Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ii Paper 2 14E c Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-03
Under the gauge transformation,because the curl of a gradient vanishes, andThe transformed Lagrangian isA total time derivative changes the action only by endpoint terms, whose variation vanishes for fixed endpoints, so the Euler-Lagrange equations are unchanged.
The new momentum isUse the type-two generating function for a canonical transformationIt gives , , andThis equals , so the gauge change is a time-dependent canonical transformation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 15B b Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
The defining relations for a type-2 generating function giveHenceThe exact differential changes the action only by an endpoint term. Thus the transformed variational principle has canonical one-form and yields Hamilton's equations in with
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2023 ii Paper 4 15D Solution Created 2026-09-23 Updated 2026-09-25
A transformation of phase space is canonical when it preserves the symplectic form, or equivalently all Poisson brackets. For one degree of freedom this isequivalently .
Suppose a type-two generating function for a canonical transformation definesThenEquality of the mixed partial derivatives gives , so the transformation is canonical wherever it is locally invertible.
Forthe fundamental theorem of calculus and differentiation under the integral sign giveThusand in particular .
For the unit-frequency simple harmonic motion, the transformed Hamiltonian is simply . Hamilton's equations becomeThereforeand transformation back gives the familiar solution
Now consider the weak quartic oscillatorChoose the modified generating functionIt givesso the transformed Hamiltonian is again . Hence and . Expanding the square root with the Taylor series givesDifferentiation with respect to therefore yieldswhere
Set andWriting and expanding the inverse sine relation at givesExpanding similarly givesConsequentlySince , this is the required expression. The formula is understood away from turning points where and the ratio itself is singular.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2025 ii Paper 4 8B b i Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-25
For and ,The one-dimensional criterion for a canonical transformation therefore givesFor either value, the type-two generating function for a canonical transformationworks, because and ; when , the first equation is equivalent to . For every other , the Poisson bracket is not one and the map is not canonical.