Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: We prove that every smooth vector field on a closed smooth manifold is a single Lie bracket. The proof combines a relative transport construction on the complement of a ball with an exact extension across transverse graph disks. For the local extension, we first arrange that an auxiliary bracket is transverse to the disks, straighten it by its flow, and then remove the resulting scalar discrepancy. The argument applies without an orientability assumption. It also implies that every smooth fiberwise linear function on the cotangent bundle is a Poisson bracket of two such functions.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Zeng, Zeyu
Institution: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Language: English
Subfield: Geometry and Topology
Field: Mathematics
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7212041597