Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/iii/paper-17/5/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 17 5 Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-14
A compatible almost complex structure is a smooth endomorphism satisfying , preserving , and making a positive-definite inner product. Preservation and make this bilinear form symmetric.
To construct one, choose any Riemannian metric and define by . The endomorphism is skew-adjoint and invertible. Consequently is positive definite and self-adjoint. Let be its positive square root and setThe spectral theorem gives fibrewise, and the positive-square-root operation is smooth on positive-definite matrices, so this defines a smooth endomorphism. Since commutes with , . Also , so . Commutation then givesThis is the metric construction of a compatible almost complex structure, proving nonemptiness.
If we start with for an already compatible , then , so , , and the construction recovers . For two compatible structures, linearly interpolate their metrics,and apply the construction to . This is a continuous smooth-in- path with endpoints . Thus the space is nonempty and path connected. Interpolating instead to a single fixed auxiliary metric actually gives the contractibility of compatible almost complex structures.
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