r) where the
α.~
~ = −ih̄c(~
symbols have their usual meaning. Show that [H, L] α × p~).
(b) Consider a state |j1 , j2 , j, mi which is common eigenstate of the angular
momentum operators J12 , J22 and J 2 where J = J1 + J2 . Show that this
state is also an eigenstate of J1 .J2 and find the eigenvalue.
15. Consider a Klein-Gordon theory for the scalar field φ(x) with a λφ4 interaction
with λ and m being the coupling constant and mass parameter, respectively.
(a) Write down the Lagrangian and the equation of motion.

(b) Draw Feynman diagrams for a process of two particles scattering into
two particles in the lowest order and next to lowest order in λ. Consider
the initial momenta and final momenta of the particles to be p1 , p2 and
q1 , q2 respectively. Indicate the momentum assignments in the Feynman
diagrams. Write down the scattering amplitudes in momentum space.
(Detailed numerical factors are not necessary)
16. (a) Explain why the following processes are not observed in nature. Discuss
any four of the seven options. (The symbols carry their usual meanings)
p → e+ + π 0
Λ0 → K0 + π 0
p + p̄ → Λ0 + Λ0
Λ0 → K+ + K−
n → p + e−
p → e + + νe
µ+ → e+ + γ
12
(b) Consider a reaction p + p → x + K + + K + , where x is an unknown
particle.
i. What are the values of electric charge, strangeness and baryon num-
ber of the unknown particle x?
ii. If the mass of x is 2.15 GeV, what is the minimum value of the
incident proton momentum required for the reaction to take place?
Given the mass of K + and proton are respectively 0.494 GeV and
0.938 GeV and the target protons are at rest.
13
Junior Research Fellowship in Physics and Applied Mathematics
The candidates for Junior Research Fellowships in Physics and Applied Mathe-
matics will have to write two papers − Test MMA (objective type) in the forenoon
session and Test PHB (short answer type) in the afternoon session.
The PHB test booklet will consist of three parts. The candidates are required to
answer Part I and only one of the remaining parts II & III.
The syllabi and sample questions for the test are as follows.
PART-I
Mathematical and logical reasoning
Syllabus
B.Sc. Pass Mathematics syllabus of Indian Universities.
Sample Questions
1. Let
xe1/x − x
f (x) = ; x ∈ IR
e1/x
Find lim f (x).
x→∞
2. Let f be a real valued function defined on the interval [−2, 2] as:

( “ ”
1
− |x| + x1
f (x) = (x + 1) 2 for x =
6 0
0 for x = 0
(a) Find the range of the function.

(b) Is f continuous at every point in (−2, 2)? Justify your answer.
3. Let A = (aij ) be a 17 × 17 matrix with entries aij defined as follows.


 +1 if i > j
aij = 0 if i = j
−1 if i < j

Is A invertible? Justify your answer.
4. The position of a particle moving in a plane is given by x = sin ωt, y = cos αωt.
Show that the trajectory repeats itself periodically, only if α is a rational
number.
1
5. X is a uniformly distributed random variable with probability density function
 5 a a
 a for − 10 ≤ x ≤ 10
f (x) =
0 for otherwise

where a is a non-negative constant. If P (|x| < 2) = 2P (|x| > 2), then find a.
6. Find the roots of the equation z 5 = −i, and indicate their locations in the
complex plane.
7. A point is chosen randomly from a triangle with sides of lengths 3 cm, 4 cm

and 5 cm, respectively. What is the probability that the point will lie outside
the in-circle?
Zx
d
8. Let f : R → R and f (x) = dx f (x) + f (t) dt where it is given that f (x) ≥ 0
0
for all x. Find the possible values of f (1).
9. Displacement of a particle executing periodic motion is given by y = 4 cos2 (t) sin(5t).

How many harmonic waves need to be superposed to get the above displace-
ment?
Zπ/2
dx
10. Evaluate .
1 + (tan x)100
0
11. Let p, q be two prime numbers each greater than or equal to 5 and p > q.
Show that p2 − q 2 is divisible by 24.
r2
12. Show that the area of the triangle formed by z, iz, and z + iz is 2, where
r = |z| and z = a + ib, with a, b being real non-zero numbers.
13. A particle sliding on a smooth inclined plane requires 4 sec to reach the bottom
starting from rest at the top. How much time does it take to cover 41 th distance
starting from rest at the top?
14. Given any polynomial A(x) with coefficients in R, show that there exists a
polynomial B(x) such that A(x).B(x) = C(x2 ), where C(y) is some polyno-
mial in y with coefficients in R.
15. Find the maximum possible value of xy 2 z 3 subject to the conditions x, y,

z ≥ 0 and x + y + z = 3.
16. A 1.5 Kg mass is attached to the end of a 90 cm string. The system is whirled
in a horizontal circular path. The maximum tension that the string can with-
stand is 400 N. What is the maximum number of revolutions per minute al-
lowed if the string is not to break?
2
17. A ball of unit mass is dropped from a height h. The frictional force of air is
proportional to the velocity of the ball (with a constant of proportionality α).
Show that the height of the ball in time t is
· ¸
g 1¡ −αt
¢
y(t) = h − t− 1−e
α α
where g is the acceleration due to gravity.
18. A particle is constrained to move along the X-axis under the influence of the
net force F = −kx with amplitude A and frequency f , where k is a positive
constant. What is the speed of the particle at x = A/2?
19. A particle of mass m that moves along the X-axis has potential energy V =
a + bx2 , where a and b are positive constants. Its initial velocity at x = 0 is
v = 0. Find the frequency with which it will execute simple harmonic motion.
20. Suppose a, b, c are positive integers such that
abc + ab + bc + ca + a + b + c = 1000
Find the value of a + b + c.
21. Determine the greatest and least values of the function
f (x) = x3 − 3x2 + 2x + 1
in the interval [2, 3].
22. If the lines 3x − 4y + 4 = 0 and 6x − 8y − 7 = 0 are tangents to the same

circle, evaluate the radius of the circle.
3
PART-II
Applied Mathematics
Syllabus
1. Linear algebra : Matrices.
2. Abstract algebra : Groups, Rings, Fields.
3. Real analysis : Functions of single and several variables, Metric space,

Normed linear space, Riemann integral, Fourier series, Integral transform.
4. Differential equations : ODE − Existence of solution, Fundamental system

of integrals, Elementary notions, Special functions. PDE upto second order,
Equations of parabolic, Hyperbolic and elliptic types.
5. Dynamics of particles and rigid bodies : Motion of a particle in a plane and

on a smooth curve under different laws of resistance, Kinematics of a rigid
body, Motion of a solid body on an inclined smooth or rough plane.
6. Functions of complex variables : Analytic function, Cauchy’s theorem, Taylor

and Laurent series, Singularities, Branch-point, Contour integration, Analytic
continuation.
7. Fluid Mechanics : Kinematics of fluid, Equation of continuity, Irrotational

motion, Velocity potential, Dynamics of ideal fluid, Eulerian and Lagrangian
equations of motion, Stream function, Sources, Sinks and doublets, Vortex,
Surface waves, Group velocity, Viscous flow – Navier Stokes equation, Bound-
ary layer theory, Simple problems.
8. Probability and statistics : Probability axioms, Conditional probability, Prob-

ability distribution, Mathematical expectations, Characteristic functions, Co-
variance, Correlation coefficient, Law of large numbers, Central limit theorem.
Random samples, Sample characteristics, Estimation, Statistical hypothesis,
Neyman Pearson theorem, Likelihood ratio testing.
Sample Questions
1. Consider a concave mirror in the shape of a parabola with focus F whose

equation is given by y 2 = 4x. Let P be a point source of light inside the
parabola. Find Q on the parabola such that the ray P Q on reflection passes
through the focus F .
2. Let f : [0, 1] → [0, 1] be a function from the unit interval into itself with the
property that
|f (x) − f (y)| ≤ l|x − y|, ∀ x, y ∈ [0, 1], when λ < 1.
4
Show that f is continuous on [0, 1] and hence has a fixed point. Is the fixed
point unique? Justify your answer.
3. (a) If G is a group of even order, then prove that it has an element a 6= e,
satisfying a2 = e.
(b) Let A = {a : a = 9x + 15y, x, y are integers and |a| ≤ 1000}. Find the
cardinality of A.
4. (a) Does there exist a hexagon with sides of lengths 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 (with
certain order) and with each angle equal? Justify your answer.
(b) Let a, b be positive integers with a odd. Define the sequence {un },
1
un+1 = un , if un is even
2
= un + a otherwise
Show that un ≤ a for some n ∈ N .

5. (a) A projectile is fired from a platform that is moving horizontally with
velocity V . The initial velocity of the projectile relative to the platform
is u = (u1 , u2 , 0). Show that the range on a horizontal plane through the
2
p
platform is R(θ) = (u /g) sin 2θ + (2uV /g) sin θ, where u = u1 + u22 2
and θ (0 < θ < π/2) is the angle of projection. Also determine the angle
θ for which the range is maximum.
(b) A particle of mass m is moving in an isotropic central force field F (r) r̂.
i. Show that the orbit would be a circle of radius r0 if F (r0 ) =
−L2 /mr03 , where L is the angular momentum of the particle.
ii. Verify that the orbit is stable if F ′ (r0 ) < −3F (r0 )/r0 .
r
2 ³π π´
6. (a) Show that J± 1 (x) = cos −x± , where Jν (x) denotes Bessel
2 πx 4 4
function of order ν.
(b) Use the generating function for the Hermite polynomials to find H0 (x),
H1 (x) and H2 (x).
7. (a) Show that x3n + yn3 → 0 implies xn + yn → 0. Is the reverse implication
true?
(b) A function is defined as follows:
f (x) = 0, where x is irrational

1 p
= , where x = .
q q
p and q are two positive integers prime to each other. Show that at
x = a, f (x) is continuous if a is irrational and f (x) is discontinuous if a
is rational.
5
8. Show that if the solution of the ODE
2xy ′′ + (3 − 2x) y ′ + 2y = 0
∞
an xn+σ , where σ can take two possible values.
P
is expressed in the form y =
n=0
Find the relation between an and an+1 , and show that one solution reduces
to a polynomial.
9. (a) Using Laplace transformation, solve the differential equation
d2 y(t) dy(t)
2
+ at − 2ay(t) = 1
dt dt
subject to the conditions y(0) = y ′ (0) = 0, where a > 0 being a constant.
∞
X (−1)n+1 π2
(b) Using f (x) = x2 , −π < x < π, show that = .
n2 12
n=1
10. Expand the function

f (x) = x2 , 0 < x < 2π
in a Fourier Series when the period is 2π. Hence show that
1 1 π2
+ + · · · = .
12 22 6
11. Show that

∞ µ
x2
¶
sin x Y
= 1− 2 2
x r π
r=1
(Hint: If n is an even integer and n = 2m, xn − 1 = 0 has two real roots and
m − 1 complex conjugate pairs)
12. (a) Find the set of all possible z in C when it is given that the group (with
respect to multiplication ) generated by the complex number z = reiθ is
finite.
(b) Let A : k × k be real symmetric matrix and xn be a sequence in Rk .
Show that if A is positive definite then x′n A xn → 0 ⇒ xn → 0.
13. Find the eigenvalues of the following matrix.

 
1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4
 1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4 
A=  1/4 1/4 1/4

1/4 
1/4 1/4 1/4 1/4
6
14. Find the integral surface of the equation
(x − y)y 2 p + (y − x)x2 q = (x2 + y 2 )z

∂z ∂z
passing through the curve xz = a3 , y = 0, where p = and q = .
∂x ∂y
15. Using a suitable contour show that
Z∞
cos(kx) π −|k|a
2 2
= e , where k, a > 0 are real numbers.
x +a 2a
0
RRp
16. (a) Evaluate 4x2 − y dx dy over the triangle formed by the straight
lines y = 0, x = 1, y = x.
(b) Use Laplace transform to solve the following differential equation
Y ′′ (t) − Y (t) = 1 + e3t

d2 Y
given Y (0) = − 78 , Y ′ (0) = 0. [Here, Y ′ (t) = dY
dt and Y ′′ (t) = dt2
]
17. (a) The velocity along the centre line of a nozzle of length L is given by
0.5x 2
µ ¶
u = 2t 1 −
L
where u is the velocity in m/s, t is the time in seconds from the com-
mencement of flow and x is the distance of the inlet from the nozzle.
Find the convective acceleration and the local acceleration when t = 3,
x = L/2, and L = 0.8 m.
(b) Identify the type of the partial differential equation
∂2f ∂2f
− =x−y
∂x2 ∂y 2
and find its generalized solution including the particular integral.
18. Water flows through a circular pipe. At one section, diameter of the pipe is
0.3 m, static pressure is 260 KPa gauge, velocity is 3 m/sec and the elevation
is 10 m. The pipe diameter at the other section is 0.15 m with zero elevation.
Find the pressure at the downstream section neglecting the frictional effect.
Density of water may be assumed as 999 Kg/m3 .
19. (a) Let a number be drawn at random from {1, 2, . . . n}. Call it X. A
number is drawn at random from {1, 2, . . . x}. Call it Z. Find E(z) and
Var(z).
(b) Let X ∼ exp(λ) with λ > 0. Show that for all t > 0, the value of
E(X/X > t) − t does not depend on t.
7
PART-III
Physics
Syllabus
Mechanics of a particle and system of particles, Scattering in a central field,
Lagrange’s equation and their applications, Hamilton’s equation, Canonical
transformations, Special theory of relativity, Small oscillations, Vibrations
and acoustics.
2. Electromagnetic theory
Electrostatics, Magnetostatics, Maxwell’s equations, Gauge transformations,
Poynting’s theorem, Wave equation and plane waves, Radiating system and
scattering.

Statistical basis of thermodynamics, Ensembles – microcanonical, canonical
and grand canonical, Quantum statistics, Phase transitions, Statistical fluctu-
ations, Free electron theory, Band theory of electrons, Semiconductor physics,
Transport phenomena, Magnetism, Superconductivity.

Schrödinger wave equation, General formalism of wave mechanics, Exactly
solvable eigenvalue problems for various potentials, Approximation methods,
Scattering theory, Time dependent perturbation theory, Symmetries and con-
servation laws, Relativistic quantum mechanics, Quantum field theory – scalar
and spinor fields, Quantum electrodynamics.
Elementary particles, Weak and strong interactions, Selection rules, CPT the-
orem, Symmetry principles in particle physics.
Sample Questions
1. A particle of mass m moves in a central potential V (r) = κrn , where r is

the distance of the particle from the center and κ and n are constants. The
particle has a constant angular momentum J. Show that for a circular orbit
the radius r0 satisfies the relation (r0 )n+2 = J 2 /(mnκ).
2. A projectile is fired uphill over the ground which slopes at an angle α to the
horizontal (as shown in the figure). Find the direction in which it should be
aimed to achieve the maximum range. (Hint: Use a relation between x and y
co-ordinates where the projectile touches the ground)
8
y
projectile
ground
α x
3. Two pendulums of mass m and length l are coupled by a massless spring

of spring constant k. The unstretched length of the spring is equal to the
distance between the supports of the two pendulums. Set up the Lagrangian
in terms of generalized coordinates and velocities and derive the equations of
motion.
4. A uniform flat disc of mass M and radius r rotates about a horizontal axis
through its center with angular speed ω0 . A chip of mass m breaks off the
edge of the disc at an instant such that the chip rises vertically above the point
at which it broke off. How high does the chip rise above the point before it
starts to fall off? What is the final angular momentum of the disc?
5. (a) A photon of energy Ei is scattered by an electron of mass me that is

initially at rest. Final energy of the photon is Ef . Let θ be the angle
between the directions of the incident photon and the scattered photon.
Using the principles of Special Theory of Relativity find θ.
(b) Synchronized clocks A and B are at rest in an inertial reference frame.
Clock C is moving with velocity (3/5)c along the line joining A and B, c
being the velocity of light in vacuum. When C passes A, both the clocks
A and C read t = 0. Answer the following questions.
i. What time does C read when it reaches B?
ii. How far apart are A and B in the inertial frame in which clock C is
at rest?
iii. In C’s frame, when A passes C, what time does B read?
6. (a) Two positive charges q1 and q2 are placed at a distance r apart. A third
charge q is placed such that all the three charges are in equilibrium. Find
the magnitude and position of charge q.
(b) Three concentric spherical metallic shells A, B and C of radii a, b and
c (a < b < c) have surface charge densities σ, −σ and σ, respectively.
Find the potentials at any point on the circumference for three individual
spherical shells.
9
7. (a) Consider a possible solution to Maxwell’s equation given by
~ x, t) = A0 ei(~k.~x−ωt) , φ(~x, t) = 0
A(~
where A~ is the vector potential and φ is the scalar potential. Further,

suppose A~ 0 , ~k and ω are constants in space-time. Give and interpret the
constraints on A ~ 0 , ~k and ω imposed by each of the Maxwell’s equations
given below
~ B
(i) ∇. ~ =0 (ii) ∇ ˜ × Ẽ + 1 ∂ B̃ = 0
c ∂t
~ E
(iii) ∇. ~ =0 (iv) ∇ ˜ × B̃ − 1 ∂ Ẽ = 0
c ∂t
(b) A parallel plate capacitor with plate separation d is filled with two layers
of dielectric material a and b. The dielectric constant and conductivity
of materials a and b are ǫa , σa and ǫb , σb respectively. The thicknesses
of the materials a and b are da and db , respectively.
i. Calculate the electric fields in the materials a and b.
ii. Find the current flowing through the capacitor.
8. (a) Consider a gas of free, non-interacting electrons (each of mass m and

charge e) of density n. The gas is in the presence of an electric field
~ −iωt with constant ω. Determine the current induced by the electric
Ee
field.
(b) Find the energy gap at the Brillouin zone boundary for nearly ¡ 2πxfree
¢ elec-
trons in a linear lattice with potential energy U (x) = U0 cos a , where
a is the lattice spacing.
9. (a) A material is brought from temperature Ti to temperature Tf by placing

it in contact with a series of N reservoirs at temperature Ti +δT , Ti +2δT ,
. . . Ti + N δT = Tf . Assuming that the heat capacity of the material
C is temperature independent, calculate the entropy change of the total
system, material plus reservoirs. What is the entropy change for N → ∞
for fixed Tf − Ti ?
(b) Consider the 2p → 1s electromagnetic transition in an atom formed by
a muon and a strontium nucleus (Z = 38). Given the lifetime of the 2p
state of hydrogen is 10−9 second, calculate the fine structure splitting
energy.
10. A hypothetical semi-conductor has a conduction band (cb) that can be de-
scribed by Ecb = E1 −¡E2 ¢cos(ka) and valence band (vb) which is represented
by Evb = E3 − E4 sin2 ka
2 where E3 < (E1 − E2 ) and −π/a < k < π/a. Find
out expressions for
(a) the band widths of the conduction band and the valence band,
10
(b) the band gap of the material,
(c) the effective mass of the electrons at the bottom of the conduction band.
11. (a) Two spin- 12 particles A and B form a composite system. A is in the
eigenstate Sz = +1/2 and B in the eigenstate Sx = +1/2. What is the
probability that the total spin of the system will give the value zero?
(b) Consider a particle with angular momentum j. Then for any simultane-
ous eigen state of the operators of J 2 and Jz , show that the expectation
value satisfies the following relation
hJx i = hJy i = 0.
(c) An anharmonic one-dimensional quantum oscillator for a particle of mass

m has potential V (x) = 21 mω 2 x2 + λx4 , where λ > 0 is small. Using
perturbation theory, determine the ground state energy to first order in
λ.
12. Consider the following wave function of the simple harmonic oscillator
∞ n
1 2 µ
X
|φi = e− 2 |µ| √ |ni
n=0
n!
where |ni is an eigen function of the Hamiltonian with eigenvalue (n + 12 ) ~ω

and µ is a complex number. Show that the expectation value of the number
operator is given by
hφ|N̂ |φi = |µ|2 .
13. (a) A particle is initially in its ground state in a one-dimensional harmonic

oscillator potential V (x) = 12 ωx2 . If the coupling constant ω is suddenly
doubled, calculate the probability of finding the particle in the ground
state of the new potential.
(b) Let S± = Sx ± iSy where Sx , Sy and Sz are Pauli spin matrices. If |±, 12 i
are eigenvectors of Sz , then find S± |±, 12 i.
14. (a) Consider the Dirac Hamiltonian H = c~ p + βmc2 + V (r) where the
α.~
~ = −i~c(~
symbols have their usual meaning. Show that [H, L] α × p~).
(b) Consider a state |j1 , j2 , j, mi which is common eigenstate of the angular
momentum operators J12 , J22 and J 2 where J = J1 + J2 . Show that this
state is also an eigenstate of J1 .J2 and find the eigenvalue.
15. Consider a Klein-Gordon theory for the scalar field φ(x) with a λφ4 interaction
with λ and m being the coupling constant and mass parameter, respectively.
(a) Write down the Lagrangian and the equation of motion.
11
(b) Draw Feynman diagrams for a process of two particles scattering into
two particles in the lowest order and next to lowest order in λ. Consider
the initial momenta and final momenta of the particles to be p1 , p2 and
q1 , q2 respectively. Indicate the momentum assignments in the Feynman
diagrams. Write down the scattering amplitudes in momentum space.
(Detailed numerical factors are not necessary)
16. (a) Explain why the following processes are not observed in nature. Discuss
any four of the seven options. (The symbols carry their usual meanings)
p → e+ + π 0
Λ0 → K0 + π 0
p + p̄ → Λ0 + Λ0
Λ0 → K+ + K−
n → p + e−
p → e + + νe
µ+ → e+ + γ
(b) Consider a reaction p + p → x + K + + K + , where x is an unknown

particle.
i. What are the values of electric charge, strangeness and baryon num-
ber of the unknown particle x?
ii. If the mass of x is 2.15 GeV, what is the minimum value of the
incident proton momentum required for the reaction to take place?
Given the mass of K + and proton are respectively 0.494 GeV and
0.938 GeV and the target protons are at rest.
17. (a) Write down the action for a theory of electrons interacting with photons.
(b) Draw Feynman diagrams for Compton scattering to lowest order in the
fine structure constant α.
(c) Write down the amplitude of one such diagram in momentum space for
electron incoming and outgoing momenta p1 , p2 respectively and photon
incoming and outgoing momenta k1 , k2 respectively.
12
Part I
Answer all questions.
1. Find the value of x for which the following equation is satisfied
(1 + x)2 (1 + 2x)2 (1 + 3x)2

(2 + x)2 (2 + 2x)2 (2 + 3x)2 = −648x.
(3 + x)2 (3 + 2x)2 (3 + 3x)2
[5]
2. Find the particular solution of the differential equation

dy
3x − y = ln(x) + 1, x > 0,
dx
satisfying the condition y(1) = −2.
[5]
∫
3. Find the value of the integral z 2 ez dz, where C is an open
C
contour in the complex Z-plane as shown in the figure below.
Im Z
(0,1)
C
Re Z
(−1,0) (1,0)
[5]
4. A mass m when suspended from a light spring causes an extension

α. If a mass M is added to m, find the time period and amplitude
of the oscillation.
[2+3]
2
5. An observer in a rocket moving parallel to a long platform mea-
sures the length of the platform to be 300 meters while the length
of the platform measured by a stationary observer is 500 meters.
Find the time taken by the rocket to cover the platform with
respect to the platform observer.
[5]
6. An electromagnetic wave propagating in free space is described

by ( )
V0 3x 4y
E(x, y, z, t) = cos − − ωt ẑ
a a a
where V0 and a are constants and the other symbols have their
usual meaning. Find the wavelength and period of the wave. Also
determine the direction of propagation.
[(2+2)+1]
3
Part II
Physics
Answer any five questions.
1. (a) A block of mass M is rigidly connected to a massless vertical

circular track of radius r on a frictionless table.The distance
between the centre of the circular track and centre of the
mass M is L. A particle of mass m is restricted to move on
the vertical circular track without friction. Please see the
figure below.
y
M
r θ
m
x
(0,0)
L
i. Set up the Lagrangian using coordinates θ and x.

ii. Obtain the equations of motion.
(b) A particle of mass m is bound by a linear potential U = kr
where k is a constant.
i. For what energy and angular momentum will the orbit
be a circle of radius r about the origin?
ii. What is the frequency of this circular motion?
iii. If the particle is slightly disturbed from this circular
motion, what will be the frequency of small oscillation?
[(4+3)+(2+2+3)]
2. (a) A particle of mass m and charge q in the presence of elec-

⃗ and magnetic field B
tric field E ⃗ experiences the Lorentz
( )
force F⃗ = q E ⃗ + ⃗v×B⃗ where ⃗v is the particle velocity. If
c
E⃗ = −∇ϕ(x,
⃗ y, z) is independent of time, show that the par-
1
ticle energy 2 m⃗v .⃗v + qϕ is also independent of time.
4
ε0 ε3
b ε
2
a
(b) Consider two infinitely long cylinders, as shown in the figure

above. The inner cylinder of radius a is a conductor with
linear charge density λ1 > 0. The second cylinder with inner
radius b and outer radius c consists of a material with permit-
tivity ε3 and is uniformly charged with line charge density
λ3 < 0 (λ1 > |λ3 |). The space between the two cylinders
(i.e., a < r < b) is filled with a medium of permittivity ε2 .
The medium outside the outer cylinder possesses the permit-
tivity ε0 . Compute the potential difference between a point
at |⃗r| = 2c and the center of the inner cylinder.
[5+9]
d 2
3. (a) Consider an operator Â = dϕ 2 , acting on periodic functions
of period 2π i.e., f (ϕ + 2π) = f (ϕ), where ϕ is the azimuthal

angle in polar coordinates (0 ≤ ϕ ≤ 2π).
i. Check whether Â is Hermitian.
ii. Determine the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of Â and
specify the degenerate eigenvalues.
(b) Consider a charged particle in one-dimensional harmonic os-
⃗
cillator potential. Suppose we turn on a weak electric field E,
so that the potential energy is shifted by an amount −qEx.
Calculate the first and second order corrections to the ener-
gies.
[(2+5)+(3+4)]
5
4. (a) A one-dimensional free particle wave function is given by
∫∞ [ ( )]
−1/2 i p2x
ψ(x, t) = (2π~) exp px x − t ϕ(px ) dpx ,
~ 2m
−∞
where the symbols have their usual meaning. Show that the
expectation values of the position ⟨x⟩ and momentum ⟨px ⟩
can be related by the expression
⟨px ⟩
⟨x⟩ = ⟨x⟩t=t0 + (t − t0 ).
m
(b) In relativistic quantum mechanics, fermions are described by

Dirac equation with the Hamiltonian
−
→
Ĥ = −i~c→
−
α . ∇ + βm0 c2 ,
where − →
α ≡ (α1 , α2 , α3 ) along three spatial directions. The
αi ’s and β are Hermitian, traceless matrices with eigenvalues
±1. The rest mass of the fermion is m0 and c is the speed
of light in vacuum.
i. Derive the equation of continuity.
ii. Show that the total probability is conserved.
[6+(6+2)]
5. (a) Calculate the number of ways in which N identical bosons

can be distributed in two energy levels.
(b) A column of a liquid contains suspended metal particles of
radius r0 which are in thermal equilibrium at temperature
T . Let the densities of the liquid and metal be ρ and ρ0
respectively. If there are N particles per unit volume at a
given height H, find the number of particles per unit volume
at a position h units above H.
(c) Consider a gas consisting of N noninteracting spins (S=1)
⃗ such that the Hamiltonian is given by
in a magnetic field B,
B Ŝz . Using canonical ensemble, find the average magneti-
zation of the gas.
[2+5+7]
6
6. (a) In tight-binding approximation the dispersion relation of
electrons in a 3D lattice is given by
Ek = α cos(kx a) + β cos(ky a) + γ cos(kz a)

where a is the lattice constant and α, β, γ are constants with
dimension of energy. Find the effective
( )mass tensor at the
corner of the first Brillouin zone πa , πa , πa .
(b) A type-II superconductor is placed in a small magnetic field,
which is then slowly increased till the field starts penetrating
the superconductor. The strength of the field at this point
is π2 × 105 Gauss. Assuming the flux-quantum (fluxoid) to
be 2 × 10−7 Gauss-cm2 , find the penetrating depth of this
superconductor.
(c) Consider a free electron gas in three-dimensional space.
i. Write the Hamiltonian of the system.
ii. Find the quantized wave vectors and allowed eigenen-
ergies for the cases of periodic and hard-wall boundary
conditions.
iii. For the above two boundary conditions, calculate the
degeneracy factor of the single-particle ground state en-
ergy. Set the system temperature at absolute zero.
[3+5+(1+4+1)]
7. (a) The orbit of a particle of mass m under a central force with

centre at the origin is described by the following trajectory
r = a(1 + cosθ), a is a constant.

i. Show that the force is inversely proportional to r4 .
ii. Write the Hamiltonian for the particle in polar coordi-
nates.
(b) Consider the following interaction:
π 0 → γ + γ.
Here a neutral π 0 meson decays into two highly energetic

photons. The rest mass of the π 0 meson is 135 MeV/c2 .
i. Find the energy of each photon when the π 0 particle
decays at rest.
7
ii. Suppose the π 0 meson decays while in motion and it
has total energy 426 MeV in the laboratory system. If
the photons now move apart at arbitrary angles with
respect to the direction of the moving meson, what are
the maximum and minimum energies the photons can
attain?
[(4+3)+(2+5)]
8. (a) Consider an interacting quantum field theory of two scalar

fields ϕ and ψ in (3+1) dimensions with the interaction term
of the form λϕψ 3 , λ being the coupling constant. Assuming
the mass of ϕ as m and ψ as massless, write down the ac-
tion of the theory. Draw possible Feynman diagrams for the
following processes:
i. One ϕ particle and one ψ particle going to two ψ parti-
cles.
ii. Two ϕ particles going to two ψ particles.
In each case label the momenta in the propagators for some
arbitrary initial and final momentum configurations.
(b) A π + meson is created in a high-energy collision of a primary
cosmic ray particle in the earth’s atmosphere 200 km above
the sea level. It descends vertically at a speed 0.99c (c is the
speed of light in vacuum) and it disintegrates, in its proper
frame, 2.5 × 10−8 seconds after its creation. Determine the
altitude above the sea level at which the disintegration oc-
curs.
[(1+3+3)+7]
8
Part I
Answer all questions
1. Determine all the square roots of the matrix

0 1
1 0
[5]
2. Find the Fourier series representing f (x) = x, 0 < x < 2π.

[5]
3. Evaluate the integral
z2
I
dz
ez + 1
C
where C is the circle |z| = 4.

[5]
4. Calculate the change in entropy if x grams of water at temper-

ature T1 ◦ C is added to y grams of water at temperature T2 ◦ C
(T1 > T2 ).
[5]
5. A pendulum is suspended in a lift. When the lift is stationary, the

period of oscillation of the pendulum is T0 . Determine the period
of oscillation of the pendulum when the lift begins to accelerate
downwards with an acceleration 43 g, where g is the acceleration
due to gravity.
[5]
6. Consider
√ a single electron atom with orbital angular momentum
L = 2~. What are the possible values of a measurement of Lz ,
the z-component of L?
[5]
1
Part II
Physics
Answer any five questions
1. (a) A particle of mass m is sliding on a smooth surface along a

path that satisfies r2 = az where a is a constant. Using cylin-
drical coordinates r, φ, z where x = r cosφ, y = r sinφ, z = z:
i. Set up the Lagrangian and find the equations of motion.
ii. Identify the cyclic coordinate.
(b) In a non-relativistic system, a charged pion (with charge +q
for π + or −q for π − ) has kinetic energy T and it is moving
towards a massive target nucleus with charge Q. The pion
is considered to hit the nucleus if its distance is b from the
nucleus (see figure). The collision cross-section is given by
Σ = πd2 , where d is the impact parameter.
Show that the cross-sections, Σ+ and Σ− for π + and π −

respectively are given by
πb2 (T − V ) πb2 (T + V )
Σ+ = , Σ− =
T T
where V = qQb
is the Coulomb potential.
• Impact parameter d is defined as the length of the perpen-
dicular drawn from the target (nucleus) to the line of motion
that the pion would have taken if there was no interaction.
[(5+1)+8]
2
2. (a) A particle of mass m is placed in a finite spherical well of
radius a with the following potential:

−V0 if r ≤ a
V (r) =
0 if r > a
i. Solving the radial equation with ` = 0 find the ground
state wave function.
ii. Show that there is no bound state if
π 2 ~2
V0 <
8ma2
(b) The Hamiltonian for a spin- 12 particle of mass m with charge
+e in an external magnetic field B ~ is
ge ~
H=− ~s.B
2mc
where the symbols have their usual meaning.
i. Derive the expression for d~s
dt
.
~
ii. Assuming B = B ŷ, find sz (t) in terms of the given quan-
tities.
[(4+3)+(4+3)]
3. (a) Two synchronized clocks A and B are at rest in an inertial
reference frame. The distance between them is L. Another
clock X is moving with a velocity 35 c along the line joining
A and B, c being the velocity of light in vacuum. Both
the clocks A and X read zero when X passes A. When X
reaches the mid point of the line joining A and B, what are
the readings of clocks A and B with respect to the inertial
frame attached with X?
(b) Consider the following state of a quantum harmonic oscilla-
tor
|ψi = c0 |0i + ck |ki
where |0i and |ki are the energy eigenstates. The non-zero
real coefficients c0 and ck satisfy c20 +c2k = 1. Find the allowed
values of k for which
1 p̂2
hψ| mω 2 x̂2 |ψi = hψ| |ψi
2 2m
[6+8]
3
4. (a) A square frame with side a and a long wire carrying a current
I are located in the same plane as shown in the figure below.
The frame translates to the right with a constant velocity v.
Find the e.m.f. induced in the frame as a function of x.
a
I
v
(b) Suppose there are two parallel plate electrodes of area A,

at voltages 0 and V0 respectively, separated by a distance
d (see the figure below). The dimensions of the plates are
much larger than the separation between them. With an
unlimited supply of electrons at rest to the lower potential
electrode (placed at x = 0), a steady current I flows between
the plates.
i. Write the Poisson’s equation for the region between the

plates.
ii. What is the speed of the electrons at point x, where the
potential is V (x)?
2
iii. Show that ddxV2 = βV −1/2 and find the constant β.
[6+(1+2+5)]
4
5. (a) A system with two degrees of freedom is described by the
Hamiltonian
H = q1 p1 − q2 p2 − aq12 + bq22
where qi , pj obey canonical Poisson brackets and a, b are nu-

merical constants. Show that
p1 − aq1
F1 = , F 2 = q 1 q2
q2
are constants of motion.
(b) A K-meson of rest energy 494 MeV decays into a muon of
rest energy 106 MeV and a neutrino of zero rest energy. Find
the kinetic energies of muon and neutrino in the rest frame
of K-meson in which K-meson decays at rest.
(c) State the conservation laws that are violated for the follow-
ing processes:
i. νµ + n −→ e− + p
ii. p + p̄ −→ Λ0 + Λ0
[(3+3)+6+(1+1)]
6. (a) Suppose the density of states of a free electron gas in three

dimensions gets increased by eight times.
i. Explain on physical grounds whether the Fermi temper-
ature of the system increases or decreases.
ii. Find out the factor by which it increases or decreases.
(b) Consider a system of N non-interacting spins each with a
magnetic moment of magnitude µ. The system is placed in
~
an external uniform magnetic field B.
i. Write down the Hamiltonian of the system
ii. Calculate the magnetization per spin at temperature T .
[(2+4)+(3+5)]
7. Consider a one-dimensional tight-binding periodic lattice with

lattice constant a, on-site energy and nearest-neighbor hopping
strength t.
i. Determine the energy dispersion (viz, E-k) relation.
5
ii. Find the wave vector k in terms of lattice constant and total
number of lattice sites for an N -site lattice under periodic
and finite boundary conditions.
iii. Calculate the energy band width for the periodic case.
[6+(3+3)+2]
8. (a) Consider a free scalar field.

i. Derive an expression for the Hamiltonian in terms of
creation and annihilation operators.
ii. What is the energy of the vacuum?
(b) Consider a field theory where a Dirac electron ψ interacts
with a charged scalar φ and a neutral scalar η.
i. Give examples of simplest possible interaction terms in
both cases, maintaining gauge invariance.
ii. Draw Feynman diagrams for the processes
ψ − φ+ −→ ψ − φ+
and
ψ − η −→ ψ − η.
[(4+3)+(4+3)]
6
Sample Questions 2019
TESTCODE : PHB
There are three parts. Part I is compulsory for all candidates and carries a
credit of 30% of the total. Besides, each candidate has to choose only one of
the Parts II & III and answer from that part as per instructions. The credit
for each of these parts is 70% of the total.
Part I
Answer all questions
Z3
√
1. For any real x, let f (x) = min{ x, x2 }. Compute f (x) dx.
0
[5]
2. There are three balls labeled 1, 2, 3 and three boxes also labeled 1, 2,
3. Balls are placed at random into the boxes. Let X be the random
variable that denotes the number of empty boxes. Find E(X), the
expectation of X.
[5]
3. Let A = (aij ) be a 17 × 17 matrix with entries aij defined as follows.


 +1 if i > j
aij = 0 if i = j
−1 if i < j

Is A invertible? Justify your answer.

[5]
4. Calculate the change in entropy if x grams of water at temperature

T1 ◦ C is added to y grams of water at temperature T2 ◦ C (T1 > T2 ).
[5]
5. A pendulum is suspended in a lift. When the lift is stationary, the

period of oscillation of the pendulum is T0 . Determine the period of os-
cillation of the pendulum when the lift begins to accelerate downwards
with an acceleration 43 g, where g is the acceleration due to gravity.
[5]
6. √
Consider a single electron atom with orbital angular momentum L =
2~. What are the possible values of a measurement of Lz , the z-
component of L?
[5]
2
Part II
Physics
1. (a) A particle of mass m is sliding on a smooth surface along a path

that satisfies r2 = az where a is a constant. Using cylindrical
coordinates r, φ, z where x = r cosφ, y = r sinφ, z = z:
i. Set up the Lagrangian and find the equations of motion.
ii. Identify the cyclic coordinate.
(b) In a non-relativistic system, a charged pion (with charge +q for
π + or −q for π − ) has kinetic energy T and it is moving towards
a massive target nucleus with charge Q. The pion is considered
to hit the nucleus if its distance is b from the nucleus (see figure).
The collision cross-section is given by Σ = πd2 , where d is the
impact parameter.
Show that the cross-sections, Σ+ and Σ− for π + and π − respec-

tively are given by
πb2 (T − V ) πb2 (T + V )
Σ+ = , Σ− =
T T
where V = qQb is the Coulomb potential.

• Impact parameter d is defined as the length of the perpendicular
drawn from the target (nucleus) to the line of motion that the pion
would have taken if there was no interaction.
[(5+1)+8]
2. (a) A particle of mass m is placed in a finite spherical well of radius

a with the following potential:
3

 −V0 , if r ≤ a
V (r) =
0, if r > a

i. Solving the radial equation with ` = 0 find the ground state

wave function.
ii. Show that there is no bound state if
π 2 ~2
V0 <
8ma2
(b) The Hamiltonian for a spin- 12 particle of mass m with charge +e
in an external magnetic field B~ is
ge ~
H=− ~s.B
2mc
i. Derive the expression for d~ s
dt .
ii. Assuming B~ = B ŷ, find sz (t) in terms of the given quantities.
[(4+3)+(4+3)]
3. (a) Two synchronized clocks A and B are at rest in an inertial refer-

ence frame. The distance between them is L. Another clock X is
moving with a velocity 35 c along the line joining A and B, c being
the velocity of light in vacuum. Both the clocks A and X read
zero when X passes A. When X reaches the mid point of the line
joining A and B, what are the readings of clocks A and B with
respect to the inertial frame attached with X?
(b) Consider the following state of a quantum harmonic oscillator
|ψi = c0 |0i + ck |ki
where |0i and |ki are the energy eigenstates. The non-zero real
coefficients c0 and ck satisfy c20 + c2k = 1. Find the allowed values
of k for which
1 p̂2
hψ| mω 2 x̂2 |ψi = hψ| |ψi
2 2m
[6+8]
4. (a) A square frame with side a and a long wire carrying a current I
are located in the same plane as shown in the figure below. The
frame translates to the right with a constant velocity v. Find the
e.m.f. induced in the frame as a function of x.
4
a
I
v
(b) Suppose there are two parallel plate electrodes of area A, at volt-
ages 0 and V0 respectively, separated by a distance d (see the
figure below). The dimensions of the plates are much larger than
the separation between them. With an unlimited supply of elec-
trons at rest to the lower potential electrode (placed at x = 0), a
steady current I flows between the plates.
i. Write the Poisson’s equation for the region between the plates.
ii. What is the speed of the electrons at point x, where the
potential is V (x)?
2
iii. Show that ddxV2 = βV −1/2 and find the constant β.
[6+(1+2+5)]
5. (a) A system with two degrees of freedom is described by the Hamil-
tonian
H = q1 p1 − q2 p2 − aq12 + bq22
where qi , pj obey canonical Poisson brackets and a, b are numerical
constants. Show that
p1 − aq1
F1 = , F2 = q1 q2
q2
are constants of motion.
5
(b) A K-meson of rest energy 494 MeV decays into a muon of rest
energy 106 MeV and a neutrino of zero rest energy. Find the
kinetic energies of muon and neutrino in the rest frame of K-
meson in which K-meson decays at rest.
(c) State the conservation laws that are violated for the following
processes:
i. νµ + n −→ e− + p
ii. p + p̄ −→ Λ0 + Λ0
[(3+3)+6+(1+1)]
6. (a) Suppose the density of states of a free electron gas in three di-
mensions gets increased by eight times.
i. Explain on physical grounds whether the Fermi temperature
of the system increases or decreases.
ii. Find out the factor by which it increases or decreases.
(b) Consider a system of N non-interacting spins each with a mag-
netic moment of magnitude µ. The system is placed in an external
~
uniform magnetic field B.
i. Write down the Hamiltonian of the system
ii. Calculate the magnetization per spin at temperature T .
[(2+4)+(3+5)]
7. Consider a one-dimensional tight-binding periodic lattice with lattice

constant a, on-site energy and nearest-neighbor hopping strength t.
i. Determine the energy dispersion (viz, E-k) relation.

ii. Find the wave vector k in terms of lattice constant and total
number of lattice sites for an N -site lattice under periodic and
finite boundary conditions.
iii. Calculate the energy band width for the periodic case.
[6+(3+3)+2]
8. (a) Consider a free scalar field.

i. Derive an expression for the Hamiltonian in terms of creation
and annihilation operators.
ii. What is the energy of the vacuum?
(b) Consider a field theory where a Dirac electron ψ interacts with a
charged scalar φ and a neutral η.
i. Give examples of simplest possible interaction terms in both
cases, maintaining gauge invariance.
6
ii. Draw Feynman diagrams for the processes ψ − φ+ −→ ψ − φ+
and ψ − η −→ ψ − η.
[(4+3)+(4+3)]
7
Part III
Mathematics
1. (a) Synchronized clocks A and B are at rest in an inertial reference

frame. Clock C is moving with velocity (3/5)c along the line
joining A and B, c being the velocity of light in vacuum. When
C passes A, both the clocks A and C read t = 0. Answer the
following questions.
i. What time does C read when it reaches B?
ii. How far apart are A and B in the inertial frame in which
clock C is at rest?
iii. In C’s frame, when A passes C, what time does B read?
(b) A solid circular cylinder of radius a rotating about its axis is
placed gently with its axis horizontal on a rough plane, whose
inclination to the horizon is α. Initially, the friction acts up the
plane and the coefficient of friction is µ. Show that the cylinder
will move upwards if µ > tan α. Also show the time that elapses
before rolling commence is
aω
,
g(3µ cos α − sin α)
where ω is the initial angular velocity of the cylinder.

[(2+2+2)+8]
e2z
Z
2. (a) Evaluate 4
dz where C stands for the circle |z| = 3.
C (z + 1)
(b) Use Fourier transform to solve the equation
∂u(x, t) ∂ 2 u(x, t)
=κ , u(x, 0) = f (x), |u(x, t)| < M ,
∂t ∂x2
where κ, M are constants, t > 0 and −∞ < x < ∞.
[7+7]
3. (a) Show that

(1 − x2 )Pn0 (x) = xPn−1 (x) − nxPn (x)
where Pn (x) denotes nth order Legendre Polynomial and the sym-
bol 0 indicates derivative with respect to x.
8
∂2φ ∂2φ
(b) Show that the general solution of the equation + =0
∂x2 ∂y 2
can be written as φ(x, y) = f1 (x + iy) + f2 (x − iy) where fi (x, y)
(i = 1, 2) are twice differentiable arbitrary functions.
[8+6]
4. Let G∗25 denote the set of all integers between 1 and 25 which are
coprime to 25. Define a binary operation on G∗25 as follows.
For a, b ∈ G∗25 , a b = c if c ∈ G∗25 and ab ≡ c mod 25.
(a) Show that (G∗25 , ) is a group.

(b) Hence, or otherwise, show that
1320 ≡ 1 mod 25.
[8+6]
Zx
2
5. (a) For x ≥ 0, define f (x) = e−t dt.
0
2
Show that for x > 0, f (x) > x e−x .
(b) Show that for any real or complex square matrix A, there is an
α such that αI + A is non-singular, where I denotes the identity
matrix.
[7+7]
6. (a) Find the values of r at which bifurcation occur and classify them
as saddle-node, transcritical, pitchfork bifurcation of dx
dt = rx −
x
1+x2
. Sketch the bifurcation diagram of equilibrium points x∗
vs.r.
(b) Obtain the equation of motion for a particle falling vertically un-
der the influence of gravity when frictional forces obtainable from
a dissipation function 21 kv 2 are present. Integrate the equation
to obtain the velocity as a function of time and show that the
maximum possible velocity for fall from rest is v = mg k .
[8+6]
7. Suppose f be a Borel-measurable function and µ be a σ -finite measure.

R
(a) Let R f dµPexistsR and let {Bn } be a sequence of disjoint sets.
Show that ∞ n=1 Bn f dµ is either an absolutely convergent series
or it diverges to +∞ (or −∞).
9
(b) Let f be defined on reals and µ be the Lebesgue measure. If f
is Riemann integrable then show that the set of continuity points
of f is Borel measurable and its complement has measure zero.
[7+7]
8. (a) Let {Xt } be a continuous time stochastic process. Write down the
exact conditions under which {Xt } can be said to be a standard
Brownian motion.
(b) Let {Bt }t≥0 be a standard Brownian motion. Define a process
{Xt }t≥0 as follows:
(
tB 1 for t 6= 0
Xt = t
0 for t = 0.
Show that {Xt } is a standard Brownian motion.

(c) Let {Bt }t≥0 be a standard Brownian motion. Define a process
{Mt }t≥0 as Mt = Bt2 − t. Show that {Mt } is a martingale with
respect to the filtration {Ft }, where Ft = σ{Bs : 0 ≤ s ≤ t}.
[2+7+5]
10
Part-I
Mathematical and Logical Reasoning
Answer all questions. Each question carries 5 marks.
1. Two water drops of equal radius, each with a charge of 3 × 10−9

Coulomb and having a surface potential of 500 Volts, form a sin-
gle drop. Calculate the surface potential of the new drop so formed.
[5]
2. An Olympic diver of mass m begins his descent from a height
h above the water surface with zero initial velocity. Considering
the viscous force is (−k) times velocity, and the gravitational force
balances the buoyancy inside water, find out the expression for
velocity of the diver as a function of vertical depth x inside water.
[5]
3. The growth rate of a bacterial population is proportional to the
population itself. The population becomes three times of its ini-
tial value in one hour. After how many hours will the population
reach 100 times of its initial value?
[5]
4. Find the work done in moving a particle once around an ellipse
in the x-y plane, centered at the origin. The semi-major (along x
axis) and semi-minor (along y axis) axes are 4 and 3, respectively,
and the force field is given by
F = (3x − 4y + 2z)x̂ + (4x + 2y − 3z 2 )ŷ + (2xz − 4y 2 + z 3 )ẑ.
[5]
5. Evaluate the integral
Z ∞ √ √
4
x e− x dx.
0
[5]
6. Let f (z) = u(x, y)+iv(x, y) be an analytic function. If u = 3x−2xy,
then find v and express f (z) in terms of z.
[5]
2
Part-II
Physics
Answer any five questions. Each question carries 14 marks.
1. (a) A magnetic monopole of strength g, placed at the origin,

generates a magnetic field g rr3 , where r is the position vec-
tor measured from the origin.
i. Consider a particle of mass m and electric charge e mov-
ing in this field. Write down the equation of motion of
the particle.
ii. Show that an effective angular momentum of the parti-
cle given by J = mr × ṙ − eg rr is conserved.
(b) Consider a Hamiltonian

1 1
H= 2
+ p2 q 4
2 q
where q, p constitute a canonical pair of degrees of freedom.

i. Find the equation of motion for q that involves only q
and its time derivatives.
ii. Find a set of canonical co-ordinates Q, P in terms of q, p
such that the Hamiltonian H(Q, P ) corresponds to the
form of a harmonic oscillator.
[(3+4)+(3+4)]
2. (a) A large mass M , moving at relativistic speed v, collides with

a small mass m which is initially at rest. The two masses
stick together after collision. Considering M m, find out
the approximate mass of the resulting object up to first order
m
in M .
(b) Consider the Lagrangian of a particle, in one-dimension, given
by
γt 1 2 1 2
L=e mq̇ − kq
2 2
where m, k and γ are constants.
3
i. Discuss the possible motions of the particle depending
on the conditions on the parameters m, k and γ.
ii. Derive the motion of the particle in terms of a new vari-
able S defined by S = e(γt/2)q .
[6+(4+4)]
3. (a) A particle of mass m is in the asymmetric potential well

V 1 , x < 0

V (x) = 0, 0 < x < a

V2 , x > a

where V1 > V2 > 0. Find out its discrete energy levels.

(b) A quantum system with two orthonormal states, say |0i and
|1i, is described by the Hamiltonian Ĥ = |0ih1| + |1ih0|. If
at t = 0, the expectation value of the operator Â = 3|0ih0| −
|1ih1| is hÂi = −1, what is the initial state |ψ(0)i? What is
the smallest time t > 0 such that |ψ(t)i = |0i?
(c) A quantum harmonic oscillator, in the usual notation, is de-
scribed by the Hamiltonian
p2x mω 2 2
H= + x.
2m 2
A
Consider a trial wavefunction of the form ψ(x) = x2 +B 2,
where A and B are constants. Determine A and B for the

best bound on its ground state energy.
[5+(2+2)+5]
4. (a) Consider a rigid body with moment of inertia Ix rotating
freely in a plane with its rotating axis making an angle φ with
x-axis. The Hamiltonian operator for this system is given by
~2 d2
Ĥ = − .
2Ix dφ2
i. Find out the energy eigenvalues and eigenfunctions.
ii. Suppose at time t = 0 the rigid rotator is described by a
wave packet ψ(φ, 0) = A sin2 φ. Find out ψ(φ, t) for any
arbitrary time.
4
(b) Consider an electron of mass m in an infinite cubic potential
8.2 Momentum 369
well 
 0 if 0 < {x, y, z} < L
you this cannot be the whole story, you have sound intuitions. But the resolution
V (x,
of this paradox will have y, z) =
to await Chapter
 12 (Ex. 12.12).
∞
Suppose now that we turn up the resistance, otherwise.
so the current decreases. The
changing magnetic field will induce an electric field (Eq. 7.20):
Now the following perturbationis switched on
μ0 d I
E= s+K
ln ẑ.
3
2π dt L 3L L
Hp = V0 L δ x − δ y− δ z−
This field exerts a force on ±λ: 4 4 4

μ0 d I μ0 d I μ0 λl d I
F = λl ln aV+ K ẑ − λl + Korder
ln bfirst ẑ =perturbation
− ln(b/a) ẑ.
2πwhere
dt 0 is a constant.
2πUsing
dt 2π dt theory,
calculate the energy of the ground state.
The total momentum imparted to the cable, as the current drops from I to 0, is
therefore

[(4+5)+5]
μ0 λI l
= F dt =
5. (a) Suppose pamech
magnetic monopole
2π
ln(b/a) ẑ,
qm passes through a resis-
tanceless
which is precisely loop of wire
the momentum with self-inductance
originally stored in the fields.L. What current
is induced in the loop?
(b) A thick spherical shell of inner radius a and outer radius b is
Problem
made8.5 Imagine two parallel
of dielectric infinitewith
material sheets,a carrying uniform
frozen-in surface charge
polarization
+σ (on the sheet at z = d) and −σ (at z = 0). They are moving in the y direction
at constant speed v (as in Problem 5.17).
k
P(r) = r̂
(a) What is the electromagnetic momentum in a rregion of area A?
(b) Now suppose the top sheet moves slowly down (speed u) until it reaches the bot-
where k is a constant and r is the distance from the centre.
tom sheet, so the fields disappear. By calculating the total force on the charge
(qFind theshow
= σ A), bound charge
that the and
impulse use Gauss’s
delivered lawistoequal
to the sheet calculate the
to the mo-
electric
mentum field. stored in the fields. [Hint: As the upper plate passes by, the
originally
magnetic field drops to zero, inducing an electric field that delivers an impulse
(c)toA
thecharged parallel plate capacitor having area A with uni-
lower plate.]
form electric field E = Eẑ is placed in a uniform magnetic
Problem 8.6 A charged parallel-plate capacitor (with uniform electric field
E = Efield B = Bx̂
ẑ) is placed in a (see Figure).
uniform magnetic field B = B x̂, as shown in Fig. 8.6.
B
A B
d E E y
FIGURE 8.6
5
i. Find the electromagnetic momentum in the space be-
tween the plates.
ii. Suppose a resistive wire is connected between the plates
along the z axis, so that the capacitor slowly discharges.
Calculate the total impulse delivered to the system dur-
ing this discharge.
[6+4+(1+3)]
6. (a) The dispersion relation of a gas of spin- 21 fermions in two

dimensions is E = ~vk, where E is the energy, k is the wave-
vector, and v is a constant. If the Fermi energy at zero tem-
perature is EF , then find the number of particles per unit
area in terms of v and EF .
(b) A 2 mm × 2 mm two-dimensional metal film contains 4 ×
1012 electrons. Determine the magnitude of the Fermi wave-
vector of the system in the free electron approximation, con-
sidering spin degeneracy.
(c) The electrical conductivity of copper is 95% of that of sil-
ver, whereas the electron density in silver is 70% of that of
copper. Using Drude’s model, find the ratio of their mean
collision times.
(d) Optical excitation of an intrinsic germanium creates an aver-
age density of 1012 conduction electrons per cm3 in the mate-
rial of liquid nitrogen temperature. At this temperature, the
electron and hole mobilities are equal and given by 0.5 × 104
cm2 /volt sec. If 100 volts is applied across a 1 cm cube of
crystal under these conditions, how much current will be
observed?
[4+3+3+4]
7. (a) A two-level system has energies 0 and , with degeneracies

1 and 3, respectively. Calculate the partition function Z and
the temperature at which the probability of finding the sys-
tem in the lower energy level is equal to half. Assume that
the system obeys classical statistics.
(b) Consider a cubical box of side L in which 10 identical spin-
less particles, each of mass m, need to be accommodated.
6
Determine the lowest energy of the system when the parti-
cles obey
i. BE statistics
ii. FD statistics.
[(2+3)+(2+7)]
8. (a) Consider a reaction p + p → x + K + + K + , where x is an

unknown particle.
i. What are the values of electric charge, strangeness and
baryon number of x?
ii. Let the mass of K + and proton be 0.494 GeV and 0.938 GeV
respectively, and the target protons are at rest. What
is the minimum momentum of the incident proton re-
quired for the reaction to take place, if the mass of x is
2.15 GeV?
(b) Consider an interacting quantum field theory of electron field
ψ with mass m, and a complex scalar field φ with mass M .
The interaction vertex can contain at most two ψ fields, two
φ fields and one derivative.
i. Write down the most general form of the Lagrangian for
the system.
ii. Draw the interaction vertices that will appear in Feyn-

man diagrams.
[(3+4)+(4+3)]
7
Part-III
Mathematics
1. (a) Consider the ring
Z[i] = {a + ib | a, b ∈ Z}
with the usual addition and multiplication of complex num-

bers. Let
S = {a + ib ∈ Z[i] | a, b ∈ Z, b is even }.
Show that S is a subring of Z[i], but not an ideal of Z[i].

(b) Let S be a non-empty set with an associative binary opera-
tion that is left and right cancellation (i.e., xy = xz ⇒ y = z,
and yx = zx ⇒ y = z). Assume that for a ∈ S, the set
{an | n = 1, 2, 3, . . . } is finite. Prove that S is a group.
[(3+3)+8]
2. (a) A steady 2-dimensional fluid flow is described by

a2 a2
Vr = −u 1 − 2 cos θ, Vθ = u 1 + 2 sin θ.
r r
Find the acceleration of a fluid particle at the point r = 2a, θ =
π
2
.
(b) A fluid flows at a constant discharge Q through a conver-
gent pipe of length L having inlet and outlet radii R1 and R2
(R1 > R2 ), respectively. Assuming the velocity to be axial
and uniform at any cross section, find out the acceleration at
the exit.
(c) Find the series solution of the following equation using Frobe-
nius method near x = 0
d2 y dy
(x − x2 ) 2
+ (1 − 5x) − 4y = 0.
dx dx
[4+4+6]
8
3. (a) Let P be a n × n real orthogonal matrix with det(P ) = −1.
Discuss whether the inverse of the matrix (P + In ) exists or
not. Justify your answer.
(b) Show that the function f : R → R defined by f (x) = x3 −
3x2 + 6x − 5 is both one-to-one and onto.
(c) Let f (x, y) = y + x sin( y1 ), if y 6= 0 and f (x, 0) = 0. Discuss
the continuity of the function f (x, y) at (0, 0).
[5+4+5]
4. (a) Suppose W is a subspace of Rn of dimension d. Prove that
≤ 2d ,

(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) ∈ W : xi ∈ {0, 1}
where for any finite set A, |A| denotes its number of ele-
ments.
(b) Let [x] denote the integer nearest to x. Draw the graph of the
function
y = |x − [x]|, 0 ≤ x ≤ 4.
Find all the points x ∈ [0, 4] where the function is not differ-
entiable. Justify your answer.
[6+8]
5. (a) Classify and reduce the equation
∂ 2u ∂ 2u 2
2 ∂ u ∂u
2
− 2 sin x − cos x 2
− cos x =0
∂x ∂x∂y ∂y ∂y
to a canonical form and hence solve it.
(b) Let E be the set of all differentiable functions x(t) whose
derivatives are continuous on the bounded closed interval
a ≤ t ≤ b. Prove that

dx dy
ρ(x, y) = |x(a) − y(a)| + sup − : t ∈ [a, b]
dt dt
is a metric on E.
[8+6]
9
6. (a) Find all the equilibrium points and discuss the correspond-
ing linear stability analysis of the system
dx
= y − x − g(x)
dt
dy
= x−y
dt

with g(x) = αx + β |x + 1| − |x − 1| , where α and β are
parameters.
(b) Find the Taylor series of the function
z2 + z
f (z) =
(1 − z)2
at z = −1 and its radius of convergence.

[9+(3+2)]
7. (a) Let {Zn } be a stochastic process. Define a filtration {Fn }.

Describe when {Zn } may be called a martingale with respect
to this filtration.
(b) Let {Xn } be a sequence of independent N (0, 2) random vari-
ables. Let Z0 = 0 and Zn = X1 + X2 + ... + Xn (n ≥ 1). Let
Mn = max0≤k≤n |Zk |.
i. Show that Zn is a martingale with respect to an appro-
priate filtration by describing one such filtration.
√
ii. Show that P (Mn ≥ 2 n) ≤ 12 .
iii. Further, show that E(Mn2 ) ≤ 8n.
[(2+2)+(3+4+3)]
8. A car of mass m is traveling on a horizontal road (see figure) with

a speed v so that the center of mass G of the car describes a circle
of radius r. The separation between the inner and outer wheels is
2a. The height of the center of mass G of the car above the ground
is h.
(a) Show the different forces on the car.

(b) Show the moments about G when the car is moving.
10
Car
G
h
Inner wheel Outer wheel
a a
(c) Find the maximum value of the velocity of the car above
which the car will overturn.
(Hint: Find the condition for which the normal reaction on
the inner wheel will vanish, i.e., the inner wheel will lose
contact with the ground.)
[3+4+7]
11
Part-I
Answer all questions. Each question carries 5 marks.
1. If y = x is one solution of
2
2dy dy
x + x − y = 0,
dx 2 dx
then find the general solution.
[5]
ZZ
2. Find x2 y 2 dx dy over a region R bounded by x ≥ 0, y ≥ 0 and x2 +
R
y 2 ≤ 1.
[5]
3. Let A be a Hermitian matrix. Show that the matrix A + iI is invertible

and (A + iI)−1 (A − iI) is a unitary matrix.
[5]
4. Find the probability of the occurrence of a number that is odd or less

than 5 when a fair die is rolled.
[5]
5. A uniform chain of length l and mass m overhangs a smooth table with

its two third part lying on the table. Find the kinetic energy of the chain
as it completely slips off the table.
[5]
6. A small mass initially at rest, starts sliding downwards from the top of
a frictionless sphere of radius R. At what point does it loose contact
with the sphere?
[5]
1
Part-II
Physics
1. Two small balls of mass m are suspended from two rigid supports by
three springs, of equal spring constant k (see figure). Both balls can
move only in the plane of the figure, that is only up-down and side-
ways. In the unstretched condition, each spring is of length a/2.
(a) Set up Lagrangian of the system.

(b) Consider small oscillations of the balls about the equilibrium con-
figuration as shown in the figure. Write the approximate form of
the Lagrangian.
(c) Derive the equations of motion.
(d) Derive expressions for any two of the normal modes.
[3+4+3+4]
2. (a) Two identical bodies have internal energy U = N CT each, with a

constant C. The values of N and C are the same for each body. The
initial temperatures of the bodies are T1 and T2 , and they are used
as a source of work by connecting them to a Carnot heat engine
and bringing them to a common final temperature Tf .
i. What is the final temperature Tf ?
ii. What is the work delivered?
(b) Consider an ideal gas of stable vector mesons (massive particles
with spin 1) with magnetic moment µ. Determine the magnetic
susceptibility per unit volume in a weak magnetic field. Assume
the number of particles per unit volume of the gas is n.
[(2+5)+7]
2
3. Two concentric metal spheres of radii a and b (a < b) are separated by
a medium that has dielectric constant ǫ and conductivity σ. At time
t = 0 an electric charge q is suddenly placed on the inner sphere.
(a) Calculate the total current through the medium as a function of

time.
(b) Determine the Joule heat produced by this current.
(c) Find the electrostatic energy due to discharging.
[6+4+4]
4. (a) A train with proper length L moves at speed c/2 (c being the ve-
locity of light in vacuum) with respect to the ground. Inside the
train, a ball is thrown from the back to the front, at speed c/3 with
respect to the train.
i. How much time does this take and what distance does the
ball cover,
A. in the rest frame of the train?
B. with respect to the earth?
C. in the rest frame of the ball?
ii. Verify that the invariant interval is indeed the same in all three
frames.
iii. Find the relation between the times elapsed in the rest frame
of the ball and the earth.
(b) Show that the following transformation is canonical:
1/2
Q = e−2q − p2
P = cos−1 (peq ) .
[((2+2+2)+3+2)+3]
3
5. (a) Assuming that each atom of copper contributes one free electron,
determine the drift velocity of free electrons in a copper conduc-
tor, having cross-sectional area 10−4 m2 , carrying a current of 200A.
(Atomic weight of copper = 63.5, Density of copper = 8.94 ×
103 kgm−3 )
(b) The spacing of the planes in a crystal is 1.2Å and the angle for
the first order reflection is 30◦ . If the spacing of the crystal planes
changes by ±0.1Å, then find the spread in energy in the diffracted
beam.
(c) If the band gap of an alloy semiconductor is 1.98 eV, then find the
wavelength of radiation that is emitted when electrons and holes
in the material recombine directly.
[6+5+3]
6. Consider a quantum linear harmonic oscillator with Hamiltonian
p2x 1
H= + mω 2 x2
2m 2
where the symbols have their usual meanings.
(a) Derive the equation of motion for the expectation value of the po-
sition hxi and show that it oscillates, similar to the classical oscil-
lator, as
hpx it=t0
hxit = hxit=t0 cos ωt + sin ωt.
mω
(b) Using the commutation relations between x, px and their prod-
ucts, show that
hp2x it hp2x it=0
hx2 it + = hx 2
i t=0 + .
m2 ω 2 m2 ω 2
(c) Hence show that
(∆px )2t=t0
(∆x)2t = (∆x)2t=t0
cos ωt + 2
sin2 ωt
mω
2 2

1 sin 2ωt
+ hxpx + px xit=t0 − hxit=t0 hpx it=t0 .
2 mω
[6+4+4]
4
7. (a) Consider the one-dimensional wave function
ψ(x) = A (x/x0 )n e−x/x0 ,
where A, n and x0 are constants.
Using the Schrödinger’s equation, find the potential V (x) and en-
ergy E for which the wave function is an eigenfunction. (Assume
that for x → ∞, V (x) → 0).
(b) Consider a two-dimensional oscillator
1 2 1 2
px + p2y + x + y2 .

H=
2 2
The Hamiltonian is given in units for which ~ = m = ω = 1.
i. What are the lowest 3 eigenfunctions and the corresponding
eigenenergies?
ii. Next consider a perturbation to the Hamiltonian
1
V = ǫxy x2 + y 2 ,

(ǫ << 1) .
2
Using the first order perturbation theory, find the effect of V
on the energies of the states calculated in part (i).
[4+((2+2)+6)]
8. (a) Consider an interacting model of two relativistic scalar fields φ(x)
and ψ(x) having mass parameters m and M respectively with in-
teraction terms λφ2 ψ 2 + σφψ 3 , where λ, σ are coupling constants.
i. Derive the equations of motion.
ii. Draw lowest order Feynman diagrams for the following pro-
cesses, with the coupling constants involved and label the in-
coming and outgoing particle momenta keeping in mind mo-
mentum conservation principle:
A. φ + φ → ψ + ψ
B. φ + φ → φ + φ
iii. For process (ii) write down the amplitude in momentum space.
(Detailed numerical factors may be ignored.)
(b) Check which of the following processes are forbidden and why?
i. π + → e+ + νe
ii. K + → π + + π + + π 0
[(4+(2+2)+2)+(2+2)]
5
Part-III
Mathematics
1. (a) Consider the initial value problem
dy p
= − |1 − y 2 (x)|, y(0) = 1.
dx
i. Does it admit a unique solution in the neighborhood of y = 1?
Justify your answer.
ii. Find the solution(s) of the differential equation, if exist.
(b) Consider the system,
dy
= x − rx(1 − x),
dx
where x is a state variable and r ∈ R is a parameter.
i. Discuss the linear stability analysis of all equilibrium points.
ii. Sketch the bifurcation diagram of equilibrium points x∗ vs. r.
iii. Calculate rc , the critical parameter value at which the bifur-
cation occurs and identify the type of bifurcation.
[(3+2)+(3+4+2)]
2. (a) Let f be analytic in a region G and suppose that f is not identically

zero. Let G0 = G r {z : f (z) = 0} and define h : G0 → R by
h(z) = log |f (z)|. Show that
∂h ∂h f′
−i = on G0 .
∂x ∂y f
(b) Let f be an entire function and suppose there is a constant M and

an integer n ≥ 1 such that |f (z)| ≤ M |z|n for |z| > ξ > 0. Show
that f is a polynomial of degree less than or equal to n.
[7+7]
6
3. (a) Find the Bessel function Jp (x) of first kind of order p by solving
the differential equation,
d2 y dy
x2 + x + (x2 − p2 )y = 0, p is a constant.
dx 2 dx
Also, show that d
dx
[xJ1 (x)] = xJ0 (x).
(b) Can you find a Markov chain of finite number of states with at
least one null recurrent state? Justify your answer.
[(6+3)+5]
4. (a) Let P = {2, 3, 5, 7, 11, . . .} be the set of all prime numbers. Define
(explicitly and as simple as you can) an operation ∗ on P such that
(P, ∗) satisfies the first three axioms for a group, that is, closure,
associativity, and existence of an identity element.
(b) How many zero divisor are there in Z2021 ?
(c) Consider R2 with the usual addition on it. If the multiplication is
defined as c.(x, y) = (ax + by, ax − by) for c = a + ib ∈ C, will
(R2 , +, .) be a vector space over C? Justify your answer.
[4+5+5]
5. (a) Let A be a complex square matrix of order m such that An = Im

for some positive integer n, where Im denotes the m × m identity
matrix.
i. Show that A is diagonalizable.
ii. Give an example of A 6= I2 such that A3 = I2 .
(b) Show that x4 + 1 is reducible over Z3 .
[(6+3)+5]
6. (a) Does f (y)−f (x) = f ′ (z)(y −x) necessarily true for a differentiable
map f : R → R2 and x, y ∈ R, where z ∈ {(1−t)x+ty : t ∈ [0, 1]}?
Justify your answer.
(b) Prove or disprove both the necessary and sufficient part of the
following statement:
f is a Lebesgue measurable function if and only if f −1 (c) is Lebesgue
measurable for each number c ∈ R.
[5+9]
7
7. (a) A velocity field is given by U ~ = (1 + At + Bt2 ) î + xĵ, where A, B
are constants, and, î, ĵ are two orthogonal unit vectors.
i. Find the equation of the streamline at t = t0 passing through
the point (x0 , y0 ).
ii. Obtain the path line of a fluid element which passes through
(x0 , y0 ) at t = t0 .
iii. Show that the streamline and path line coincide, if the flow is
steady.
(b) A two-dimensional velocity field is given by
Ky Kx
u=− , v= ,
x2+ y2 x2
+ y2
where K is a constant.
i. Does the field satisfy incompressible continuity?
ii. Transform these velocities into polar components vr and vθ .
iii. What might the flow represent?
[(3+3+2)+(2+2+2)]
8. (a) A particle is constrained to move on the plane curve xy = 1 under

the gravity g. Taking y-axis vertical, the Lagrange’s equation is
d
obtained as x2 ẍ + F (x, ẋ) − g = 0. Find the value of the function
dt
F (x, ẋ).
(b) As seen from Earth, two spaceships A and B are approaching
along perpendicular directions. If A is observed by a stationary
Earth observer to have velocity uy = −0.9c and B to have velocity
ux = +0.9c, determine the speed of ship A as measured by the
pilot of ship B. Here c denotes the speed of light in vacuum.
[8+6]
8
2022
Junior Research Fellowship in Physics and Applied Mathematics
The candidates for Junior Research Fellowship in Physics and Applied Mathematics will
have to write Two Papers − Test PHA (objective type) in the forenoon session and Test
PHB (short answer type) in the afternoon session.
The PHB test booklet will consist of three parts. The candidates are required to answer
Part I (compulsory) and any one between Parts II & III.
The syllabus for the test is as follows.
PART-I
Syllabus
B.Sc. Pass Mathematics Syllabus of Indian Universities
PART-II
Physics
Syllabus
Mechanics of a particle and system of particles, Scattering in a central field, La-
grange’s equations and their applications, Hamilton’s equations, Canonical trans-
formations, Special theory of relativity, Small oscillations, Vibrations and acoustics.
2. Electromagnetic Theory
Electrostatics, Magnetostatics, Maxwell’s equations, Gauge transformations, Poynt-
ing’s theorem, Wave equation and plane waves, Radiating system and scattering.

Statistical basis of thermodynamics, Ensembles – microcanonical, canonical and
grand canonical, Quantum statistics, Phase transitions, Statistical fluctuations, Free
electron theory, Band theory of electrons, Semiconductor physics, Transport phe-
nomena, Magnetism, Superconductivity.

Schrödinger wave equation, General formalism of wave mechanics, Exactly solv-
able eigenvalue problems for various potentials, Approximation methods, Scattering
theory, Time dependent perturbation theory, Symmetries and conservation laws,
Relativistic quantum mechanics, Quantum field theory – scalar and spinor fields,
Quantum electrodynamics.
Elementary particles, Weak and strong interactions, Selection rules, CPT theorem,
Symmetry principles in particle physics.
1
PART-III
Mathematics
Syllabus
1. Linear Algebra
Vector space; Linear transformation; Matrices; Properties of eigenvalues and eigen-
vectors; Diagonalizability of matrices, Jordan canonical form, Hermitian and unitary
matrices; Linear operators, Hermitian and unitary operators, Minimal polynomial;
Spectral decomposition; Rank; System of linear equations.
2. Abstract Algebra
Sets; Relations and mappings; Groups; Rings; Fields.
3. Real analysis
Functions of single and several variables; Proper and improper integrals; Lebesgue
measure, Lebesgue integration and their properties; Absolute continuity; Fourier
series; Integral transform; Metric space, normed linear space, Lp spaces, Banach
space, Hilbert space.
4. Differential Equations
Existence and uniqueness of solutions of initial value problems for first order or-
dinary differential equations; Linear homogeneous differential equation, ordinary
and singular points, series solution, Frobenius method; Linear nonhomogeneous dif-
ferential equation, solution by variation of parameters, Strum-Liouvilles problem;
Special functions: Legendre, Bessel and Hypergeometric; System of ordinary differ-
ential equations; Nonlinear dynamical systems: equilibrium points and their stabil-
ity analysis, Lyapunov function, bifurcation diagram; Partial differential equation
up to second order, equations of parabolic, hyperbolic and elliptic types.
5. Continuum Mechanics
Kinematics of fluid, equation of continuity, irrotational motion, velocity potential;
Dynamics of ideal fluid, Eulerian and Lagrangian equations of motion, stream func-
tion, sources, sinks and doublets, vortex, surface waves, boundary layer.
6. Functions of Complex Variables

Analytic function; Taylor and Laurent series; Singularities and their classification,
Branch-point; Contour integration, Cauchys residue theorem; Analytic continuation;
Entire function; Uniform convergence; Properties of uniformly convergent series,
power series.
Mechanics of a particle and system of particles, DAlemberts principle; velocity de-
pendent potential and dissipation function; Lagranges equations and their applica-
tions; Hamiltons principle, symmetry properties and conservation laws, Canonical
transformation; Hamiltons equation; Special theory of relativity, Galilean Transfor-
mations, Lorentz transformations, Simultaneity, time dilation and Lorentz contrac-
tion.
8. Probability and Stochastic Processes

General definition of expectation and conditional expectation; Different modes of
convergence and limit theorems; Stochastic processes; Martingales; Markov chains;
Stochastic process in continuous time, Poisson process; Brownian motion.

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Test Code : PHB : (Short Answer Type) 2015

Junior Research Fellowship in Theoretical Physics and Applied Mathematics

2. Let f be a real valued function defined on the interval [−2, 2] as:

(a) Find the range of the function.

Find the eigenvalue of A2014 .

6. X is a uniformly distributed random variable with probability density function

8. A point is chosen randomly from a triangle with sides of lengths 3 cm, 4 cm

16. Find the maximum possible value of xy 2 z 3 subject to the conditions x, y,

21. Suppose a, b, c are positive integers such that

Find the value of a + b + c.

22. Determine the greatest and least values of the function

in the interval [2, 3].

23. If the lines 3x − 4y + 4 = 0 and 6x − 8y − 7 = 0 are tangents to the same

1. Linear algebra : Matrices.

2. Abstract algebra : Groups, Rings, Fields.

3. Real analysis : Functions of single and several variables, Metric space,

4. Differential equations : ODE − Existence of solution, Fundamental system

5. Dynamics of particles and rigid bodies : Motion of a particle in a plane and

6. Functions of complex variables : Analytic function, Cauchy’s theorem, Taylor

7. Fluid Mechanics : Kinematics of fluid, Equation of continuity, Irrotational

8. Probability and statistics : Probability axioms, Conditional probability, Prob-

1. Consider a concave mirror in the shape of a parabola with focus F whose

2. Let φ : (Q, +) → (Q, +) be a homomorphism of the additive group of rationals

φ(x) = λx, for all x ∈ Q.

4. (a) Does there exist a hexagon with sides of lengths 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4 (with

Show that un ≤ a for some n ∈ N .

5. (a) A body of mass M is suspended from a fixed point O by a light inexten-

6. (a) Show that

7. (a) Show that x3n + yn3 → 0 implies xn + yn → 0. Is the reverse implication

f (x) = 0, where x is irrational

9. (a) Using Laplace transformation, solve the differential equation

10. Expand the function

11. Show that

(x − y)y 2 p + (y − x)x2 q = (x2 + y 2 )z

Y ′′ (t) − Y (t) = 1 + e3t

3. Statistical Physics and Condensed Matter Physics

4. Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Field Theory

1. Consider a particle of mass m constrained to move on a frictionless circular

(a) Set up the Lagrangian for this system (upto a constant).

3. Two pendulums of mass m and length l are coupled by a massless spring

5. (a) A photon of energy Ei is scattered by an electron of mass me that is

|ψ(0)i = N (|0i + 2|1i + 3|2i)

where N is the normalization

(a) Find the normalization constant N .

13. (a) A particle is initially in its ground state in a one-dimensional harmonic

(a) Write down the Lagrangian and the equation of motion.

Junior Research Fellowship in Physics and Applied Mathematics

2. Let f be a real valued function defined on the interval [−2, 2] as:

(a) Find the range of the function.

3. Let A = (aij ) be a 17 × 17 matrix with entries aij defined as follows.

Is A invertible? Justify your answer.

7. A point is chosen randomly from a triangle with sides of lengths 3 cm, 4 cm

9. Displacement of a particle executing periodic motion is given by y = 4 cos2 (t) sin(5t).

15. Find the maximum possible value of xy 2 z 3 subject to the conditions x, y,

where g is the acceleration due to gravity.

20. Suppose a, b, c are positive integers such that

Find the value of a + b + c.

21. Determine the greatest and least values of the function

in the interval [2, 3].

22. If the lines 3x − 4y + 4 = 0 and 6x − 8y − 7 = 0 are tangents to the same