Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2016/ia/paper-3/12c/c/solution

Away from the origin, the given vector field is the gradient of the globally single-valued radius:
The sphere has centre , at distance from the origin, and radius one. Its intersection circle is therefore wholly away from the origin, since every point on the sphere has distance at least . Along the closed curve the chain rule gives . Consequently, independently of orientation,
The intersection is nondegenerate: the centre's distance from the plane is . No parametrization of the resulting circle is needed because is a potential of a conservative vector field throughout the punctured space.

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