Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 20 2 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
The Hamiltonian perturbation preserving one regular level is explicit:Linearity of the Hamiltonian vector field in the differential of a smooth map givesIt vanishes on . At a point of , its contraction with the symplectic form isSince the differentials are independent there, this vanishes exactly when . Thus on every nonempty nonzero regular fibre the two Hamiltonian vector fields differ at every point, not merely as functions somewhere:Mutual Poisson commutation of the is unnecessary; the given first-integral property does not by itself make the perturbed flow preserve every common level, nor is that requested.
There is a genuine missing nonemptiness hypothesis in the literal statement. Independent differentials on an empty set is a vacuous condition, and any two vector-field restrictions to an empty set are equal. For example, on let , , and . Every nonempty , , is regular, while for . In particular, the restrictions at can never be unequal for any . Therefore the printed universal inequality requires either all the compared fibres to be nonempty, or the pointwise formulation displayed above. The explicit fully proves either intended qualification.