A new variational principle and duality for periodic solutions of Hamilton's equations (Q1188235)

The author is concerned with a classical boundary-value problem concerning periodic solutions of the Hamiltonian equations (1) \(-\dot p(t)=H_ x(t,x(t),p(t))\), \(\dot x(t)=H_ p(t,x(t),p(t))\), where \(H: R\times R^ n\times R^ n\to R\) is a given function called the Hamiltonian. In mechanics, the functional (2) \(J(x)=\int_ 0^ T L(t,x(t),\dot x(t))dt+\ell(x(0),x(T))\) (where \(\ell(a,b)=+\infty\) if \(a\neq b\), \(=0\) if \(a=b\), and \(L\) is the Lagrangean corresponding to \(H\)) is called the action functional, and by the Hamiltonian least action principle, minimizers of \(J\) (considered in an appropriate space of functions) which satisfy the Euler-Lagrange equation describing the motion of a mechanical system defined by \(L\). The aim of this paper is to come back to the ideas of Lagrange and Hamilton, i.e., to the formulation of a variational principle for a periodic solution of (1) in terms of the action functional (2) and to the description of a duality principle for it.