Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-short-options-paper-shared-by-prelims-and-parts-a-and-b-of-the-physics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2012/s7/3/1/solution

Let and consider the infinitesimal fixed-time transformation . It induces . Expanding the Lagrangian gives
On a solution of the Euler-Lagrange equations, , so this equals . Exact invariance makes the left side zero, proving the fixed-time form of Noether's theorem:
The symmetry direction need not coincide with one original coordinate axis; can depend on the generalized coordinates. The conclusion is evaluated on physical trajectories, while the assumed invariance is a property of the Lagrangian under the transformation.

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