The Ostrogradskij formalism for singular Lagrangians with higher derivatives (Q2784871)

The author considers a system with \(n\) degrees of freedom whose Lagrangian function \(L(x,\dot x,\ddot x)\) depends on second derivatives. The degenerate case is studied where the rank of the matrix \(\{\partial^2L/\partial x_i\partial x_j\}\) equals \(r\), \(r<n\). The author generalizes the classical Ostrogradskij procedure of constructing Hamiltonian equations of motion which correspond to those written in the Euler-Lagrange form. It is shown that the degenerate Lagrangians give rise to constraints of the first and second kind in phase space. Connection with Dirac approach is analyzed, and relations between Lagrangian and Hamiltonian constraints are established. As an example, the author considers a generalized action of a relativistic particle.