UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

EXAMINATION FOR INTERNAL STUDENTS

MODULE CODE : PHAS1246
ASSESSMENT
: PHAS1246A
PATTERN
MODULE NAME :
Mathematical Methods II
DATE
: 17-May-12
TIME : 14:30
TIME ALLOWED : 2 Hours 30 Minutes
2011/12-PHAS1246A-001-EXAM-205
2011
University College London
TURN OVER
Answer ALL questions from Part A and THREE questions from
Part B
A formula sheet is attached after the end of the paper
The numbers in square brackets in the right-hand margin indicate the provisional
allo-
cation of maximum marks per sub-section of a question.
[Part marks]
Part A
1. Given the matrix
[5]
/ 1 2 3
A = 4 1 5
6 0 2
calculate its trace and its determinant, and write down its transpose AT
.
2. Write the momentum four-vector of a particle that has
a rest mass of 80 GeV/c2,
energy 100 GeV and moves along the z-axis. What is its speed as a fraction of the
speed of light?
[5]
3. A muon (m
0.1 GeV) is produced with energy 10 GeV in
a cosmic ray cascade, [6]
10km from the surface of the earth and travels vertically towards the surface.
Given that the muon lifetime is
2 as in its rest frame, use time dilation and
length contraction to explain how an observer riding along with the
muon and an
observer from the earth interpret the fact that most of the time such
a muon makes
it down to the surface of the earth before decaying.
4. Calculate the work done by the force F = (x y)i x) j, when it is applied to
a body that moves on the x
y plane from point (2, 2) to point (4,8) along:
(a) the straight line 'connecting the two points; and
[5]
(b) the parabola y = x2/2.
[3]
PHAS1246/2012
PLEASE TURN OVER
1
(y
a:
[Part marks]
5. (a) Show that a linear, first-order differential equation [4]
dy
dx + P (x)y = Q (x)
has the general solution
(x) S
(x)L1 S (x)Q (x) dx +
where C is an arbitrary constant and
8(x) = exp [f P(x) dx] .
(b) Use the above method to solve the following differential equation
dy
(x 2)
dx
y = (x 2)3
and find the solution that satisfies y = 10 for x = 4.
[4]
6. (a) Given the differential equation [4]
A(x y) + B (x, y)
dx
y
explain what the condition is for the above to be solved using the perfect
differential method.
(b) Show that the LHS of the differential equation
(y2 x)dx 2ydy = 0
is not a perfect differential, but if you multiply it by e it becomes one. Use
this to derive a general solution to the above equation.
PHAS1246/2012 CONTINUED
2
[4]
= 0 ,
+
Part B
[Part marks]
7. A simple harmonic oscillator, with natural frequency wo, experiences an oscillating
driving force f(t) = cos wt . Therefore, its equation of motion is
d2x
dt2
wo2x = cos wt ,
where x is the position.
(a) Given that at t = 0 we have x 0 and dx/dt = 0 , show that the trajectory [16]
of the oscillator is given by
x(t) = 1
2 2
(cos Wt cos CAJot) .
C4i0 (4)
(b) Describe the solution (i.e. the motion) if w is approximately, but not exactly, [4]
equal to wo. (Hints: cos a cos b = 2 sin[(b a)/2] sin[(b a)/2] and for small
0, sin 0 O.)
8. Using volume integrals and appropriate coordinate systems, calculate:
(a) the volume of a sphere of radius Rs, assuming that the sphere is centred at [4]
the origin of the coordinates system; how would you change the limits of
integration to calculate that part of the volume of the sphere that lies in the
positive z hemisphere?
(b) the volume of a cylinder that has radius R, and height h;
[3]
(c) the volume of a cone of base radius R, and height h; and
[5]
(d) The fraction of a sphere's volume that is above the plane z = a Rs, where [8]
0 < a < 1, assuming again that the sphere is centred at the origin of the
coordinates system. Verify that your solution gives 0 for a = 1 (when the
plane touches the sphere tangentially) and 1/2 for a = 0 (when the plane cuts
the sphere in two halves).
PHAS1246/2012 PLEASE TURN OVER
3
=
+
[Part marks]
9. A particle H, with rest mass mH and energy E, is traveling along the x-axis in the
lab frame, in the positive direction.
(a) 'Express the momentum, p, of H, in terms of E and mH, and write down its [4]
momentum four-vector in its rest frame and in the lab frame.
(b) Prove that E = limHc2, where -y is the particle's boost factor. [4]
(c) At some point, H decays to two photons. In the rest frame of H, the two [6]
photons are emitted on the x y plane, in opposite directions along a line
that forms an angle a with the x-axis. Derive the momentum four-vectors of
the two photons in the lab frame.
(d) Show that the cosine of the angle between the trajectories of the two photons [6]
in the lab frame, as a function of the angle a above, is
02
02 sing
cos 0 =
1 )32 cost
where 6 = v/c. If a = 7r/2 and mH = 125 GeV /c2, what should be the energy
of H so that the angular separation between the two photons is 60 degrees?
10. (a) Evaluate the determinant
[5]
gc ge a+ ge gb+ ge
0 b b
c e e b e
b b+f b+d
using as much as possible properties of determinants that can help simplify
your calculations.
(b) Express the following equations
[7]
x+2y+z = 4
3x 4y 2z = 2
'5x+ 3y+ 5z = 1
in matrix form and solve them using the inverse matrix technique.
(c) Using Cramer's rule, evaluate x from the equations above. [4]
(d) Show that the product of two orthogonal matrices is also an orthogonal matrix. [4]
What do orthogonal matrices represent?
PHAS1246/2012 CONTINUED
4
1
a
+ a
[Part marks]
11. (a) Write the cartesian coordinates (x, y, z) as functions of the spherical polar
coordinates (r, 0, 0).
(b) Derive the Jacobian of the transformation from spherical to cartesian coordi- [6]
nates. What does the Jacobian represent?
(c) By making two successive, simple changes of variables, evaluate [6]
[3]
I=1,11 x2dxdydz
inside the volume of the ellipsoid
y2
z2
a2 b2 c2 R2
where a, b, c and R are constants.
(d) Give the definitions of Hermitian and Unitary matrices and show that if A is
Hermitian and U is unitary then U'AU is also Hermitian.
PHAS1246/2012
5
[5]
END OF QUESTION PAPER
TURN OVER FOR FORMULA
SHEET
x2
+ +
Formula Sheet
The Lorentz transformation relating a four-vectoi defined in frame S to that defined
in the frame S' which is moving along the x axis of S with speed v is
a' \ 0 0 \ / xl \
b' 0 1 0 0
X2
0 0 1 0 x3
\ d' 0 0 'y I \ x4 /
where c is the speed of light, and the boost factor -y is defined as:
1
7
ic
For the position four-vector, x1 = x, x2 = y, x3 z, x4 = ct, and for the energy momen-
tum four-vector, xi = px, x2 = Py, X3 = pz, x4 = El c.
Planck's constant h = 4.14 x 10-15 eV
Speed of light c = 3.00 x 108 m
Mass of the electron (and positron) me = 0.5 MeV/c
PHAS1246/2012 END OF FORMULA SHEET
6
. . .
/ / 7
c'
/ 71)-
A/1
=
s.
. .
.