Search results for "Lagrangian mechanics"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
A rigidity theorem for Lagrangian deformations
2005
We consider deformations of singular Lagrangian varieties in symplectic manifolds. We prove that a Lagrangian deformation of a Lagrangian complete intersection is analytically rigid provided that this is the case infinitesimally. This result is given as a consequence of the coherence of the direct image sheaves of relative infinitesimal Lagrangian deformations.
The Principles of Canonical Mechanics
2010
Canonical mechanics is a central part of general mechanics, where one goes beyond the somewhat narrow framework of Newtonian mechanics with position coordinates in the three-dimensional space, towards a more general formulation of mechanical systems belonging to a much larger class. This is the first step of abstraction, leaving behind ballistics, satellite orbits, inclined planes, and pendulum-clocks; it leads to a new kind of description that turns out to be useful in areas of physics far beyond mechanics. Through d’Alembert’s principle we discover the concept of the Lagrangian function and the framework of Lagrangian mechanics that is built onto it. Lagrangian functions are particularly …
Newtonian and relativistic emission coordinates
2009
Emission coordinates are those generated by positioning systems. Positioning systems are physical systems constituted by four emitters broadcasting their respective times by means of sound or light signals. We analyze the incidence of the space-time causal structure on the construction of emission coordinates. The Newtonian case of four emitters at rest is analyzed and contrasted with the corresponding situation in special relativity.
Geometric Aspects of Mechanics
2010
In many respects, mechanics carries geometrical structures. This could be felt very clearly at various places in the first four chapters. The most important examples are the structures of the space–time continua that support the dynamics of nonrelativistic and relativistic mechanics, respectively. The formulation of Lagrangian mechanics over the space of generalized coordinates and their time derivatives, as well as of Hamilton–Jacobi canonical mechanics over the phase space, reveals strong geometrical features of these manifolds.
Maxwell Theory as a Classical FieldTheory
2012
Hamilton’s variational principle and the Lagrangian mechanics that rests on it are exceedingly successful in their application to mechanical systems with a finite number of degrees of freedom. Hamilton’s principle characterizes the physically realizable orbits, among the set of all possible orbits, as being the critical elements of the action integral. The Lagrangian function, although not an observable on its own, is not only useful in deriving the equations of motion but is also an important tool for identifying symmetries of the theory and constructing the corresponding conserved quantities, via Noether’s theorem.
The Action Principle in Classical Electrodynamics
2001
The main purpose of this chapter is to consider the formulation of a relativistic point particle in classical electrodynamics from the viewpoint of Lagrangian mechanics. Here, the utility of Schwinger’s action principle is illustrated by employing three different kinds of action to derive the equations of motion and the associated surface terms.