Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2018 iii Paper 115 2 iii Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-05
The printed hint is impossible: if , thenChanging the order of integration gives the same zero, so the additional condition involving cannot repair it. Using the same function in both proposed controls cannot generate an arbitrary third coordinate.
Instead, put , , and choose two different oscillatory controls:Their integrals give and , hence and . The third endpoint isThe resulting curve is smooth and horizontal at every time, proving smooth horizontal reachability in the real Heisenberg group.
If the Heisenberg horizontal distribution were an integrable distribution, every horizontal curve from the identity would remain in its maximal connected integral leaf. Reachability would force that two-dimensional leaf to be the whole three-dimensional group, contradicting the local leaf coordinates of the Frobenius theorem. The bracket computation in part (i) gives the same obstruction directly.