Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 15 1 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The exterior derivative is an -linear map , agrees with the differential of a smooth function, satisfies the graded Leibniz rule for , and has . These properties determine it locally and hence globally. To see locality directly, if a differential form vanishes near , choose a smooth bump function equal to one near and supported where . The identity gives . Thus global forms can be computed using local extensions in a manifold chart.
In coordinates write . Since , the graded Leibniz rule forcesThis is the uniqueness of the exterior derivative from its axioms. The coordinate formula also establishes existence: it has the stated properties, and the chain rule shows that coordinate changes give the same operator.
The de Rham cohomology is the real quotient vector spaceThus a cohomology class records a closed differential form modulo an exact differential form. In degree zero there are no exact forms; closed functions are locally constant. The Poincare lemma says that every closed form of positive degree on a star-shaped open subset of is exact, and hence that positive-degree closed forms are locally exact on a smooth manifold.
For the first de Rham cohomology of the two-sphere, let and . Stereographic projection identifies each with , so a closed one-form has primitives . On the connected overlap , the derivative of is zero, so this difference is a constant. Subtracting that constant from makes the primitives agree. They glue to a global smooth primitive. Therefore .
Let be the double covering map and the antipodal map. The pullback of a differential form identifies forms downstairs with -invariant forms upstairs. Averaging commutes with . If an invariant form is exact upstairs, averaging its primitive proves it exact downstairs. Conversely an invariant cohomology class has an invariant representative by the same averaging. This proves the de Rham cohomology of a finite quotient identification . In degree zero the sphere is connected and fixes constants; degree one is zero; in degree two the granted action is multiplication by , whose invariant real subspace is zero. Forms of degree greater than two vanish. HenceThis is real de Rham cohomology; it does not detect the integral two-torsion of the real projective plane.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 16 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The Symplectic Darboux theorem says that every point of a -dimensional symplectic manifold has local coordinates in whichFirst choose linear coordinates at the point so the form there is standard. The required symplectic basis can be constructed inductively: choose with , split off their span, and repeat on its nondegenerate symplectic orthogonal complement. Extend these coordinates to a chart centered at zero.
Let be the constant standard form in this chart and . The closed form vanishes at zero. On a small star-shaped ball the radial Poincare lemma supplies a primitiveSince , this primitive is . The interpolating forms are nondegenerate on a common smaller ball, because they all agree with at zero and ranges over a compact interval.
Apply the local version of Moser's trick: solve . The vector fields are and fix zero. On a sufficiently small ball their flows exist for and remain inside the coordinate chart; the quadratic bound makes their displacement smaller than the available margin. The same pullback calculation gives . Thus is a local symplectomorphism from the standard ball into , and its inverse supplies the desired Darboux chart. There are no local symplectic invariants beyond dimension.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 17 4 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
To prove (a) implies (c), shrink to a contractible coordinate neighborhood. The real Poincare lemma gives a real one-form with . Write . Because has type , and . The Dolbeault-Poincaré lemma supplies a smooth function with . Reality of gives . ThusTaking the real function gives the local real potential for a closed (1,1)-form. Conversely, , by and anticommutation. Hence (a) and (c) are equivalent, completing all three conditions.
For the unheaded radial continuation, take the real potential as in (c). Rotation invariance makes constant on every circle of radius , sois well defined and smooth by composition. This avoids treating a smooth function as if it had a convergent Taylor series. At nonzero , put . The identities and giveLet , which is smooth on the whole plane. ThenAt the origin, rotation invariance gives the finite Taylor expansion , with . Alternatively continuity of directly givesThe metric is positive away from the origin exactly when for all finite , and it is positive at the origin exactly when this limit is positive. Smoothness at the origin is already supplied by the original smooth potential. Consequently the positivity criterion for a radial Kähler potential isClosedness is automatic from the potential, and positivity completes the Kähler condition. No completeness of this metric is asserted. The rotation-invariant Kähler potential on the complex plane is understood as real; if a complex radial potential is initially allowed with real , its smooth radial imaginary part is harmonic and hence constant, so that constant can be removed.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 51 4 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Write , . The Euclidean metric is , and the printed four-form is , so it specifies the usual positive orientation. The normalized metric volume form is one quarter of that expression. The self-dual frame in complex Euclidean coordinates isThese are real and have the required complex combinations. For the Hodge star operator with this orientation,and applying again gives the reverse relations. Thus . They are linearly independent, while the eigenspace of on 2-forms has dimension three, proving they span . The TeX aid incorrectly reads the subscript as .
The ASDYM equations require the self-dual projection of the gauge field strength to vanish. Orthogonality to sets its and parts to zero; orthogonality to removes the trace of its part. Explicitly, if , these conditions are , and . Sinceand the conjugate equation supplies the other complex component for a real curvature form of a connection, the equivalent system is
To obtain the complex potential reduction of anti-self-dual Yang-Mills, set , . The first equation is the integrability condition . Locally it allows an invertible complex matrix satisfying and . The Yang-Mills gauge transformation consequently gives . This is a complex gauge; a real compact gauge group alone generally cannot implement it.
In this gauge the second equation becomesThus the one-form is closed with respect to the exterior derivative in the directions. The local complex version of the Poincare lemma gives a potential such thatBecause the gauge transformation is complex, is generally valued in the complexification of a Lie algebra ; the printed must be understood in that sense. The elementary reduction is local, and the transformed fields retain a reality condition inherited from the original real connection. For the usual compact matrix gauge groups and smooth fields on all of , the gauge and potential can also be chosen globally if no condition at infinity is imposed. The flat partial connection defines a holomorphic principal bundle on the conjugate complex space. That base is a contractible Stein manifold, so the Oka-Grauert principle gives a global trivialization and hence a global complex gauge. After that trivialization, the conjugate of Stein vanishing for the Dolbeault cohomology of functions gives a global primitive , component by component in . Prescribed framing or decay at infinity requires a separate compatibility check and is not automatically preserved by this gauge.
Substitute the potential into the remaining ASDYM equations component:Therefore all three ASDYM equations reduce to the single ASDYM potential equationThe sign follows directly from ; changing a potential convention would change the displayed commutator sign. Conversely, this equation and the displayed gauge reconstruction make all three curvature conditions vanish, subject to the inherited reality condition when a real gauge field is required.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 69 2 i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
Use the Wirtinger derivatives and , and area measure . The supplied boundary-integral identity is the planar Generalized Stokes theorem; the usual Poincare lemma is a different local exactness result.
Let and . Remove a disk of radius around , and apply Generalized Stokes theorem to the one-form on the punctured domain. Away from the puncture,The outer boundary is counterclockwise and the small inner circle clockwise. Its counterclockwise integral tends to . Passing to the limit gives the Cauchy-Pompeiu formulaThe weak singularity is locally integrable. If the boundary term vanishes on expanding to the whole plane, the formula becomes . In particular it yields the distributional normalization . For holomorphic functions the area term vanishes and one recovers the Cauchy integral formula.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 18 2 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
We prove the Bott-Chern Poincaré lemma on a polydisc . Let and , with of type . The allowed Dolbeault-Poincaré lemma first gives , where has type . Since , repeatedly applying the same lemma constructsZero spaces outside the allowed bidegrees cause no difficulty. The form has type , is holomorphic because its Dolbeault operator vanishes, and is -closed. The holomorphic Poincare lemma on a polydisc gives a holomorphic form of type with . This holomorphic version follows from the radial homotopy formula: on positive-degree holomorphic forms the ordinary radial Poincare lemma homotopy preserves holomorphic coefficients. If the displayed form is zero, take .
Now is -closed. The conjugate Dolbeault-Poincaré lemma, obtained by conjugating the allowed lemma, gives , since its holomorphic degree is positive. Moving backwards, if the last modified form is , thenApply the conjugate Dolbeault-Poincaré lemma again to obtain . The modification does not change its Dolbeault operator, so this process continues down to . In the case , subtract at this last step instead. Finally,Thus .
This vanishing fails on general complex manifolds. On the complex projective line, let be its Fubini-Study form. It is a -closed -form with . If it were , it would be the exact differential form , whose integral is zero by Stokes theorem. Therefore .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 52 1 b iv Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The normalized Killing one-form is a closed differential form. The Poincare lemma gives a local scalar potential with , hence . Choose the adapted chart of part (i), so . ThenThe closed differential form condition supplies the integrability of these spatial derivatives. For a fixed and , is determined locally up to an additive constant; its derivatives cannot be chosen freely despite the wording in the paper.
Use , . The Jacobian determinant is one, so this is a local coordinate change. Holding fixed gives , while its metric-dual one-form is . Thus and . The Killing equation still holds, so . The metric is locally static:A closed differential form need not be globally exact; neither a global potential nor a global static chart follows without additional topological assumptions.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 56 3 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The product of the magnetic field with the velocity in this question is the three-dimensional cross product. Fix and write , so . In coordinates , on , prescribe an affine connection by the following Christoffel symbols:with all other Christoffel symbols zero. These are smooth globally in the given Cartesian coordinates. The lower-index symmetry makes this a torsion-free connection. It is the geometrization of the Lorentz force by an affine connection; no condition on the curl of or the divergence of is required for this construction.
An affinely parametrized geodesic, with primes denoting differentiation with respect to , satisfiesOn the branch , use itself as an affine parameter. Dividing the spatial equation by givesConversely, each solution of this equation makes , an affinely parametrized geodesic of the constructed affine connection. Therefore its image is also an unparametrized geodesic. A general change of parameter adds a term proportional to the tangent in the geodesic equation, leaving the curve unchanged. The branch is not a trajectory with time as parameter.
For the metric realization, assume and . Introduce the differential formThen . The global Poincare lemma on the contractible space supplies a one-form with , equivalently a magnetic vector potential with . An explicit radial-gauge potential for a divergence-free magnetic field isThis is the radial homotopy formula for a closed two-form and is smooth even at the origin. For a constant magnetic field it gives .
Consider the Eisenhart-Duval lift with the Lorentzian metricThe independent one-forms exhibit three positive directions and a two-dimensional block with one positive and one negative direction. Thus the metric is nondegenerate, of signature . Its coefficients do not depend on , and , so is a null Killing vector field. Indeed are constant, so for the Levi-Civita connection and is parallel.
The geodesic Lagrangian for an affine parameter isThe cyclic coordinate gives the conserved quantity . Work at a nonzero value of and rescale the affine parameter to set . This is the essential step in the null Kaluza-Klein reduction of a stationary force: one fixes the momentum along the null isometry and projects its geodesics, rather than dividing by .
The spatial Euler-Lagrange equations, before setting , areSince and , their reduction isEquivalently, after taking as the affine parameter, the term is a total derivative and the reduced Lagrangian is . Its Euler-Lagrange equations give the same sign and factor two.
There is also an explicit converse using null geodesics. For any physical trajectory, setThis makes its five-dimensional tangent null. The conserved momentum of the cyclic coordinate becomesThe quantity in parentheses is conserved, because its derivative is . Hence the equation, as well as the spatial and Euler-Lagrange equations, is satisfied. Every trajectory admits a null geodesic lift with , and every such lift projects to the required trajectory.
Finally, a time-independent gauge transformation is absorbed by . The one-form and the five-dimensional metric are unchanged. These gauge transformations of an Eisenhart-Duval lift alter the reduced Lagrangian only by the total derivative .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ii Paper 3 35D d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
The preceding condition is symmetric in , so . On a patch where the potential representation supplied in the question holds, write . DefineThen . Since , the condition on is exactly , so is a parallel covector field. Closed covectors have this scalar-potential representation locally by the Poincare lemma; a global potential additionally requires exactness, for example on a simply connected domain.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 iii Paper 118 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The assertion requires . As printed, it also includes , where the nonzero constant function is closed but cannot be the exterior derivative of a negative-degree form. The zero constant is harmless; below we prove the intended positive-degree result.
Set , let , and letThe polydisc is preserved by these dilations. The radial homotopy operator isHere is the interior product of a differential form. For a smooth -form, its pulled-back contraction is , so the integral and its coefficient derivatives converge at zero. The identity for a pullback of a differential form along the radial flow and Cartan's magic formula giveIntegrating yields . The final pullback vanishes in positive degree; since , we have .
Each is a holomorphic map, so its pullback of a differential form preserves bidegree. Contracting with the part of lowers by one, and contracting with its part lowers by one. Therefore the primitive has precisely the permitted types:This is a type-preserving refinement of the Poincare lemma; when one index is zero, the corresponding negative-degree summand is simply absent.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 309 3 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
An electromagnetic field tensor obeys the homogeneous Maxwell equations . Together with its invariance under the Killing vector field , Cartan's magic formula gives . The local potential of a closed differential one-form construction, the one-form Poincare lemma, therefore supplies a scalar field on a sufficiently small contractible neighborhood withFor an explicit local proof, write on a coordinate ball centered at zero and take . Since , differentiating under the integral gives . There need not be a global potential when this closed one-form has nonzero periods. The homogeneous Maxwell equation is essential; an arbitrary invariant two-form would not suffice.
Use proper time for the massive particle, let be its tangent, and assume . The Killing equation makes . The Lorentz force equation then impliesConsequently the local conserved quantity isThe sign follows from contracting in its first argument, exactly as in the source. Adding a constant to merely shifts the conserved quantity. This is a charged-particle conserved quantity from a Killing symmetry.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 118 1 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
A pure-type -closed form is both -closed and -closed, because these two derivatives have different types. Let . The smooth Poincare lemma on the polydisc gives with . We will modify by exact terms without changing .
Write . Starting with the smallest holomorphic degree, eliminate every component with . Once the lower components are zero, the component of says , since . Its antiholomorphic degree is positive, so the Dolbeault-Poincaré lemma supplies with . Replace by : this removes the component at and changes only the next holomorphic degree.
Next, work downwards from the largest holomorphic degree and eliminate the components with . Once the higher components are zero, the corresponding component of gives . By part (b), write this as and again subtract . This affects only the next lower holomorphic degree. The two finite procedures leaveThe components of outside type now give and , while its component gives .
Since , the Dolbeault-Poincaré lemma gives with of type . Since , part (b) gives of the same type. The anticommutation identity therefore yieldsThis proves the Bott-Chern Poincaré lemma using precisely the permitted primitives:
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 146 4 Solution 2026-10-03
Fix . A linear change of coordinates first identifies with the standard symplectic form . After shrinking to a star-shaped neighborhood, everyis nondegenerate. The Poincare lemma gives , with . Define by and let be its local flow. Cartan's magic formula givesThus , proving the Darboux theorem.
For a smooth function on a closed symplectic manifold, its Hamiltonian vector field is defined by . The same formula gives , so the Hamiltonian flow preserves the symplectic form. To move one point to another in a connected , 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 , every embedded curve is a Lagrangian submanifold. Let 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 to .
The same phenomenon exists in every . Withtake the product toriThe Liouville class of a Lagrangian submanifold has respective period vectors and on these tori. Every symplectomorphism of preserves the Liouville class up to the induced integral change of basis on , because its pullback changes 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
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ia Paper 3 9A d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Part (c) givesThe half-space is a simply connected domain, so the Poincare lemma makes this curl-free field a conservative vector field: it is the gradient of a single-valued scalar potential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 iii Paper 344 3 f Solution 2026-09-28
If on a simply connected region containing the bounded trajectory, then the Poincare lemma gives a scalar potential with . The work iswhich remains bounded when and remain bounded. Since is also bounded, cannot grow linearly with the observation time.
Thus sustained linear heat dissipation in this setting requires a nonconservative force, and, under the stated simply connectedness assumption,Such a force can perform nonzero work on repeated bounded cycles. On a multiply connected domain, a curl-free force can have nonzero circulation, so the topological assumption is essential.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 306 4 c Solution 2026-09-28
Integrating by parts makes the dependence . Its functional integral imposes the constraint . On the simply connected plane, the Poincare lemma therefore permits the local and global parametrizationSubstitution into givesThis is the Buscher procedure for the translation isometry in , and its T-duality replaces by .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 iii Paper 115 1 b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The de Rham cohomology isThe Poincare lemma says that every closed positive-degree differential form is locally exact, and is exact on every star-shaped open subset of Euclidean space.
Let and let be a closed one-form on . The hypothesis gives on . Choose a slightly larger coordinate ball around . The Poincare lemma gives on . The annulus is connected when , so there and is constant. Adjusting by this constant makes and agree on the overlap, and they glue to a global primitive of . Hence . For the claim fails: remove a closed proper interval from . Its complement is an interval and has vanishing first de Rham cohomology, whereas .