Mixed variational principles for some non-self-adjoint dynamical systems (Q1058879)

In this paper, a variational method to time-independent bilinear Lagrangians is developed by means of mixed variational principles. The main result is the following statement: all the bilinear Lagrangians used by various authors [\textit{P. M. Morse} and \textit{H. Feshbach}, Methods of theoretical physics. Vol. I. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co. (1953; Zbl 0051.40603); \textit{H. Bateman}, Phys. Rev., II. Ser. 38, 815--819 (1931; Zbl 0003.01101) and \textit{H. H. E. Leipholz}, Ing. Arch. 40, 55--67 (1971; Zbl 0228.70027)] can be easily derived by an ''inverse problem'' type approach, based on the identification of an arbitrary combination of terms that appear in the equations of motion in the physical variable, as the time rate of change of the generalized momentum in the adjoint variable, and vice versa.