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A symplectic manifold is a smooth even-dimensional manifold $X^{2n}$ with a closed, nondegenerate differential two-form $\omega$. A Lagrangian submanifold $L\subset X$ has dimension $n$ and $\omega {|}_{TL}=0$; equivalently $T_{x}L=(T_{x}L{)}^{\omega }$ at every point.

On $T^{\ast }M$, let $\pi :T^{\ast }M\to M$ and define the canonical one-form on a cotangent bundle by ${\theta }_{(q,p)}(v)=p(d\pi (v))$. In local coordinates $\theta ={\sum }_i{p}_{i}d{q}_i$, so our sign convention givesThe intrinsic definition of $\theta$ makes this form globally defined. It is closed because $d^2=0$, and its displayed coordinate matrix is invertible. The zero section pulls $\theta$, and therefore ${\omega }_0$, back to zero and has half the total dimension. It is a Lagrangian submanifold.

We prove the Weinstein neighborhood theorem, rather than merely invoking it. Along a Lagrangian submanifold $L\subset (X,\omega )$, choose a compatible almost complex structure $J$; its existence is proved by the metric construction in Question 5. Then $JL$ at the tangent-bundle level means $J(TL)$, andIndeed, $Jv\in TL$ with $v\in TL$ would imply $0=\omega (v,Jv)$, forcing $v=0$. Also $\omega (Ju,Jv)=\omega (u,v)=0$ for $u,v\in TL$, so $J(TL)$ is a Lagrangian complement. Identify a normal vector $n\in J(TL)$ with the covector $\eta (v)=\omega (v,n)$. This is a vector-bundle isomorphism with $T^{\ast }L$, and under itwhich is exactly the form ${\omega }_0$ along the zero section. The tubular neighborhood theorem therefore supplies a smooth map $F$ from a neighborhood of that section to a neighborhood of $L$, restricting to the identity and with this derivative along $L$.

Write ${\omega }_1=F^{\ast }\omega$ and $\delta ={\omega }_1-{\omega }_0$. This closed differential form vanishes as an entire bilinear form along the zero section. The relative Poincaré lemma gives $\delta =d\beta$ with $\beta$ zero along the section. Explicitly, if $r_s(q,p)=(q,sp)$ and $R=\sum p_i{\partial }_{p_i}$, useThe homotopy identity gives $d\beta =\delta -r_0^{\ast }\delta =\delta$; the vanishing at the section ensures smoothness of this integral. The forms ${\omega }_t={\omega }_0+t\delta$ are nondegenerate on a sufficiently small neighborhood of the section for all $0\le t\le 1$. Solve uniquelyThe vector field $Y_t$ vanishes on the section. After another neighborhood shrink its flow ${\varphi }_t$ exists up to time one and fixes the section. For noncompact $L$, the sizes of these neighborhoods may vary with the base point; no compactness of $L$ is required for the local conclusion. By Cartan's magic formula,Thus $(F\circ {\varphi }_1{)}^{\ast }\omega ={\omega }_0$. This establishes the universal neighborhood model, with the Lagrangian submanifold identified with the zero section.

For the section $s_{\alpha }(q)=(q,{\alpha }_q)$, the canonical differential one-form satisfies $s_{\alpha }^{\ast }\theta =\alpha$. HenceIts dimension is already half that of $T^{\ast }M$, so vanishing of this pullback is sufficient as well as necessary.

Suppose now that a smooth open six-dimensional region were a fiber bundle with Lagrangian submanifolds diffeomorphic to $S^3$ as its fibres. Fix one compact fibre $L$. Smooth local triviality and compactness imply that the other sufficiently nearby fibres are $C^1$-close embeddings of $L$. In the Weinstein neighborhood, projection to $L$ restricts on each such fibre to a local diffeomorphism close to the identity. It has degree one, and compactness makes it a covering map, so it is a diffeomorphism. Each nearby fibre is therefore a graph of a closed differential one-form $\alpha$ on $S^3$. Since $H^1(S^3;\mathbb{R})=0$, this is $df$ for a smooth real function $f$. A maximum of $f$ exists by compactness, and there $df=0$. The graph meets the original zero section, contradicting disjointness of different fibres. No such Lagrangian three-sphere fibration exists. More generally this is the compact first-cohomology obstruction to a Lagrangian fibration.

Fix the sign convention ${\iota }_{{\xi }_M}\omega =-d{\mu }^{\xi }$, where ${\xi }_M$ is the fundamental vector field and ${\mu }^{\xi }=⟨\mu ,\xi ⟩$. A Hamiltonian group action is a symplectic Lie group action together with an equivariant moment map $\mu :M\to {\mathfrak{g}}^{\ast }$ satisfying this identity for every $\xi \in \mathfrak{g}$. Equivariance means $\mu (gx)={\mathrm{Ad}}_{g^{-1}}^{\ast }\mu (x)$. Merely requiring each fundamental field to have some Hamiltonian is the weaker condition of a weakly Hamiltonian action.

For a circle group action, identify its Lie algebra with $\mathbb{R}$, and let $Y$ generate the action. Put $Z={\mu }^{-1}(t)$ and let $i:Z\hookrightarrow M$. Since $t$ is a regular value,The action is free, so $Y_x\ne 0$. The symplectic orthogonal complement of this hyperplane is exactly $\mathbb{R}{Y}_x$, which is contained in $T_{x}Z$. ThusThe free action of the compact circle group is proper, and the quotient $Q=Z/S^1$ is a smooth manifold with projection $\pi :Z\to Q$ a principal bundle. The form $i^{\ast }\omega$ is invariant and kills the orbit directions, hence is basic and descends to a unique two-form ${\omega }_Q$ satisfying ${\pi }^{\ast }{\omega }_Q=i^{\ast }\omega$. It is closed because pullback by a submersion detects differential forms. If a quotient tangent vector annihilates ${\omega }_Q$, a lift lies in the displayed kernel and hence projects to zero. Therefore ${\omega }_Q$ is nondegenerate. This proves symplectic reduction directly.

If $L\subset Q$ is a Lagrangian submanifold, its inverse image $\tilde{L}={\pi }^{-1}(L)$ is a smooth circle bundle over $L$. The restricted symplectic form is ${\pi }^{\ast }({\omega }_Q{|}_L)=0$. If $\dim M=2N$, then $\dim Q=2N-2$, $\dim L=N-1$, and $\dim \tilde{L}=N$, proving that $\tilde{L}$ is Lagrangian. This is the Lagrangian lift through circle reduction.

For scalar multiplication on ${\mathbb{C}}^{n+1}$, the generator is $Y={\sum }_j(-y_j{\partial }_{x_j}+x_j{\partial }_{y_j})$. Direct contraction givesChoose $t>0$. Its level is the sphere of radius $R=\sqrt{2t}$ and its quotient is ${\mathbb{CP}}^n$. Complex conjugation on the sphere reverses the ambient symplectic form and descends to an anti-symplectic involution of the quotient. Its fixed set is ${\mathbb{RP}}^n$: a projective point fixed by conjugation has a real representative after a phase change. For two tangent vectors to this fixed set, anti-symplecticity makes the reduced form equal to its negative, so it vanishes. The real dimension is $n$, half the quotient dimension, proving the Lagrangian fixed locus of an anti-symplectic involution property.

The lifted Lagrangian submanifold can be written explicitly asThe only redundancy in this parametrization is the displayed free involution: two nonzero real representatives on the same complex ray differ by a real sign. The quotient embeds smoothly in the sphere, and projection to $[x]\in {\mathbb{RP}}^n$ exhibits its circle bundle structure. Its Lagrangian property follows from the reduction argument, including the case $n=0$.

For the graph embedding $\iota (q)=(q,p(q))$, pull back the symplectic form in Darboux coordinates:The coordinate two-forms are linearly independent. The graph has dimension $n$, so it is a Lagrangian submanifold exactly when this pullback vanishes, equivalently when its displayed coefficient matrix is symmetric.

Let ${\theta }_L={\sum }_i{p}_i(q)d{q}^i$. Then $d{\theta }_L=-{\iota }^{\ast }\omega$, so the same condition says that ${\theta }_L$ is a closed differential form. On a sufficiently small contractible coordinate neighborhood the Poincaré lemma supplies $S$ with ${\theta }_L=dS$. ConsequentlyOne explicit primitive on a star-shaped neighborhood of $q_0$ is $S(q)=S(q_0)+{\int }_0^1{p}_i(q_0+t(q-q_0))(q^i-q_0^i)dt$. Differentiate it and use ${\partial }_j{p}_i={\partial }_i{p}_j$ to recognize the derivative of $t{p}_j(q_0+t(q-q_0))$; the result is ${\partial }_{j}S=p_j(q)$. Conversely $p=dS$ has symmetric mixed derivatives and gives a Lagrangian graph. This construction requires the local projection to the $q$ coordinates to be nonsingular. A general Lagrangian submanifold need not be such a graph in a preassigned chart, and a closed one-form on a larger domain need not be globally exact.

A Lagrangian submanifold of a $2n$-dimensional symplectic manifold $(M,\omega )$ is an $n$-dimensional submanifold $L$ such that the pullback of $\omega$ to $L$ is zero. Equivalently, each tangent space $T_{x}L$ is its own symplectic orthogonal. The dimension condition makes it maximally isotropic: in a nondegenerate alternating vector space no isotropic subspace has dimension greater than $n$.

In geometric quantization, a line bundle with a connection on a vector bundle whose curvature is proportional to $\omega /\hslash$ provides the initial quantum-state space. A real polarization foliates phase space locally by Lagrangian leaves; requiring sections to be covariantly constant along these leaves reduces their independent variables by half. The curvature restricts to zero on a Lagrangian leaf, allowing local flat sections. Globally its holonomy can impose the familiar Bohr-Sommerfeld quantization condition. Thus Lagrangian submanifolds describe choices of quantum configuration data and the support of semiclassical states, rather than requiring simultaneous sharp values of all position and momentum coordinates.

For the thermodynamic application, regard $(S,V,N)$ as base coordinates $q^i$ and $(T,-P,\mu )$ as fiber coordinates $p_i$ on $T^{\ast }{\mathbb{R}}^3$. The canonical one-form on a cotangent bundle and the position-first symplectic form areThe negative sign in the pressure coordinate is essential. A smooth potential $M(S,V,N)$ determines the embeddingwhere the last three coordinates are ordered as $(T,-P,\mu )$: explicitly $T=M_S$, $P=-M_V$, and $\mu =M_N$, so the second fiber coordinate is $-P=M_V$. Accordingly, in the actual $p_i$ coordinates the graph isProjection to the base is the identity, so this is an embedded three-dimensional submanifold, even if the Hessian of $M$ is degenerate. The first law of thermodynamics gives ${\iota }_M^{\ast }\theta =dM$. HenceIt has half the dimension of the ambient cotangent bundle and is therefore Lagrangian. This proves the thermodynamic potential as a Lagrangian graph construction for every smooth choice of $M$, locally on any domain on which the potential is defined. No invertibility, extensivity or stability assumption is needed for this geometric conclusion.

In components the same vanishing follows from equality of mixed derivatives. The thermodynamic conjugate variables satisfyThese cancel the three coefficients of the pulled-back two-form. They are the integrability relations behind the local thermodynamic potential, and demonstrate directly why the first-law graph is Lagrangian.

The differential one-form $\theta$ defines a smooth section of a vector bundle, and its one-form graph is an embedded copy of $X$ because $\pi \circ \theta ={\mathrm{id}}_X$. The defining property of the Liouville one-form gives ${\theta }^{\ast }\alpha =\theta$. ConsequentlyThe one-form graph has dimension $n$, half the dimension of the cotangent bundle. It is therefore a Lagrangian submanifold precisely when this pullback of a differential form vanishes:This is the twisted Lagrangian graph criterion.

Now suppose the projection restricts to a diffeomorphism on a Lagrangian submanifold $L$. Its inverse followed by the inclusion defines a smooth section $s:X\to T^{\ast }X$, hence a global differential one-form $\theta$ with image $L$. The criterion forces $\sigma =d\theta$, so its class in de Rham cohomology is zero. Thus $[\sigma ]\ne 0$ rules out every such Lagrangian section. This cohomological obstruction to a Lagrangian section concerns graphs over the entire base; it does not claim that all Lagrangian submanifolds are absent.

The Arnold-Liouville theorem concerns a connected compact component $L$ of a regular common level of $n$ commuting independent smooth functions $F=(F_1,\dots ,F_n)$ on a $2n$-dimensional symplectic manifold. It states that $L$ is a Lagrangian torus, and that a neighbourhood of $L$ has action-angle variablesin which every $F_i$ depends only on $I$. If $H=F_1$ or, more generally, $H=h(F)$, its Hamiltonian flow satisfiesAngles have period $2\pi$ here. The theorem is local near this regular compact component; it does not assert globally defined action-angle variables across singular levels or over an entire base with monodromy.

First, $L$ has dimension of a manifold $n$ by the submersion theorem. The Hamiltonian vector fields $X_{F_i}$ are independent, tangent to $L$, and commute. They span $TL$. Moreoverso $L$ is a Lagrangian submanifold. Compactness makes these restricted vector fields complete. Their joint flow is an ${\mathbb{R}}^n$-action on $L$. Its orbits are open because the fields span $TL$, so connectedness gives one orbit. The stabilizer $\Lambda$ of a point is discrete by the inverse function theorem, andCompactness forces $\Lambda$ to be a full-rank Euclidean lattice: otherwise an unbounded linear coordinate transverse to its span would descend to the quotient. Thus $L$ is an $n$-torus.

Next choose a small ball of regular values near $F(L)$ and a neighbourhood $N$ of this component which is a product family of compact tori $L_c$. This local trivialization follows directly by choosing transverse vector fields $Z_j$ with $d{F}_i(Z_j)={\delta }_{ij}$ and lifting short radial paths in the base; compactness of $L$ gives a uniform neighbourhood where their flows exist. Hence $N$ deformation retracts onto $L$. The commuting joint flows on nearby fibres have smoothly varying full-rank Hamiltonian period lattices. A basis $t^{(j)}(c)\in {\mathbb{R}}^n$ of their periods can be chosen smoothly on this small ball: continue the return equations from a basis at the central fibre, using their nonsingular vertical flow derivatives and the implicit function theorem. No global choice of lattice basis is needed.

Because $\omega {|}_L=0$ and $N$ retracts onto $L$, its closed symplectic form is exact on $N$. Choose a one-form $\lambda$ with $d\lambda =-\omega$. Let ${\gamma }_j(c)$ be the smoothly continued cycles represented by the period basis and define the action integralsFor a transverse variation $v$ of the fibre, differentiating a cycle integral and using Cartan's magic formula eliminates the integral of the exact term. With the cycle parametrized by the joint-flow time $t^{(j)}$, this givesThusThe period matrix is nonsingular, so $I$ gives coordinates on the base. The corresponding Hamiltonian vector fields satisfyTheir time-$2\pi$ flows return along the basis cycles. They commute because each $I_j$ is a function of the commuting $F_i$. Consequently they give a free torus action on $N$.

Choose a section over the action-coordinate ball and use this torus action to define angles $\theta$. Since $X_{I_j}={\partial }_{{\theta }_j}$, the symplectic form takes the formThe closed base two-form $\beta$ is exact on the ball: write $\beta =d\alpha$, $\alpha ={\sum }_j{a}_j(I)d{I}_j$, by the Poincaré lemma. Changing the angular origins by ${\theta }_j^{\prime }={\theta }_j+a_j(I)$ removes this term, since ${\sum }_{j}d{\theta }_j^{\prime }\wedge d{I}_j=\omega$. This completes the construction of action-angle variables. The functions $F_i$ are constant on the fibres, so are functions of $I$ alone, and Hamilton's equations give the claimed straight-line motion. This proves both the topological and symplectic parts of the Arnold-Liouville theorem.

A Lagrangian submanifold of a $2n$-dimensional symplectic manifold is an embedded $n$-dimensional submanifold on which the symplectic form restricts to zero. The dimension requirement distinguishes it from a lower-dimensional isotropic submanifold.

A differential one-form $\sigma$ on $L$ gives an embedded section of its cotangent bundle, since $\pi \circ \sigma =\mathrm{id}$. Directly from the canonical one-form on a cotangent bundle,Its graph already has half the ambient dimension. ThereforeThis proves the graph of a closed one-form is Lagrangian criterion, in both directions.

Use the Weinstein neighborhood theorem: a neighborhood of a compact Lagrangian submanifold is symplectomorphic to a neighborhood of the zero section of its cotangent bundle, with the identification equal to the identity on that submanifold. Take the canonical sign $-d\lambda$ in this identification. We also use C1 openness of diffeomorphisms: on a compact manifold, all smooth self-maps sufficiently close in the $C^1$ topology to a fixed diffeomorphism are themselves diffeomorphisms.

In $M\times M$ put $\Omega =-{\mathrm{pr}}_1^{\ast }\omega +{\mathrm{pr}}_2^{\ast }\omega$. The diagonal $\Delta$ is Lagrangian. For a symplectomorphism $\varphi$, its graph ${\Gamma }_{\varphi }$ is also Lagrangian, because its pullback of $\Omega$ is $-\omega +{\varphi }^{\ast }\omega =0$.

If $\varphi$ is sufficiently $C^1$-close to the identity, ${\Gamma }_{\varphi }$ lies in the fixed Weinstein neighborhood of $\Delta$. Its image in $T^{\ast }\Delta$ is transverse to the cotangent fibers and is a section: the projection of that image to $\Delta \cong M$ is $C^1$-close to the identity, hence is a diffeomorphism on compact $M$. Reparametrizing by this projection identifies the image with $\mathrm{graph}(\sigma )$ for a small differential one-form $\sigma$.

The preceding graph of a closed one-form is Lagrangian criterion gives $d\sigma =0$. Since $H_{\mathrm{dR}}^1(M)=0$, the de Rham cohomology definition gives $\sigma =df$. Intersections with the zero section are precisely the critical points of $f$; under the neighborhood identification these are the intersections ${\Gamma }_{\varphi }\cap \Delta$, hence the fixed points of $\varphi$.

On a nonempty compact manifold without boundary, $f$ has a maximum and a minimum. If it is nonconstant, these occur at distinct critical points. If it is constant, $df=0$ everywhere, so the whole graph is the diagonal and every point is fixed. For positive-dimensional $M$, there are at least two distinct fixed points. This is the nearby exact Lagrangian intersection lemma applied to the diagonal. No connectedness assumption is needed.

The usual positive-dimensional convention is necessary for the assertion: if zero-dimensional symplectic manifolds are allowed, a single-point $M$ has $H^1=0$ and only one fixed point. That is a literal exception to the printed statement.

Fix a reference path ${\gamma }_{\ast }$ from $L_0$ to $L_1$. By path connectedness, a path $\gamma$ can be joined to it by a smooth homotopy strip $u:[0,1{]}_s\times [0,1{]}_t\to M$ withSmooth homotopies may be used by the relative smoothing theorem; piecewise smooth homotopies give the same integrals. Orient the square by $ds\wedge dt$ and define the Lagrangian path-area functional byHere $\mathcal{A}$ denotes the functional called $A$ in the question. The minus sign is the convention for which downward gradient flow is $J$-holomorphic on the standard oriented strip.

For relative symplectic-area independence, glue two choices, with one orientation reversed, along their common reference and final paths. The resulting oriented surface is a relative $2$-cycle $Z$ in $(M,L_0\cup L_1)$. Since $H_2(M,L_0\cup L_1)=0$, it bounds a relative $3$-chain: as an absolute chain, $Z=\partial B+C$ for a chain $C$ supported in $L_0\cup L_1$. The symplectic form is closed, and it restricts to zero on each Lagrangian submanifold. Using piecewise smooth relative chains, Stokes theorem givesEquivalently, integration of the closed symplectic form defines the zero pairing on the zero relative homology group. The two strips therefore define the same value of $\mathcal{A}$.

Choosing a different reference path changes every value by the negative area of one fixed connecting strip, independent of $\gamma$. Changing the initially assigned reference value also adds a constant. Path connectedness ensures that this is one global constant, rather than an independent constant on each component.

For the first variation, let $\xi (t)$ be a variation vector field along $\gamma$, with $\xi (0)\in T_{\gamma (0)}{L}_0$ and $\xi (1)\in T_{\gamma (1)}{L}_1$. Differentiate the defining strip integral. Stokes theorem, or the variation formula for the integral of a closed differential form, reduces it to the final edge; the side edges give zero because their variations and tangent vectors lie in the Lagrangian submanifolds. With the chosen sign,If this vanishes for every admissible $\xi$, it in particular vanishes for every field supported in $(0,1)$. Nondegeneracy of the symplectic form, together with the fundamental lemma of the calculus of variations, forces $\dot{\gamma }(t)=0$ in the interior and hence everywhere by smoothness. Conversely, a constant path makes the displayed integral zero. The constant must lie in both endpoint submanifolds. ThusNo transverse-intersection assumption is required; the critical set can be empty or have positive dimension.

A compatible almost complex structure is a smooth bundle map $J:TM\to TM$ such thatThese conditions makea Riemannian metric. Its symmetry follows from the $J$-invariance and skew symmetry of $\omega$, and its positivity is the final compatibility condition. It also satisfies $g(Jv,w)=\omega (v,w)$.

Use the formal $L^2$ metric on the path space,The variation formula becomesThus a formal downward flow $s\mapsto u(s,\cdot )$ satisfiesPut the standard complex structure $j$ on the strip, with $j{\partial }_s={\partial }_t$. The J-holomorphic curve equation $du\circ j=J\circ du$ says $u_t=J{u}_s$, which is equivalent to the displayed flow equation because $J^2=-I$. The converse is identical: a smooth J-holomorphic curve on the strip with the specified Lagrangian boundary conditions gives a formal downward trajectory of $\mathcal{A}$.

As a sign check, along such a strip,The drop in $\mathcal{A}$ therefore equals the positive symplectic area swept out by the strip. The word formal matters: the $L^2$ calculation gives the interior equation and its Lagrangian boundary conditions; it does not assert that arbitrary smooth initial paths produce a well-posed ordinary flow on the smooth path space. In particular, the expression $J\dot{\gamma }$ need not satisfy the endpoint tangent restrictions for an arbitrary initial path. The claimed correspondence concerns smooth solutions of the strip equation.

For $p\in \mathrm{Fix}(\sigma )$, differentiation gives $(d{\sigma }_p{)}^2=I$ and $(d{\sigma }_p{)}^{\ast }{\omega }_p=-{\omega }_p$. Thus $d{\sigma }_p$ is an anti-symplectic involution of the symplectic vector space $T_{p}M$. By part (a), its $+1$ eigenspace is a Lagrangian subspace.

In the local manifold chart supplied in the question, $\sigma$ is linear, so its fixed-point set is the intersection of the chart with this $+1$ eigenspace. Therefore the fixed-point set is an embedded submanifold andEvery such tangent space has half the ambient dimension and the symplectic form vanishes on it. Hence every nonempty fixed-point set is a Lagrangian submanifold. The fixed-point set itself need not be connected.

Let $\pi :T^{\ast }X\to X$ be the cotangent bundle projection and $\lambda$ its canonical one-form on a cotangent bundle, defined by ${\lambda }_{(x,\xi )}(v)=\xi (d\pi (v))$. Use the symplectic form $\omega =-d\lambda$, so in local coordinates $\omega ={\sum }_{j}d{x}_j\wedge d{\xi }_j$.

The graph map $s_{\beta }(x)=(x,{\beta }_x)$ is a smooth embedding, with $s_{\beta }^{\ast }\lambda =\beta$, and henceIts image has dimension $\dim X$, half the dimension of $T^{\ast }X$. By the definition of a Lagrangian submanifold,This is the graph of a closed one-form is Lagrangian criterion. The opposite conventional sign for the symplectic form gives the same criterion.

At a point $p$, write $W=T_{p}L$ and take the orthogonal complement with respect to the Riemannian metric $g$. The compatible triple identity givesIf $L$ is a Lagrangian submanifold, then $\omega (u,v)=0$ for $u,v\in W$, so $JW\subset W^{\perp }$. Both have dimension $\frac{1}{2}\dim M$, hence equality.

Conversely, if $JW=W^{\perp }$, equality of dimensions gives $\dim W=\frac{1}{2}\dim M$, and $g(Ju,v)=0$ for $u,v\in W$ gives $\omega {|}_W=0$. ThereforeA positive-definite inner product has $W\cap W^{\perp }=\{0\}$. Hence $W\cap JW=\{0\}$, proving that every Lagrangian submanifold is a totally real submanifold for a compatible almost complex structure.

Use ${\mathbb{C}}^2$ with the standard symplectic form ${\omega }_0=d{x}_1\wedge d{y}_1+d{x}_2\wedge d{y}_2$ and the compatible almost complex structure given by multiplication by $i$. Consider the embedded submanifoldIn coordinates $(x_1,y_1,x_2,y_2)$, its tangent space is $W=\{(a,b,b,0):a,b\in \mathbb{R}\}$. Applying $J$ gives $J(a,b,b,0)=(-b,a,0,b)$. If this is again in $W$, its fourth coordinate forces $b=0$, and its second and third coordinates then force $a=0$. Thus $W\cap JW=0$ and ${\dim }_{\mathbb{R}}L=2$: $L$ is a totally real submanifold.

However, the pullback of a differential form under the parametrization isThus this totally real submanifold is not a Lagrangian submanifold.

On $N={\mu }^{-1}(-1/4)$, the diagonal fundamental vector field $X$ is nonzero, since the fixed-point set lies at moment map values $0$ and $-1/2$. The nondegenerate bilinear form ${\omega }_p$ and $d\mu ={\iota }_X\omega$ imply $d\mu \ne 0$, so $-1/4$ is a regular value. By the regular level set theorem, $N$ is a three-dimensional embedded submanifold of the four-dimensional Complex projective plane.

At $p\in N$, set $W=T_{p}N=\ker d{\mu }_p$. Then $\omega (X,v)=0$ for every $v\in W$, so $X\in W^{\omega }$, the symplectic orthogonal complement. This complement is one-dimensional and $d\mu (X)=\omega (X,X)=0$, givingThus the level set is a coisotropic submanifold, neither an isotropic submanifold nor a Lagrangian submanifold. Indeed an isotropic subspace of a symplectic vector space in dimension four has dimension at most two, whereas $\dim N=3$. Its characteristic line field is generated by the diagonal circle action.

Fix $p\in X$. A linear change of coordinates first identifies ${\omega }_p$ with the standard symplectic form ${\omega }_0$. After shrinking to a star-shaped neighborhood, everyis nondegenerate. The Poincaré lemma gives $\omega -{\omega }_0=d\sigma$, with $\sigma (p)=0$. Define $X_t$ by ${\iota }_{X_t}{\omega }_t=-\sigma$ and let ${\varphi }_t$ be its local flow. Cartan's magic formula givesThus ${\varphi }_1^{\ast }\omega ={\omega }_0$, proving the Darboux theorem.

For a smooth function $H$ on a closed symplectic manifold, its Hamiltonian vector field is defined by ${\iota }_{X_H}\omega =-dH$. The same formula gives ${\mathcal{L}}_{X_H}\omega =-d^{2}H=0$, so the Hamiltonian flow preserves the symplectic form. To move one point to another in a connected $X$, join them by a path, cover the path by finitely many Darboux charts, and in each chart use a cutoff linear Hamiltonian to perform a small translation. Composing these compactly supported Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms proves that symplectomorphisms act transitively on each connected component.

In ${\mathbb{R}}^2$, every embedded curve is a Lagrangian submanifold. Let $L_1,L_2$ be circles enclosing different Euclidean areas. A plane symplectomorphism preserves area and carries the bounded complementary component of one circle to that of its image, so no symplectomorphism maps $L_1$ to $L_2$.

The same phenomenon exists in every ${\mathbb{R}}^{2n}$. Withtake the product toriThe Liouville class of a Lagrangian submanifold has respective period vectors $\pi (1,\dots ,1)$ and $2\pi (1,\dots ,1)$ on these tori. Every symplectomorphism of ${\mathbb{R}}^{2n}$ preserves the Liouville class up to the induced integral change of basis on $H_1(T^n)$, because its pullback changes $\lambda$ only by an exact form. An integral automorphism sends a primitive vector to a primitive vector and therefore cannot send the first period vector to the second. Hence

If $H{|}_L$ is constant, then $dH(v)=0$ for every $v\in TL$. By the definition of the Hamiltonian vector field,Since $L$ is Lagrangian, $(TL{)}^{\omega }=TL$, so $X_H$ is tangent to $L$. Its Hamiltonian flow preserves $L$. This is the Hamiltonian flow preserves a constant-level Lagrangian principle.

The cotangent lift is functorial:Since ${\varphi }_{t+s}={\varphi }_t\circ {\varphi }_s$, it follows thatThus $({\psi }_t)$ is a flow with infinitesimal vector field $V_{\#}$ as stated in the question.

Finally, a cotangent lift sends the conormal bundle $N^{\ast }Y$ to $N^{\ast }f(Y)$. Explicitly, if $\xi$ annihilates $T_{x}Y$, then $(d{f}_x^{-1}{)}^{\ast }\xi$ annihilates $T_{f(x)}f(Y)$. Since ${\varphi }_t(Y)=Y$, we haveso the conormal bundle is invariant.

The Weinstein neighborhood theorem states that if $L$ is a compact Lagrangian submanifold of $(M,\omega )$, then neighborhoods of $L$ in $M$ and of the zero section in its cotangent bundle $T^{\ast }L$ are symplectomorphic. The symplectomorphism restricts to the identity on $L$, and the canonical form on $T^{\ast }L$ is taken with the sign matching the chosen convention.

For a Lagrangian submanifold $L$ in an exact symplectic manifold with primitive $\lambda$, its period subgroup is $\{{\int }_c\lambda :c\in H_1(L;\mathbb{Z})\}\subset \mathbb{R}$. It is rational when this subgroup is discrete. If it is nonzero, it is $\gamma \mathbb{Z}$ for a unique $\gamma >0$. Some conventions reserve the word rational for this nonzero case. The zero subgroup corresponds to an exact differential form $\lambda {|}_L$; its least positive period is interpreted as $+\infty$ if that endpoint convention is admitted.

Two homotopy strips with the same endpoint paths and boundary on Lagrangian submanifolds glue to a relative $2$-cycle. If that cycle is zero in $H_2(M,L_0\cup L_1)$, its symplectic area vanishes: apply Stokes theorem, using $d\omega =0$ and the zero restriction of $\omega$ to each Lagrangian. Thus relative homology controls the ambiguity in a Lagrangian path-area functional.

Symplectic geometry studies smooth manifolds equipped with a closed nondegenerate differential two-form.