Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2006 iii Paper 20 2 Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The symplectic neighborhood theorem says that a symplectomorphism between compact symplectic submanifolds, together with a symplectic vector bundle isomorphism of their symplectic normal bundles, extends to a symplectomorphism of neighborhoods. To outline the proof, use tubular neighborhoods to extend the bundle identification smoothly. The two pulled-back symplectic forms agree as bilinear forms along the zero section. The relative Poincaré lemma writes their difference as , with vanishing there. Their linear interpolation remains nondegenerate on a sufficiently small neighborhood. Solvingand integrating gives the relative Moser theorem; the flow fixes the submanifold and carries one form to the other.
For the symplectic fiber sum along a square-zero surface, the self-intersection is the Euler number of the oriented rank-two normal bundle. Thus each normal bundle is trivial. Rescale one ambient symplectic form if necessary to equalize the areas of the two copies of . The Moser theorem for the surface then supplies a base identification preserving their area forms. The symplectic neighborhood theorem identifies each neighborhood with a product carryingRemove small disk neighborhoods and glue collars with the base identification andfor a suitable positive constant . Both signs reverse, so the normal two-forms match; the base forms already match. They define a closed nondegenerate two-form across the neck, agreeing with the ambient forms elsewhere. This constructs the symplectic sum. Its construction uses the area normalization and the chosen normal-bundle gluing.
For a smooth counterexample, take , and in a small four-ball in each choose an unknotted sphere bounding a three-ball. These spheres are null-homologous and have self-intersection zero. Their standard smooth fiber sum isIndeed, the complement of the standard in is ; doubling these complements gives , and the two ambient projective-plane summands remain as connected sums. This is the smooth fiber sum along unknotted null-homologous spheres.
In the induced orientation, both summands in have positive positive index of the intersection form. The symplectic connected-sum obstruction therefore rules out a symplectic form: connected-sum vanishing of the Seiberg–Witten invariant of a four-manifold contradicts Taubes nonvanishing theorem. In the opposite orientation the intersection form is negative definite, also ruling out a symplectic form, whose class has positive square. Thus the smooth fiber sum need not be symplectic.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 iii Paper 146 2 Solution 2026-10-03
The symplectic neighborhood theorem says that a symplectomorphism between closed symplectic submanifolds which lifts to an isomorphism of their symplectic normal bundles extends to a symplectomorphism of neighborhoods.
Let and be the given copies of . Their self-intersection numbers are the Euler classes of their oriented normal bundles, so square zero makes both normal bundles trivial. The neighborhood theorem identifies neighborhoods with . Remove their interiors and identify the boundary circle bundles by a map covering the chosen identification and reversing the normal-circle orientation. On collars, the two forms have the modeland the radial coordinate can be reversed while the circle coordinate is reversed so that the forms glue. A collar application of Moser's trick removes any discrepancy. This proves that the symplectic fiber sum along a square-zero surface has a natural symplectic form.
The displayed relation is an ordinary product relation, sowhere the relation eliminates . The Gompf realization theorem constructs a closed symplectic four-manifold with this fundamental group. Concretely, its construction starts from a product of a sufficiently high-genus surface and a torus, represents the two surviving generators and the relations by loops, and crosses the relevant loops with circle factors to obtain square-zero tori. Symplectic sums with copies of the rational elliptic surface kill the unwanted generators and impose the relations: the complement of a regular elliptic fiber is simply connected, so the Seifert-van Kampen theorem gives exactly .
Finally, is simply connected and has real dimension . With the product symplectic form,is a closed symplectic manifold of real dimension and has fundamental group .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 146 4 a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
The symplectic neighborhood theorem says that a neighborhood of a compact symplectic submanifold is determined, up to symplectomorphism, by the restricted symplectic form and its symplectic normal bundle. More precisely, if is a symplectomorphism and an isomorphism of symplectic normal bundles covers , then that bundle isomorphism extends to a symplectomorphism between neighborhoods of and .
If a compatible almost complex structure is prescribed along a closed symplectic submanifold and preserves , it extends to one on . Choose a compatible structure separately on and its symplectic normal bundle, use the associated metric along , extend that metric to , and apply the metric construction of a compatible almost complex structure.
Symplectic neighborhood theorem 2026-09-24
If a symplectomorphism between compact symplectic submanifolds lifts to an isomorphism of their symplectic normal bundles, then it extends to a symplectomorphism between neighborhoods. Thus the germ of a symplectic neighborhood is determined by the restricted form and the symplectic normal bundle.
Symplectic vector bundle 2026-10-14
A symplectic vector bundle has a smooth fiberwise symplectic form, making each fiber a symplectic vector space. Its structure group reduces to the symplectic group. A symplectic normal bundle is an important example.