The classical relativistic wave equations are presented as partial difference equations in the arena of covariant discrete phase space. These equations are also expressed as difference-differential equations in discrete phase space and continuous time. The relativistic invariance and covariance of the equations in both versions are established. The partial difference and difference-differential equations are derived as the Euler-Lagrange equations from the variational principle. The difference and difference-differential conservation equations are derived. Finally, the total momentum, energy, and charge of the relativistic classical fields satisfying difference-differential equations are computed.
We describe several recent results obtained in collaboration with P. Gravejat, C. Hainzl, E. Séré and J.P. Solovej, concerning a nonlinear model for the relativistic quantum vacuum in interaction with a classical electromagnetic field.
We reformulate the relativistic perfect fluid system on curved space-time. Using standard variables, the velocity field $u$,energy density $ρ$ and pressure $p$, the covariant Euler-Lagrange equation is obtained from variational principle. This leads to the Euler equation and the equation of continuity in reparametrization invariant form.
A second order variational description of the autoparallel curves of some differential-geometric connection for the third order Mathisson's 'new mechanics' of a relativistic free spinning particle is suggested starting from general requirements of invariance and 'variationality'.
We study the geometry of jets of submanifolds with special interest in the relationship with the calculus of variations. We give a new proof of the fact that higher order jets of submanifolds are affine bundles; as a by-product we obtain a new expression for the associated vector bundles. We use Green-Vinogradov formula to provide coordinate expressions for all variational forms, i.e., objects in the finite-order variational sequence on jets of submanifolds. Finally, we formulate the variational problem in the framework of jets of submanifolds by an intrinsic geometric language, and connect it…
In this paper we consider an intrinsic point of view to describe the equations of motion for higher-order variational problems with constraints on higher-order trivial principal bundles. Our techniques are an adaptation of the classical Skinner-Rusk approach for the case of Lagrangian dynamics with higher-order constraints. We study a regular case where it is possible to establish a symplectic framework and, as a consequence, to obtain a unique vector field determining the dynamics. As an interesting application we deduce the equations of motion for optimal control of underactuated mechanical …
We use the Foldy--Wouthuysen (unitary) transformation to give an alternative characterization of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions for the Brown-Ravenhall operator (the projected Dirac operator) in the case of a one-electron atom. In particular we transform the eigenvalues problem into an elliptic problem in the 4-dim half space $\mathbb{R}^4_{+}$ with Neumann boundary condition.
We prove that well known first-order (in spin, momentum, and space-time coordinates) equations of motion of relativistic top are equivalent to the third-order equations of Mathisson on the surface of the Mathisson-Pirani auxiliary constraint. We then consider these third-order equations in flat space-time with constant spin 4-vector and invent a Lagrange function for them. Allowing physical interpretation to be applied to the complete set of extremals yields a whole spectrum of spin-dependent effective 'proper mass' of the relativistic top.
By making use of the variational tricomplex, a covariant procedure is proposed for deriving the classical BRST charge of the BFV formalism from a given BV master action.
A space-time symmetric and explicitly Lorentz covariant path integral formalism of relativistic quantum mechanics is proposed, which produces partial locally correlations of quantum processes of massive particles with the velocity of light at low energy limits. A superluminal correlation is also possible if anti-particles that moving along reverse time direction are excited. This provides a new point of view to interpret EPR experiments, also leaks a light of hope for hidden variable theories.
The Luttinger-Ward functional was proposed more than five decades ago to provide a link between static and dynamic quantities in a quantum many-body system. Despite its widespread usage, the derivation of the Luttinger-Ward functional remains valid only in the formal sense, and even the very existence of this functional has been challenged by recent numerical evidence. In a simpler and yet highly relevant regime, namely the Euclidean lattice field theory, we rigorously prove that the Luttinger-Ward functional is a well-defined universal functional over all physical Green's functions. Using the…
Variational principles for field theories where variations of fields are restricted along a parametrization are considered. In particular, gauge-natural parametrized variational problems are defined as those in which both the Lagrangian and the parametrization are gauge covariant and some further conditions is satisfied in order to formulate a Nöther theorem that links horizontal and gauge symmetries to the relative conservation laws (generalizing what Fern{á}ndez, Garc{\'ı}a and Rodrigo did in some recent papers). The case of vakonomic constraints in field theory is also studied within the fr…
In contrast with QFT, classical field theory can be formulated in a strict mathematical way if one defines even classical fields as sections of smooth fiber bundles. Formalism of jet manifolds provides the conventional language of dynamic systems (nonlinear differential equations and operators) on fiber bundles. Lagrangian theory on fiber bundles is algebraically formulated in terms of the variational bicomplex of exterior forms on jet manifolds where the Euler--Lagrange operator is present as a coboundary operator. This formulation is generalized to Lagrangian theory of even and odd fields on…
The work is devoted to studying some new classical electrodynamics models of interacting charged point particles and the aspects of the quantization via the Dirac procedure related to them. Based on the vacuum field theory no-geometry approach developed in [6,7,9], the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian reformulations of some alternative classical electrodynamics models are devised. The Dirac-type quantization procedure for the considered alternative electrodynamics models, based on the obtained canonical Hamiltonian formulations, is developed.
Inspired by the Clebsch optimal control problem, we introduce a new variational principle that is suitable for capturing the geometry of relativistic field theories with constraints related to a gauge symmetry. Its special feature is that the Lagrange multipliers couple to the configuration variables via the symmetry group action. The resulting constraints are formulated as a condition on the momentum map of the gauge group action on the phase space of the system. We discuss the Hamiltonian picture and the reduction of the gauge symmetry by stages in this geometric setting. We show that the Ya…
We prove by symmetry properties that the Lagrangian of a free point-mass is a quadratic function of the speed in the non-relativistic case, and that the action of the free point-mass between two spacetime points is the proper time passed in the relativistic case. These well known facts are proved in a mathematically rigorous way with a frame independent treatment based on spacetime models introduced by Matolcsi. The arguments show that these results are not obvious at all, some common beliefs can be refuted by explicit counterexamples. In our treatment the similarity of non-relativistic and re…
Exact solutions for the relativistic dynamics of a self-consistent system with electromagnetic and gravitational interaction within the Wigner-Vlasov formalism
This review is devoted to the study of stationary solutions of linear and nonlinear equations from relativistic quantum mechanics, involving the Dirac operator. The solutions are found as critical points of an energy functional. Contrary to the Laplacian appearing in the equations of nonrelativistic quantum mechanics, the Dirac operator has a negative continuous spectrum which is not bounded from below. This has two main consequences. First, the energy functional is strongly indefinite. Second, the Euler-Lagrange equations are linear or nonlinear eigenvalue problems with eigenvalues lying in a…
In this paper, we analyze the variation of the gravitational action on a bounded region of spacetime whose boundary contains segments with various characters, including null. We develop a systematic approach to decompose the derivative of metric variations into orthogonal and tangential components with respect to the boundary and express them in terms of variations of geometric objects associated with the boundary hypersurface. We suggest that a double-foliation of spacetime provides a natural and useful set-up for treating the general problem and clarifies the assumptions and results in speci…
Lagrangian formalism on graded manifolds is phrased in terms of the Grassmann-graded variational bicomplex, generalizing the familiar variational bicomplex for even Lagrangian systems on fiber bundles.
In this paper, we present a Lagrangian formalism for nonequilibrium thermodynamics. This formalism is an extension of the Hamilton principle in classical mechanics that allows the inclusion of irreversible phenomena in both discrete and continuum systems (i.e., systems with finite and infinite degrees of freedom). The irreversibility is encoded into a nonlinear nonholonomic constraint given by the expression of entropy production associated to all the irreversible processes involved. Hence from a mathematical point of view, our variational formalism may be regarded as a generalization of the L…
The variational formalism for classical field theories is extended to the setting of Lie algebroids. Given a Lagrangian function we study the problem of finding critical points of the action functional when we restrict the fields to be morphisms of Lie algebroids. In addition to the standard case, our formalism includes as particular examples the case of systems with symmetry (covariant Euler-Poincare and Lagrange Poincare cases), Sigma models or Chern-Simons theories.
In the Hamiltonian formalism, and in the presence of a symmetry Lie group, a variational reduction procedure has already been developed for Hamiltonian systems without constraints. In this paper we present a procedure of the same kind, but for the entire class of the higher order constrained systems (HOCS), described in the Hamiltonian formalism. Last systems include the standard and generalized nonholonomic Hamiltonian systems as particular cases. When restricted to Hamiltonian systems without constraints, our procedure gives rise exactly to the so-called Hamilton-Poincaré equations, as expec…
We describe the physical hypothesis in which an approximate model of water waves is obtained. For an irrotational unidirectional shallow water flow, we derive the Camassa-Holm equation by a variational approach in the Lagrangian formalism.
The original intent of the Koopman-von Neumann formalism was to put classical and quantum mechanics on the same footing by introducing an operator formalism into classical mechanics. Here we pursue their path the opposite way and examine what transfer operators can say about quantum mechanical evolution. To that end, we introduce a physically motivated scalar wavefunction formalism for a velocity field on a 4-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold, and obtain an evolution equation for the associated wavefunction, a generator for an associated weighted transfer operator. The generator of the sc…
Variational principles for magnetohydrodynamics were introduced by previous authors both in Lagrangian and Eulerian form. In this paper we introduce simpler Eulerian variational principles from which all the relevant equations of barotropic magnetohydrodynamics can be derived. The variational principle is given in terms of six independent functions for non-stationary barotropic flows and three independent functions for stationary barotropic flows. This is less then the seven variables which appear in the standard equations of barotropic magnetohydrodynamics which are the magnetic field $\vec B…
