Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2014/iii/paper-16/3/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 16 3 a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Moser's trick turns variation of symplectic forms into an equation for a time-dependent vector field. Let , , be a smooth path of symplectic forms on a compact manifold without boundary, with a constant de Rham cohomology class. Choose a smooth family of one-forms such that . Such a smooth choice can be made using a fixed auxiliary metric; the essential requirement is this exactness throughout the path.
Nondegeneracy uniquely determines byLet be its flow, with . Compactness ensures existence over the whole parameter interval. By Cartan's magic formula,ThusThe path is made constant by a diffeomorphism moving with . Every interpolating form must be nondegenerate; equal endpoint cohomology alone does not ensure that every linearly interpolated form is a symplectic form. On a noncompact manifold one instead needs completeness of this flow, or restricts to a sufficiently small neighborhood, as in the local argument below.
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