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A circle action is a group action by $S^1$. Hamiltonian circle actions are especially useful in symplectic reduction.

Fix the sign convention ${\iota }_{{\xi }_M}\omega =-d{\mu }^{\xi }$, where ${\xi }_M$ is the fundamental vector field and ${\mu }^{\xi }=⟨\mu ,\xi ⟩$. A Hamiltonian group action is a symplectic Lie group action together with an equivariant moment map $\mu :M\to {\mathfrak{g}}^{\ast }$ satisfying this identity for every $\xi \in \mathfrak{g}$. Equivariance means $\mu (gx)={\mathrm{Ad}}_{g^{-1}}^{\ast }\mu (x)$. Merely requiring each fundamental field to have some Hamiltonian is the weaker condition of a weakly Hamiltonian action.

For a circle group action, identify its Lie algebra with $\mathbb{R}$, and let $Y$ generate the action. Put $Z={\mu }^{-1}(t)$ and let $i:Z\hookrightarrow M$. Since $t$ is a regular value,The action is free, so $Y_x\ne 0$. The symplectic orthogonal complement of this hyperplane is exactly $\mathbb{R}{Y}_x$, which is contained in $T_{x}Z$. ThusThe free action of the compact circle group is proper, and the quotient $Q=Z/S^1$ is a smooth manifold with projection $\pi :Z\to Q$ a principal bundle. The form $i^{\ast }\omega$ is invariant and kills the orbit directions, hence is basic and descends to a unique two-form ${\omega }_Q$ satisfying ${\pi }^{\ast }{\omega }_Q=i^{\ast }\omega$. It is closed because pullback by a submersion detects differential forms. If a quotient tangent vector annihilates ${\omega }_Q$, a lift lies in the displayed kernel and hence projects to zero. Therefore ${\omega }_Q$ is nondegenerate. This proves symplectic reduction directly.

If $L\subset Q$ is a Lagrangian submanifold, its inverse image $\tilde{L}={\pi }^{-1}(L)$ is a smooth circle bundle over $L$. The restricted symplectic form is ${\pi }^{\ast }({\omega }_Q{|}_L)=0$. If $\dim M=2N$, then $\dim Q=2N-2$, $\dim L=N-1$, and $\dim \tilde{L}=N$, proving that $\tilde{L}$ is Lagrangian. This is the Lagrangian lift through circle reduction.

For scalar multiplication on ${\mathbb{C}}^{n+1}$, the generator is $Y={\sum }_j(-y_j{\partial }_{x_j}+x_j{\partial }_{y_j})$. Direct contraction givesChoose $t>0$. Its level is the sphere of radius $R=\sqrt{2t}$ and its quotient is ${\mathbb{CP}}^n$. Complex conjugation on the sphere reverses the ambient symplectic form and descends to an anti-symplectic involution of the quotient. Its fixed set is ${\mathbb{RP}}^n$: a projective point fixed by conjugation has a real representative after a phase change. For two tangent vectors to this fixed set, anti-symplecticity makes the reduced form equal to its negative, so it vanishes. The real dimension is $n$, half the quotient dimension, proving the Lagrangian fixed locus of an anti-symplectic involution property.

The lifted Lagrangian submanifold can be written explicitly asThe only redundancy in this parametrization is the displayed free involution: two nonzero real representatives on the same complex ray differ by a real sign. The quotient embeds smoothly in the sphere, and projection to $[x]\in {\mathbb{RP}}^n$ exhibits its circle bundle structure. Its Lagrangian property follows from the reduction argument, including the case $n=0$.

A symplectic blowup replaces a small symplectic ball around the point by an exceptional divisor ${\mathbb{CP}}^{n-1}$, for ${\dim }_{\mathbb{R}}X=2n$. One can construct its form by symplectic reduction. In a Darboux chart, consider ${\mathbb{C}}^n\times \mathbb{C}$ with the circle actionOn ${\mu }^{-1}(R^2/2)$ the action is free because $z\ne 0$. Its quotient therefore carries a smooth symplectic form. Where $w\ne 0$, choose the representative with $w$ positive real; the reduced form is the original form on $|z|>R$. Where $w=0$, the quotient is the Hopf fibration quotient of $|z|=R$, namely ${\mathbb{CP}}^{n-1}$. The local quotient is the tautological complex line bundle near its zero section, hence the local blowup. Glue this model to the exterior of the ball to obtain a symplectic form on the blowup.

The area of a projective line in the exceptional divisor is $\epsilon =\pi R^2$. For a closed $X$, changing this size changes the symplectic volume:Consequently the blowup is not determined up to symplectomorphism without a size choice. The underlying smooth blowup is fixed, but the symplectic construction has a parameter, as in symplectic blowup size changes volume.

For the blowdown map $\pi$ and exceptional divisor $E$, the First Chern class isIn real dimension four this becomes ${\pi }^{\ast }{c}_1(TX)-\mathrm{PD}[E]$, the first Chern class formula for a symplectic blowup.

The tangent bundle of the standard four-torus is a trivial complex rank-two bundle, so its symplectic canonical class is zero. For a generic fiber $F$ of a symplectic Lefschetz pencil, the symplectic adjunction formula gives $2g-2=F^2$. Two generic fibers intersect precisely at the base points, each with local intersection number one in the pencil model $[z_1:z_2]$. HenceThis is base-point count for a Lefschetz pencil on a symplectic four-torus.

The Marsden-Weinstein theorem needs a Hamiltonian action, not merely an action by symplectomorphisms. Assume an equivariant moment map $\mu :P\to {\mathfrak{g}}^{\ast }$ exists, choose a coadjoint-fixed regular value $a$ (zero is the usual choice), and assume the action on $C={\mu }^{-1}(a)$ is free and proper. Regularity makes $C$ a submanifold of codimension $g=\dim G$. Equivariance and invariance of $a$ make $C$ invariant under $G$, and freeness and properness give a smooth quotient $P^{\prime }=C/G$. Thus

Let $\iota :C\hookrightarrow P$ and $\pi :C\to P^{\prime }$. For $v\in T_{p}C$ and $\xi \in \mathfrak{g}$,Moreover the conormal of $C$ is spanned by the independent $d{\mu }_{\xi }$, so nondegeneracy of $\omega$ gives $(T_{p}C{)}^{\omega }=\{{\xi }_P(p)\}$. The coadjoint-fixed value makes these orbit directions tangent to $C$. Hence the kernel of ${\iota }^{\ast }\omega$ is exactly the orbit tangent space. The restricted form is invariant and horizontal, so descends uniquely to a two-form ${\omega }^{\prime }$ withIt is closed because $\omega$ is closed. If a quotient tangent vector annihilates ${\omega }^{\prime }$, any lift lies in the kernel just identified and is vertical; the quotient vector is therefore zero. This proves nondegeneracy and completes symplectic reduction.

If the action is not free, singular strata or orbifold phenomena may occur. At a general noncentral regular value one quotients by its coadjoint stabilizer $G_a$, not by all of $G$; the regular dimension is $2n-g-\dim G_a$. These are genuine hypotheses behind the stated dimension formula.

Both proposed examples can be given explicitly. For symplectic reduction of an isotropic oscillator, take two modes withIts Hamiltonian flow is $z_j\mapsto e^{-it}{z}_j$, a circle action with moment map $H$. For $E>0$, $H^{-1}(E)$ is the sphere $S^3$ of radius $\sqrt{2E}$, and the action is free. The Hopf fibration identifies its quotient with ${\mathbb{CP}}^1\cong S^2$. On the chart $z_1\ne 0$, use $w=z_2/z_1$ and choose a section with $z_1=\sqrt{2E/(1+|w{|}^2)}$ real positive. Pulling back $\omega$ to this section givesWriting $w=x+iy$ gives $2Edx\wedge dy/(1+x^2+y^2{)}^2$, whose integral is $2\pi E$. This is the Fubini-Study form scaled by $E$ in the convention of area $2\pi$ at unit scale. The reduced dimension is $4-2=2$. At $E=0$, the circle fixes the origin and the smooth regular-level hypotheses fail.

For a unit-mass free particle in the plane, use the rotation circle action with angular-momentum moment map $\ell =x{p}_y-y{p}_x$. Choose ${\ell }_0\ne 0$ so the entire level avoids $r=0$ and the action is free. Polar canonical coordinates haveFixing $\ell ={\ell }_0$ and quotienting the rotation angle leavesThis planar rotational symplectic reduction replaces a planar free trajectory by radial motion with the centrifugal potential. A nonzero moment value is allowed because the circle is abelian and every value is coadjoint-fixed.

For $N$ labelled particles with collisions excluded, Newtonian gravity hasSimultaneously translating every position or applying the same time-independent spatial rotation preserves both kinetic energy and the distance-dependent potential. The conserved momentum and angular momentum obtained from Noether's theorem areTime translations give the conserved Hamiltonian. Galilean boosts change the Lagrangian by a total derivative, rather than leaving it strictly unchanged; they give the conserved centre-of-mass quantity $M\mathbf{R}-t\mathbf{P}$, where $M={\sum }_i{m}_i$ and $\mathbf{R}=M^{-1}{\sum }_i{m}_i{\mathbf{q}}_i$. Thus absolute uniform velocity is not singled out by the isolated dynamics.

Translations can be separated explicitly. Put ${\mathbf{r}}_i={\mathbf{q}}_i-\mathbf{R}$, so ${\sum }_i{m}_i{\mathbf{r}}_i=0$. Thenwith the cross-term vanishing. The potential depends only on ${\mathbf{r}}_i-{\mathbf{r}}_j$. The centre-of-mass motion is therefore a decoupled free motion; at fixed $\mathbf{P}$ its energy is ${\mathbf{P}}^2/(2M)$ and it can be eliminated from the internal equations. Choosing a centre-of-mass rest frame sets $\mathbf{P}=0$.

One can then quotient internal configurations by simultaneous rotations. On generic noncollinear configurations with $N\ge 3$ the resulting relational shape space has dimension $3N-6$; collinear configurations have stabilizers and belong to singular strata. For two particles only the separation remains, so that generic dimension formula is inapplicable. This configuration quotient identifies absolute placement and orientation, but it does not by itself specify all the reduced dynamics.

At the phase-space level, symplectic reduction is performed at a fixed moment-map value: $J^{-1}(\mu )/G_{\mu }$, where $G_{\mu }$ is the coadjoint stabilizer. In particular, at fixed nonzero angular momentum one does not simply divide the momentum level by every rotation. The reduction retains the appropriate angular-momentum data and centrifugal effects. Even for two gravitating particles, specifying $r$ and $\dot{r}$ alone is insufficient unless the angular-momentum parameter is supplied:Systems with identical instantaneous separation and radial velocity but different $\ell$ have different radial futures. Eliminating orientation while discarding this parameter would not be a faithful reduction.

These results support a relational treatment of overall position and orientation: isolated configurations differing only by one fixed translation or rotation have the same internal predictions. However, a symmetry and a declared gauge equivalence are conceptually different, and the quotient alone does not settle the ontology of space. Arbitrary time-dependent rotations are not symmetries of the original inertial equations; a rotating coordinate description brings Coriolis and centrifugal terms. Newtonian inertial structure and absolute acceleration therefore cannot be eliminated merely by citing rotational invariance. A relational theory may encode that structure through additional dynamical or connection data, but it must reproduce these effects rather than erase them.

The symmetries license mathematically controlled elimination of collective variables, with momentum and regularity qualifications; they do not alone prove either absolute space or complete relationalism. This distinguishes redundant descriptions of a solution from genuinely different possible motions.

Use the normalization in which a projective line has area $2\pi$. On the affine chart of Complex projective space where $Z_0\ne 0$, set $w_j=Z_j/Z_0$ and $S=1+{\sum }_j|w_j{|}^2$. Define the Fubini-Study form byOn another chart the corresponding potential differs by $\log |h{|}^2$ for a nowhere-zero holomorphic function $h$, whose $\partial \bar{\partial }$ is zero. Thus these local differential forms glue to a global form. It is real and closed. Its Hermitian coefficient matrix is positive definite, since for $v\ne 0$ the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality givesHence it is a Kähler form and in particular a symplectic form.

On a complex projective line with $w=x+iy$ this is $2(1+|w{|}^2{)}^{-2}dx\wedge dy$, whose total area is $2\pi$. Thus $[{\omega }_{\mathrm{FS}}/(2\pi )]$ is the positive generator, equivalently $c_1(\mathcal{O}(1))$. Another common normalization uses half this form and gives line area $\pi$; the scale must be carried consistently into symplectic reduction.

The level equation is $|z_1{|}^2+|z_2{|}^2=|z_0{|}^2$. In particular $z_0\ne 0$, so the global affine coordinates on this level are $w_j=z_j/z_0$. They identify it withThe diagonal circle action becomes $(w_1,w_2)\mapsto (t{w}_1,t{w}_2)$ and is free: at least one coordinate is nonzero, so fixing a point forces $t=1$. Since the circle is compact, the Free proper Lie-group action theorem makes the quotient a smooth two-dimensional smooth manifold.

The map $(w_1,w_2)\mapsto [w_1,w_2]$ is the Hopf fibration. It is onto the complex projective line, and two unit representatives determine the same complex line precisely when they differ by a scalar of modulus one, hence by a circle orbit. Local sections, for example $[1,u]\mapsto (1,u)/\sqrt{1+|u{|}^2}$, show that the induced identification is a diffeomorphism. ThereforeThis identifies the symplectic reduction as a smooth manifold; no computation of its reduced symplectic form is needed.