Contact geometry in Lagrangian mechanics (Q1299196)

The author presents Lagrangian mechanics by considering Hamilton-Jacobi equation and its characteristics in terms of a principal \(G\)-bundle \(U\) over the space-time \(M\), where \(G= R\) or \(U(1)\) (instead of considering \(M\times \mathbb{R}\)). Then the author reviews the basic facts of contact geometry, and examines its connections with symplectic geometry, geometric quantization, and with Lagrangian mechanics. In particular, the geometric quantization is discussed in terms of a \(U(1)\)-bundle over the phase space. The paper concludes with the statement that the group \(U(1)\) can be replaced by almost any Lie group without changing anything.