Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/iii/paper-8/1/b/solution

For , differentiability with respect to initial data gives the variational equation
The Jacobi determinant derivative formula gives
The mixed derivatives in the Hamiltonian vector field cancel:
Consequently , and gives preservation of phase space volume:
The same argument applies to for every starting time . This is the Liouville theorem in Hamiltonian mechanics. Explicit time dependence of does not affect the cancellation.

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