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A smooth interval family of contact forms on a compact manifold without boundary is carried back to its initial contact distribution by a smooth isotopy. The pullback of each form is a positive smooth multiple of the initial form. Solve for the horizontal generator of contact stability and integrate the resulting scalar equation for the contact conformal factor along an isotopy.

Put ${\xi }_t=\ker {\alpha }_t$, the contact distribution. If $\dim M=2r+1$, the contact form condition is ${\alpha }_t\wedge (d{\alpha }_t{)}^r\ne 0$. It implies that $d{\alpha }_t{|}_{{\xi }_t}$ is a symplectic form on each contact hyperplane: inserting a vector transverse to ${\xi }_t$ in that volume form leaves the nonzero top exterior power $(d{\alpha }_t{|}_{{\xi }_t}{)}^r$. Hence there is a unique smooth time-dependent vector field $Y_t\in {\xi }_t$ satisfyingIts smoothness follows by inverting the smoothly varying nondegenerate matrix of this contact distribution symplectic form. This is the horizontal generator of contact stability.

Let $R_t$ be the Reeb vector field of ${\alpha }_t$. The one-form ${\dot{\alpha }}_t+{\iota }_{Y_t}d{\alpha }_t$ vanishes on ${\xi }_t$, so it is $h_t{\alpha }_t$. Evaluating on $R_t$, using ${\alpha }_t(R_t)=1$ and ${\iota }_{R_t}d{\alpha }_t=0$, identifies the coefficient:By Cartan's magic formula, the Lie derivative of a differential form isbecause $Y_t$ lies in the contact hyperplane.

Let ${\rho }_t$ solve ${\partial }_t{\rho }_t=Y_t\circ {\rho }_t$, with ${\rho }_0={\mathrm{id}}_M$. Since $M$ is compact without boundary and $Y_t$ is smooth on the closed time interval, its solutions cannot escape and exist for the entire interval. Reversing the time-dependent equation supplies a smooth inverse for each ${\rho }_t$. Thus these flow maps give a smooth isotopy. Differentiating the pullback of a differential form along this isotopy yieldsFor each base point this is a scalar linear equation for a covector, initially ${\alpha }_0$. Its solution isBy finite-time flow completeness on a compact manifold, this construction gives the whole time interval. The contact conformal factor along an isotopy is smooth in $(t,x)$ and nowhere zero, proving Gray stability theorem. The precise domains here are ${\rho }_t:M\to M$ and $\rho :M\times [0,1]\to M$; the extra time factor attached to the already indexed ${\rho }_t$ in the source is a notational slip. The proof produces the required family on its whole specified interval. If a parameter domain of all $\mathbb{R}$ is intended, extend the smooth field slightly beyond $[0,1]$, multiply it by a time cutoff, and use compactness to obtain the extended isotopy $\rho :M\times \mathbb{R}\to M$. Its restriction to $[0,1]$ is unchanged.