Skinner-Rusk formalism for \(k\)-contact systems (Q2667807)

This paper is a continuation of a previous works [\textit{M. de León} et al., Ann. Phys. 425, Article ID 168396, 34 p. (2021; Zbl 1457.37083); ``Unified Lagrangian-Hamiltonian formalism for contact systems'', Fortschr. Phys. 68, No. 8, Article ID 2000045, 22 p. (2020; \url{doi:10.1002/prop.202000045})], where the geometric framework was introduced and applied to some mechanical systems. This approach was based on the contact geometry and the \(k\)-symplectic setting of field theories and describes non-conservative field theories as a kind of modified both Lagrangian and Hamiltonian field theories. Setting in this approach is as follows. Let us be given a differentiable manifold \(Q\) as the configuration space, the Whitney sum \(TQ \oplus T^* Q\) is the evolution space with canonical projections \(\rho_1 : T Q \oplus T^* Q \rightarrow TQ\) and \(\rho_2 : TQ \oplus T^* Q \rightarrow T^* Q\). Let us define the presymplectic \(2\)-form (i.e. closed differential 2-form of constant rank on a manifold) \(\Omega = \rho_2^*\omega_Q\) on \(TQ \oplus T^* Q\), where \(\omega_Q\) is the canonical symplectic form on \(T ^*Q\). The rank of this presymplectic form is \(2n\) everywhere. Let us also assume that some dynamical system on this manifold is Lagrangian with Lagrangian \(L \in C^\infty (T Q)\). Then we can obtain a Hamiltonian representation on \(T Q \oplus T ^* Q\), by means of the presymplectic \(2\)-form \(\Omega\), the Hamiltonian function, defined by \(H = <\rho_1,\rho_2>- \rho_1^* L\) and the Hamiltonian system with the vector field \(X\), defined by the equation \(i(X)\Omega= dH\). In case of regular \(L\) there exists a unique vector field \(X\). In the singular case we should find a proper reduction to find a suitable submanifold where the vector field will be well-defined. In the present work this unified formalism was used to describe classical field theory with dissipation. Authors also analyzed three examples with an added linear term on the extra coordinates to the standard Lagrangian in order to have dissipation.