On an oriented even-dimensional Riemannian manifold of strictly positive sectional curvature, a nonconstant closed geodesic has a length-decreasing smooth variation. Its parallel transport fixes the tangent and acts on the odd-dimensional normal space by a special orthogonal group element. An odd-dimensional special orthogonal transformation has a fixed vector, so there is a nonzero periodic parallel normal field . The second variation of geodesic energy is then strictly negative. The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality converts lower energy into strictly lower length because the original geodesic has constant speed. For an embedded geodesic the small variation is a smooth isotopy; otherwise it is a deformation through immersed loops.
In odd dimension, the map is a surjective group homomorphism from the orthogonal group to the special orthogonal group, with kernel of a group homomorphism . Scalar matrices commute, and . Together with the determinant sign, it identifies with the direct product of groups . In even dimension, scalar multiplication by does not repair the determinant, so this construction does not give the same splitting.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2003 ia Paper 1 5B b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-24
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Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 7 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
For each rotation, unitarity givesAveraging and using self-adjointness of yields the Dirichlet form of the Kac collision operatorThe velocity integral is necessary: its omission from the printed right-hand side would leave a function of rather than a scalar. This identity applies to every function, with complex modulus when necessary, and is nonnegative.
If , every nonnegative angular integral is zero, so for almost every angle. Strong continuity in angle extends equality to every angle. The coordinate-plane Givens rotations generate the special orthogonal group , hence is invariant in under every element of this group. To identify its shape rigorously despite almost-everywhere representatives, average over the normalized Haar measure of . This averaging leaves unchanged, while transitivity of the rotation group on each sphere makes the average a radial function. Thus almost everywhere.
Conversely, every radial function is fixed by every coordinate-plane rotation, and so by . ThereforeThis is the radial kernel of the Kac collision operator. The rotation correction is essential to this conclusion: with the literal printed map, even in dimension two is not fixed. At its printed-map angular average is the average of , strictly greater than its value .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 ia Paper 3 6D a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
True. The determinant gives a group homomorphismFor an orthogonal matrix, implies , and a reflection has determinant , so the target has order two and the map is onto. Its kernel of a group homomorphism is exactlyThis is the defining special orthogonal group inside the orthogonal group.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2015 iii Paper 17 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
A vector field is a smooth section of the tangent bundle. It differentiates smooth functions by . Define the Lie bracket of vector fields intrinsically byExpanding this expression on a product shows that the two mixed terms cancel, giving . It is therefore a derivation, hence a vector field. In local coordinates,Its coefficients are smooth. The intrinsic definition depends on no chart, which proves coordinate independence of this formula and defines the bracket on the whole manifold.
For a Lie group , let be Left translation on a Lie group. A left-invariant vector field satisfies for every . Evaluation is linear and injective, since . Conversely any gives a smooth left-invariant vector field . Smoothness follows from smooth multiplication and its differential. ThusFor any diffeomorphism , the intrinsic bracket identity on functions gives . Applying this naturality of the Lie bracket to proves that the bracket of two left-invariant vector fields remains left invariant. Evaluation at therefore defines the Lie algebra bracket on .
For the special orthogonal group, differentiation of at gives , so its tangent space is contained in the skew-symmetric matrices. Conversely, for any such , the matrix exponential satisfies and lies in the determinant-one component, because and its determinant varies continuously in . Its initial derivative is , provingFor matrices, . Extend these fields to the open matrix group , where the differential of in direction is . HenceRestriction to the embedded special orthogonal group preserves this bracket because the fields are tangent. Evaluating at gives , the required bracket on the Special orthogonal Lie algebra. The commutator is again skew symmetric. This calculation is differentiating left-invariant matrix fields; reversing the order of the two differentials would give the wrong sign.