Helmholtz conditions, covariance, and invariance identities (Q1061517)

The author considers the problem of finding the Lagrangian function for a system of ordinary differential equations of the second order frequently arising in classical mechanics. Besides the well known Helmholtz's self- adjointness conditions the author assignes the covariance requirements for finding a symmetric matrix of the second order which transforms the given system of the differential equations of motion into a Lagrangian system. An application to the theory of gravitation is discussed.