Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 146 1 d Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
Any symplectic form on orients its tangent bundle. Choose a compatible complex structure and inner product; this reduces the structure group to . Since every line in an oriented symplectic plane is Lagrangian,is an oriented circle bundle.
If a transition function of rotates vectors through an angle , its action on unoriented lines rotates the coordinate through . The Euler class of the Lagrangian-line bundle of an oriented plane bundle therefore givesBy the Poincaré-Hopf theorem,for the chosen orientation, up to changing both signs. Hence the Euler number of is , which is nonzero. A smoothly trivial oriented circle bundle has zero Euler class, so cannot be smoothly trivial for any choice of symplectic form.
Poincaré-Hopf theorem 2026-09-24
For a compact oriented smooth manifold , the Euler class of its tangent bundle satisfiesEquivalently, the sum of the indices of the isolated zeros of a vector field equals the Euler characteristic.