On the Legendre transformation for a class of nonregular higher-order Lagrangian field theories

Dec, 1988
10 pages
Published in:
  • J.Math.Phys. 31 (1990) 378
Report number:
  • SISSA-162/88/FM

Citations per year

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Abstract: (AIP)
In the framework of higher‐order calculus of variations, the generalized Legendre transformation for a wide class of Lagrangians is considered, which depend in a nonregular way on the derivatives of maximal order. A rigorous theory is discussed for Lagrangians depending on a constant rank set of affine combinations of these derivatives. This allows the reduction of the Poincaré–Cartan formalism and the Hamiltonian formalism to the appropriate constraint in the appropriate phase space of the problem. The case considered here covers many important physical examples, such as the Yang–Mills theories (at order one) and relativistic metric theories of gravitation (at order two).
  • field theory: action
  • gravitation
  • gauge field theory: Yang-Mills
  • Legendre transformation
  • fibre bundle