Generalized symplectic Cayley transforms and a higher order formula for the Conley–Zehnder index of symplectic paths Original Research Article

Using a generalized notion of symplectic Cayley transform in the symplectic group, we introduce a sequence of integer valued invariants (higher order signatures) associated with a degeneracy instant of a smooth path of symplectomorphisms. In the real analytic case, we give a formula for the Conley–Zehnder index in terms of the higher order signatures.