PYL113: MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS

TUTORIAL SHEET 3
1. Prove the following property in the context of Fourier transformation:
FT

f (s)ds =

1
f (!) + 2c (!),
i!

where c is the constant of integration.

2. By applying Fourier Inversion theorem prove that

exp(
2

| t |) =

3. Find the Fourier transform of

(
f (t) =

d!

cos !t
.
1 + !2

1, | t |< 1,
0, otherwise.

(a) Determine the convolution of f with itself and without further

integration, deduce its transform.
(b) Deduce that
Z
Z

1
1
1
1

sin2 !
d! = ,
!2
sin4 !
2
d! =
.
4
!
3

4. In class, we saw that the Fourier transform of a Gaussian is also a

Gaussian. Another frequently encountered function is a Lorentzian:
L(x) =

1
x2 +

Obtain the Fourier transform of this function.

5. A semi-infinite rectangular metal plate occupies the region 0 x 1
and 0 y b in the xy-plane. The two long sides and the far end of
1

the plate is fixed at 0o C and the x = 0 edge is at a temperature uo .

The steady state distribution is given by
u(x, t) =

1
X

Bn exp( nx/b) sin(nx/b).

n=1

Evaluate the constants Bn .

6. (a) Find the Fourier transform of
f ( , p, t) =
where

e
0,

sin pt, t > 0,

t < 0,

(> 0) and p are the constants.

(b) The current I(t) flowing through a certain system is related to the
applied voltage V (t) by the equation
I(t) =

K(t

u)V (u)du,

where K(t) = a1 f ( 1 , p1 , ) + a2 f ( 2 , p2 , ). The function f ( , p, t)

is as given in (a) and all the ai , i (> 0) and pi are fixed parameters.
By considering the Fourier transform of I(t), find the relationship
that must hold between a1 and a2 if the total net charge Q passed
through the system (over a very long time) is to be zero for and
arbitrary applied voltage.
7. A linear amplifier produces an output that is the convolution of its
input and its response function. The Fourier transform of the response
function for a particular amplifier is
e
K(!)
=p

i!
.
2 ( + i!)2

Determine the time variation of its output g(t) when its input is the
Heaviside step function.

8. For some ion-atom scattering processes, the potential is given by:

V =| r1 ~ r~2 |

exp ( | r~1

r~2 |) .

Show, using the worked example in subsection 13.1.10, that the probability that the ion will scatter from say, p~1 to p~2 is proportional to
2
(2 + k 2 ) where k =| ~k | and
~k = 1 [(p~2
2~

p~1 )

(p~1

p~2 )] .

9. Calculate directly the auto-correlation function a(z) for the product of

the exponential decay distribution and Heaviside step function
f (t) =

H(t).

Use Fourier transform and energy spectrum of f (t) to deduce that

Z

1
1

ei!z

d! = e
2 + !2

|z|

10. The one-dimensional neutron diusion equation with a (plane) source

is
D

d2 (x)
+ K 2 D (x) = Q (x),
dx2

where (x) is the neutron flux, Q (x) is the source at x = 0, and D

and K 2 are constant. Obtain the solution of the dierential equation
using the Fourier transform technique.