Elementary Symplectic Topology and Mechanics

· Lecture Notes of the Unione Matematica Italiana Book 16 · Springer
Ebook
222
Pages
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

This is a short tract on the essentials of differential and symplectic geometry together with a basic introduction to several applications of this rich framework: analytical mechanics, the calculus of variations, conjugate points & Morse index, and other physical topics. A central feature is the systematic utilization of Lagrangian submanifolds and their Maslov-Hörmander generating functions. Following this line of thought, first introduced by Wlodemierz Tulczyjew, geometric solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi equations, Hamiltonian vector fields and canonical transformations are described by suitable Lagrangian submanifolds belonging to distinct well-defined symplectic structures. This unified point of view has been particularly fruitful in symplectic topology, which is the modern Hamiltonian environment for the calculus of variations, yielding sharp sufficient existence conditions. This line of investigation was initiated by Claude Viterbo in 1992; here, some primary consequences of this theory are exposed in Chapter 8: aspects of Poincaré's last geometric theorem and the Arnol'd conjecture are introduced. In Chapter 7 elements of the global asymptotic treatment of the highly oscillating integrals for the Schrödinger equation are discussed: as is well known, this eventually leads to the theory of Fourier Integral Operators. This short handbook is directed toward graduate students in Mathematics and Physics and to all those who desire a quick introduction to these beautiful subjects.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.