Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 3 8B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The repulsive force is , so the Hamiltonian isThe Hamilton's equations give and . Consequentlyso the angular momentum is conserved. Moreover,It follows that the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector is conserved. By the Hamiltonian conservation law, these time derivatives are exactly and , so both Poisson brackets vanish.
The integrals of motion are the energy , the components of , and the components of , subject toTaking the dot product of with givesTherefore the polar equation of a repulsive inverse-square orbit iswhere and . For a nonradial physical scattering orbit , the identity above gives , as expected for a hyperbolic Kepler orbit.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 15B c i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
For , Hamilton's equations giveThus and . The Poisson bracket is , so the transformation is canonical for every . A type-2 generator isIndeed , , and the transformed Hamiltonian is , as expected because are constants of motion.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2021 ii Paper 4 15D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2022 ii Paper 2 8B Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
For with Jacobian , the chain rule givesThis has Hamiltonian form with the same canonical matrix for every exactly whenTaking determinants gives ; the symplectic condition fixes the orientation, so . Hence the change-of-variables formula shows that the phase-space volume element is invariant. This is Liouville theorem in Hamiltonian mechanics.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 iii Paper 301 1 Solution 2026-09-28
A continuous symmetry is a family of transformations depending continuously on parameters for which the action is unchanged, possibly up to a spacetime boundary term. For an infinitesimal field variation , a Noether current obeyswhen the Euler-Lagrange field equation holds. Its Noether chargeis conserved provided the flux vanishes.
Noether theorem gives the implication from a differentiable global variational symmetry to an on-shell conserved current. A conserved current gives a conserved charge only under suitable boundary and convergence conditions. Conversely, a conserved charge generates a continuous symmetry through Poisson brackets classically or a commutator quantum mechanically when a regular Hamiltonian formulation exists. Currents can be changed by identically conserved improvement terms, and inverse Noether statements require regularity and the exclusion of such trivial currents, so the three notions are related but not literally in one-to-one correspondence.
For spacetime translations, the canonical stress-energy tensor isForraising the second index gives the symmetric tensorTranslation invariance gives four conserved currents , one for each fixed , and the four conserved charges are the four-momentum is the energy and is the spatial momentum.
The Lorentz transformation variation of a scalar is generated solely by its argument. The corresponding Lorentz current isUsing and symmetry of ,In particular, conservation of the boost chargeimpliesThe quantity denoted in the question is therefore the conserved momentum component , assuming the same vanishing boundary flux.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 3 8D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For smooth functions on the six-dimensional phase space with canonical coordinates , the Poisson bracket is
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 4 15D Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A transformation of phase space is canonical when it preserves the symplectic form, or equivalently all Poisson brackets. For one degree of freedom this isequivalently .
Suppose a type-two generating function for a canonical transformation definesThenEquality of the mixed partial derivatives gives , so the transformation is canonical wherever it is locally invertible.
Forthe fundamental theorem of calculus and differentiation under the integral sign giveThusand in particular .
For the unit-frequency simple harmonic motion, the transformed Hamiltonian is simply . Hamilton's equations becomeThereforeand transformation back gives the familiar solution
Now consider the weak quartic oscillatorChoose the modified generating functionIt givesso the transformed Hamiltonian is again . Hence and . Expanding the square root with the Taylor series givesDifferentiation with respect to therefore yieldswhere
Set andWriting and expanding the inverse sine relation at givesExpanding similarly givesConsequentlySince , this is the required expression. The formula is understood away from turning points where and the ratio itself is singular.
Quadratic geodesic first integral 2026-10-07
A quadratic homogeneous polynomial in the fibre variables of the cotangent bundle is a first integral of the geodesic Hamiltonian exactly when its symmetric lowered coefficients form a rank-two Killing tensor. For , the Poisson bracket is , so the equivalence follows by comparing cubic coefficients at every point.
Symplectic matrix 2026-10-07
An invertible real matrix preserving the standard symplectic form. With , it satisfies , equivalently . The first identity describes preservation of the form; the second describes preservation of coordinate Poisson brackets.