Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2006/ii/paper-1/9c/solution

Let be the Jacobian of an invertible change of phase coordinates, and set . The chain rule gives , whence
Therefore the necessary and sufficient condition to retain Hamilton's equations for arbitrary Hamiltonians is
equivalently . In one degree of freedom this is the Poisson bracket condition .
Put . On a smooth branch of the angular coordinate,
Consequently . The transformation is canonical for every real on each angular-coordinate chart. The origin is excluded and a single-valued arctangent cannot give a global chart on the punctured plane; using an angle modulo accounts for the usual branch qualification.

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