Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 55 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Set . Contraction of the symplectic form with the rotation vector field givesWith the convention fixed in the unheaded solution, , so the Hamiltonian function isIts derivative is . In the chart , , so it extends smoothly across infinity; the additive constant is the kernel freedom already identified. Thus globally, proving that the action is a Hamiltonian group action. With , the moment map for rotation of the complex projective line takes values in , reaching its endpoints at the two fixed poles.
One can check the normalization in polar coordinates: has total symplectic area , not , and . Equivalently, in a polar angle with , . This explains the half-height factor that would be lost by replacing the printed form with the unscaled round-sphere area form. Under the opposite convention , the Hamiltonian is the negative of this function, up to a constant.