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 t, y = cos t.

Show that the trajectory repeats itself periodically, only if is a rational
number.

1
 Zx
5. It is given that (1) = 2 and f (x) = (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?
/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.

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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 ).
Show that the height of the ball in time t is
g 1

y(t) = h t 1 et

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.

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 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, Cauchys 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 : (Q, +) (Q, +) be a homomorphism of the additive group of rationals

into itself. Show that for some Q

(x) = x, for all x Q.

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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.

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 8. Show that if the solution of the ODE

2xy + (3 2x) y + 2y = 0

an xn+ , where 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 2
(b) Using f (x) = x2 , < x < , show that = .
n=1
n2 12

10. Expand the function

f (x) = x2 , 0 < x < 2
in a Fourier Series when the period is 2. Hence show that

1 1 2
+ + . . . = .
12 22 6

11. Show that

!
sin x Y x2
= 1 2 2
x r=1
r
(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 = rei 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 xn 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 .

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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
Z2
d
15. Using a suitable contour evaluate .
3 2 cos + sin
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

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
=xy
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() with > 0. Show that for all t > 0, the value of
E(X/X > t) t does not depend on t.

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 PART-III
Theoretical Physics
Syllabus

1. Classical Mechanics
Mechanics of a particle and system of particles, Scattering in a central field,
Lagranges equation and their applications, Hamiltons equation, Canonical
transformation, Special theory of relativity, Small oscillation, Vibration and
acoustics.

2. Electromagnetic theory
Electrostatics, Magnetostatics, Classical electrodynamics, Maxwells equations,
Gauge transformation, Poyntings 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, Schrodinger 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 about a vertical
axis passing through its center. [Assume that at any instant of time the mass
is at a position (t)]

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

(b) Write down the equation of motion for the particle.

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 (c) Find out the equilibrium positions where the mass would settle down
when changes.

2. A projectile is fired uphill over the ground which slopes at an angle 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

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 0 . 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 be the angle
between the directions of the incident photon and the scattered photon.
Using the principles of Special Theory of Relativity find .
(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.

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6. (a) A sphere of radius R1 has charge density 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 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 = r is the electric field at the surface of the sphere and
40 r2
0 is the permittivity of the free space.
7. (a) Consider a possible solution to Maxwells equation given by
~ x, t) = A0 ei(~k.~xt) , (~x, t) = 0
A(~
where A ~ is the vector potential and is the scalar potential. Further,
suppose A ~ 0 , ~k and are constants in space-time. Give and interpret the
constraints on A ~ 0 , ~k and imposed by each of the Maxwells 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 a , a and b , b 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

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 free
elec-
2x
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
2n
n = 2(1 cos( ))
N
where 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 T , where A is a constant.
Determine the exponents and . (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 109 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 /a < k < /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

H = h 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

|(0)i = N (|0i + 2|1i + 3|2i)

where N is the normalization

constant
and |ni is the eigenket of corresponding
1
energy eigenvalue En = h n + 2 .

(a) Find the normalization constant N .

3
(b) Calculate the probability of finding the energy to be 2 h on energy
measurement.

11
 (c) Find the ket vector |(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 V (t) = xet where 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 x2 . If the coupling constant 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 + mc2 + V (r) where the
.~
~ = ihc(~
symbols have their usual meaning. Show that [H, L] 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 (x) with a 4 interaction
with 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 . 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+ + 0
0 K0 + 0
p + p 0 + 0
0 K+ + K
n p + e
p e + + e
+ e+ +

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(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.

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