Symplectic mechanics (Q4770048)

The work is devoted to the exposition of classical mechanics of \(n\) particles in the terms of symplectic mechanics of \textit{J.-M. Souriau} [Structure des systèmes. Paris: Dunod (1970; Zbl 0186.58001)]. The author notices that as solutions \((t,r_i(t),v_i(t))\) of the Newton's equations \(m_i\,dv_i - F_i\,dt = 0\), \(dr_i - v_i\,dt = 0\) \((i =1, \ldots, n)\) for the \(n\) particles system in the space of evolutions \(\mathbb R^{6n+1}\) with coordinates \((t,r_i(,v_i)\), \(r_i = (r_{i1}, r_{i2}, r_{i3})\), \(v_i = (v_{i1}, v_{i2}, v_{i3})\) there appear the integral curves of the 1-dimensional distribution \(x \to \operatorname{Ker} \sigma_x = \{ \sigma(X,\cdot) = 0, X\in T_x\mathbb R^{6n+1}\}\), where \(\sigma = \sigma_{B_1,\ldots,B_n}\) is some given 2-form, depending on masses \(m_i\), on forces \(F_i\) and on arbitrary 3-vectors \(B_i = B_i(t,r_j,v_j)\). It is shown that \(\sigma\) is closed if and only if \(B_i= B_i(r_i)\), \(\operatorname{div}B_i =0\), \[ F_i = \operatorname{grad}_{r_i} U(t, r_1, \ldots, r_n) - B_i\times v_i, \] where \(V(t,r_1, \ldots, r_n)\) is an arbitrary function, \(\operatorname{grad}r_i = (\partial/\partial r_{i1}, \partial/\partial r_{i2}, \partial/\partial r_{i3})\). The Galilean group \(G\) can be considered as the group of transformations of the evolution space \(\mathbb R^{6n+1}\) which conserves the distribution \(\operatorname{Ker} \sigma\) and transforms the form \(\sigma\) covariantly: \[ A^*\sigma_{B_1\cdots B_n} = \sigma_{A_*B_1, \ldots, A_*B_n} \text{for all }A\in G. \] Following Souriau the author defines the moment of the group \(G \) as the smooth map \(\mu: T\mathbb R^{6n+1} \to\mathfrak G^*\) \((\mathfrak G^*\) is the conjugate space of the Lie algebra \(\mathfrak G\) of \(G)\) which satisfies the condition \(\sigma(Z,\cdot) = d(\mu\cdot Z)\) for any \(Z\in\mathfrak G\) considered as a vector field on \(T\mathbb R^{6n+1}\). It is easily proved that the moment \(\mu\) of \(G\) exists and is essentially unique and that it is a first integral of the equation \(\operatorname{Ker}\sigma = 0\). The author shows that the components of \(\mu\) with respect to the natural basis of \(\mathfrak G^*\) are the momentum, the moment of momentum and the energy of the \(n\) particles system and thus he obtains the laws of conservation of these quantities.