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GATE 2020 PH – Question 33

Classical Mechanics · Canonical transformations: Poisson bracket. Special theory of relativity: Lorentz transformations, relativistic kinematics, mass-energy equivalence. · 1 mark · Numerical answer

Let p be conjugate momentum to q. The transformation $Q=\sqrt2\,q^m\cos p$, $P=\sqrt2\,q^m\sin p$ is canonical. Find m.

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Correct answer: 0.5 to 0.5

Explanation

The Poisson bracket is $\{Q,P\}=Q_qP_p-Q_pP_q=2m q^{2m-1}(\cos^2p+\sin^2p)=2m q^{2m-1}$. A canonical pair requires this to be 1 for all q in its domain. Thus $2m-1=0$ and $2m=1$, both giving m = 0.5.

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