Past exam of the theoretical physics I course of the University of Cambridge / 2012 / Paper 1 / 2 / d / Solution

Insert the harmonic variables into the forward map and reduce the squared trigonometric functions. This givesIndeed $p=m\dot{x}$ at this order. The second harmonic and mean displacement of a weakly cubic oscillator show asymmetry of the motion: for positive $\lambda$ the mean shifts towards negative $x$. There is no first-order frequency shift, although the waveform is no longer purely sinusoidal.

The small parameter is $|\lambda |A/(m{\omega }^2)\ll 1$. A purely cubic perturbation is unbounded in one direction, so these formulas describe small local oscillations around the stable origin, not globally confined motion at arbitrary energy. Amplitude $A$ labels the transformed orbit and must be inferred using the inverse map if physical initial position and momentum are supplied.