APPLIED MATH QUALIFYING EXAM

Duration: 3 hours
Please answer four questions from part A and three questions from part B. All ques-
tions are weighted evenly and worth 10 points. Please provide clear and complete
explanations of all steps taken, and make sure to justify any assumptions you make in
the process. Answers to each question should be provided on separate pages.
In order to pass the exam you need to satisfy all of the following conditions:
• demonstrate a complete understanding of at least 3 problems (out of 6) in Part
A,
• demonstrate a complete understanding of at least 2 problems (out of 4) in Part
B,
• obtain a total score of at least 42 points.
Good luck!

A. Core material
Answer four of the following six questions.

Problem A.1. Let V be a finite dimensional vector space over over the field R, and
let h−, −i be an inner product on this vector space. Suppose that W is a subspace of
V . Let
W ⊥ = {v ∈ V | hv, wi = 0 for all w ∈ W }.
(a) Prove that W ⊥ is a subspace of W .
(b) Prove that W ⊥ ∩ W = {0}.

Problem A.2. Let V = Rn and let h−, −i denote the standard inner product on V ,
i.e., hv, wi = v1 w1 + · · · + vn wn for v, w ∈ Rn . Let A be an n × n symmetric matrix, i.e,
A> = A, with entries in R. Suppose that W ⊆ V is a subspace such that for all v ∈ W ,
the vector Av ∈ W . Prove that for all v ∈ W ⊥ , we have Av ∈ W ⊥ . (Here, W ⊥ is the
same as in the previous question.)

Problem A.3. In each part below, let f : R → R be continuous, and periodic,

f (x + 1) = f (x), ∀x ∈ R.
(a) Show that f is uniformly bounded and uniformly continuous on R.
(b) Let a < b. Use (a) to show that
Z b
lim (f (x + t) − f (x)) dx = 0.
t→0 a
Z (t+1)
(c) Prove that f (x) dx is independent of t.
t
Z t
(d) Give a necessary and sufficient condition under which g(t) = f (x) dx defines
0
a continuous periodic function, g(t+1) = g(t), ∀t ∈ R, and verify your assertion.

Date: 18 January 2022.

1
Problem A.4. Assume (xn )n∈N is a sequence of real numbers such that
1
(1) |xn+1 − xn | ≤ p , ∀n ∈ N.
n
(a) If p > 1 prove that the sequence is convergent.
(b) Find an example of a sequence (xn )n∈N for which (1) holds with p = 1, but the
sequence diverges.

Problem A.5. Let f be an analytic function in the disk D = {z ∈ C : |z| < R} and γ
be the counterclockwise oriented circle |ζ| = r where 0 < r < R.
(a) For any point z such that |z| < r, prove that
Z  
1 1 1
f (z) = f (ζ) − dζ .
2πi γ ζ − z ζ − (r2 /z̄)
(b) For z as in part (a), write z = ρeiα . Use (a) to deduce an expression for
u(z) = Ref (z) in terms of an integral involving the angle variable θ.
Problem A.6. Evaluate the integral
Z ∞
cos x
dx .
−∞ (1 + x2 )2

2
 B. Applied math
Answer three of the following four questions.

Problem B.1.

(a) Consider the family of ODEs: ẋ = r + x − 13 x3 . Sketch three vector fields for
r = 0, r large and positive, r large and negative, identifying the stability of the
fixed points.
(b) Find all the bifurcation(s) that occur as r is varied, and determine the bifurcation
point(s) (x∗ , r) exactly.
(c) Sketch the bifurcation diagram and identify the type of bifurcations occurring.
(d) Suppose r starts at r = −2 and is slowly increased to r = 2, and then decreased
slowly back to r = −2. Sketch on a copy of the bifurcation diagram how you
expect a solution near the equilibrium solution to vary during this procedure.
Problem B.2. Consider the family of 2D nonlinear systems for µ ∈ R:
(
ẋ = µx − y − x(x2 + y 2 )
(1)
ẏ = x + µy − 2y(x2 + y 2 )
(a) Show that all solutions satisfy limt→∞ (x(t), y(t)) = ~0 when µ < 0 and µ = 0.
(b) By finding the Jacobian matrix at the fixed point ~0, find a value of µ for which
there could be a bifurcation.
(c) In case µ = 1, show that there is at least one periodic orbit for this system when
µ = 1.
(d) From all the above, what type of bifurcation should be observed? Is it super-
critical or subcritical?
Problem B.3. Prove that the principle of decreasing energy holds for the heat equation
with Neumann boundary conditions,

 ut (t, x) − kuxx (t, x) = f (t, x) for (t, x) ∈ [0, T ] × [0, L]
ux (t, 0) = g (t) and ux (t, L) = h (t) for t ∈ [0, T ] ,
u (0, x) = φ (x) for x ∈ [0, L]

RL
i.e. prove that for any solution w, the energy E (t) ≡ 0 21 w (t, x)2 dx is a decreasing
function of time t.

√
Problem B.4. Let Xn (x) = 2 sin nx so that the functions {Xn }∞ n=1 form an or-
thonormal basis of L2 ([0, π]) with respect to the real inner product
1 π
Z
hf, Xn i = f (x) Xn (x) dx.
π 0
(a) Define the Fourier sine series on [0, π] of a function f ∈ L2 ([0, π]).
(b) Compute the Fourier sine series on [0, π] of the function f (x) ≡ x defined for
0 ≤ x ≤ π.