Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2008 / ii / Paper 3 / 9E / Solution

Let $A=Dy(x)$ be the Jacobian matrix and $K(y)=H(x(y))$. The chain rule gives ${\nabla }_{x}H=A^T{\nabla }_{y}K$. Therefore the Hamilton equations transform to $\dot{y}=AJ{A}^T{\nabla }_{y}K$, with $J=\left(\begin{array}{cc}0& -I\\ I& 0\end{array}\right)$. They have the required canonical form for every Hamiltonian exactly whenNecessity follows by choosing Hamiltonians whose gradients take arbitrary values at a point; sufficiency follows from the displayed transformed equation. This is the symplectic matrix condition for a canonical transformation, and it also forces $A$ to be invertible.

For the given transformation, $A=\left(\begin{array}{cc}1& 2\\ -1/4& 1/2\end{array}\right)$ has determinant one. For any $2\times 2$ matrix, $AJ{A}^T=(\det A)J$, so the proposed transformation is canonical.