Discrete Dirac reduction of implicit Lagrangian systems with abelian symmetry groups (Q6160682)

The aim of this paper is to extend the theory of discrete Lagrangian mechanics by performing discrete Dirac reduction. In the continuous setting, the Dirac approach to (implicit) Lagrangian systems is based on the Tulczyjew triple, which consists of identifications of \(T^\ast(TQ)\), \(T(T^\ast Q)\) and \(T^\ast(T^\ast Q)\), where \(Q\) denotes the configuration space and the Lagrangian is defined over \(TQ\). They allow to define the \textit{induced Dirac structure} as a space of constraints inside \(T(T^\ast Q)\times T^\ast(T^\ast Q)\) for the pair \((X,\mathcal{D}L)\), where \(X\) is the vector field corresponding to the system and \(\mathcal{D}L\) is the Dirac differential of the Lagrangian. A similar approach can be done in the discrete setting and admits a variational formulation, as recalled in Section 2 which is based on [\textit{M. Leok} and \textit{T. Ohsawa}, Found. Comput. Math. 11, No. 5, 529--562 (2011; Zbl 1231.70016)]. The extension of this theory within a reduction framework is discussed in Sections 3-5 when the configuration space \(Q\) is a vector space and the reduction corresponds to an action on \(Q\) by translation with respect to a subspace \(G\subset Q\). It is shown that reducing the discrete Dirac structure or the discrete Lagrange-Pontryagin principle allows to derive the same (reduced) discrete Lagrange-Poincaré-Dirac equations. In Section 6, it is argued that the previous results can be adapted to the case of a connected abelian Lie group \(G\) acting freely and properly on a smooth manifold \(Q\), assuming that certain trivializations (called retractions) exist. The article finishes with the theory being applied to the following examples reduced with respect to a rotational \(S^1\)-symmetry: a charged particle in a magnetic field and the double pendulum. For the latter, the authors note that their numerical integration methods are more efficient than using the usual discrete Euler-Lagrange equations.