Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2003/iii/paper-57/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 iii Paper 57 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
A Poisson manifold is a smooth manifold with a bilinear bracket on that is antisymmetric, satisfies the Jacobi identity and obeys . Equivalently it has a bivector defining with vanishing Schouten bracket ; nondegeneracy is not required.
For a symplectic manifold, define the Hamiltonian vector field by and put . Nondegeneracy gives a unique , antisymmetry is inherited from , and proves the Leibniz rule. Moreover by Cartan's magic formula. Since ,For completeness, evaluate on . Its three derivative terms sum to minus the cyclic sum of , and its three bracket terms sum to minus the same cyclic sum, using the displayed identity. Hence that sum is zero. This proves the Jacobi identity for the Poisson bracket, not merely the Jacobi identity modulo constants. The inverse of a closed nondegenerate two-form therefore defines a Poisson manifold.
The Symplectic Darboux theorem says that near every point of a -dimensional symplectic manifold there are coordinates withThus every symplectic structure has the same local normal form, despite possible global topological differences.
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