Past exam of the kinetic theory course of the University of Oxford / 2023 / 3 / b

Define the unperturbed orbital angular frequency vector byIt is the rate of advance of the angle variables along the unperturbed Hamiltonian flow; the action variables are constant. Expand the Collisionless Boltzmann equation to first order in the perturbations. Since $f_0$ and $H_0$ depend only on the action variables, $[f_0,H_0]=0$, andThe omitted Poisson bracket $[\delta f,\delta \Phi ]$ is quadratic in the perturbations. Use the Fourier series conventionFor each harmonic the linear ordinary differential equation isMultiplication by the integrating factor $e^{i\mathbf{k}\cdot \mathbf{\Omega }t}$ and use of $\delta f_{\mathbf{k}}(0)=0$ give the causal linear response in action-angle variables:The zero harmonic stays zero at this order. This formula retains the entire forcing history; replacing it immediately by a resonant Dirac delta function would discard the transient response.