We develop a variational method for constructing positive entropy invariant measures of Lagrangian systems without assuming transversal intersections of stable and unstable manifolds, and without restrictions to the size of non-integrable perturbations. We apply it to a family of two and a half degrees of freedom a-priori unstable Lagrangians, and show that if we assume that there is no topological obstruction to diffusion (precisely formulated in terms of topological non-degeneracy of minima of the Peierl's barrier function), then there exists a vast family of "horsheshoes", such as "shadowing" ergodic positive entropy measures having precisely any closed set of invariant tori in its support. Furthermore, we give bounds on the topological entropy and the "drift acceleration" in any part of a region of instability in terms of a certain extremal value of the Fréchet derivative of the action functional, generalizing the angle of splitting of separatrices. The method of construction is new, and relies on study of formally gradient dynamics of the action (coupled parabolic semilinear partial differential equations on unbounded domains). We apply recently developed techniques of precise control of the local evolution of energy (in this case the Lagrangian action), energy dissipation and flux. In Part II of the paper we will apply the theory to obtain sharp bounds for topological entropy and drift acceleration for the same class of equations in the case of small perturbations.
In 2004, Féjoz [Démonstration du 'théoréme d'Arnold' sur la stabilité du système planétaire (d'après M. Herman). Ergod. Th. & Dynam. Sys. 24(5) (2004), 1521-1582], completing investigations of Herman's [Démonstration d'un théoréme de V.I. Arnold. Séminaire de Systémes Dynamiques et manuscripts, 1998], gave a complete proof of 'Arnold's Theorem' [V. I. Arnol'd. Small denominators and problems of stability of motion in classical and celestial mechanics. Uspekhi Mat. Nauk. 18(6(114)) (1963), 91-192] on the planetary many-body problem, establishing, in particular, the existence of a positive measu…
It is well known that under generic $C^r$ smooth perturbations, the phenomenon of global instability, known as Arnold diffusion, exists in a priori unstable Hamiltonian systems. In this paper, by using variational methods, we will prove that under generic Gevrey smooth perturbations, Arnold diffusion still exists in the a priori unstable Hamiltonian systems of two and a half degrees of freedom.
In the present paper we prove a form of Arnold diffusion. The main result says that for a "generic" perturbation of a nearly integrable system of arbitrary degrees of freedom $n\ge 2$ \[ H_0(p)+\eps H_1(þ,p,t),\quad þ\in \T^n,\ p\in B^n,\ t\in \T=\R/\T, \] with strictly convex $H_0$ there exists an orbit $(þ_{\e},p_{e})(t)$ exhibiting Arnold diffusion in the sens that [\sup_{t>0}\|p(t)-p(0) \| >l(H_1)>0] where $l(H_1)$ is a positive constant independant of $\e$. Our proof is a combination of geometric and variational methods. We first build 3-dimensional normally hyperbolic invariant cylinders…
This paper constructs a certain planar four-body problem which exhibits fast energy growth. The system considered is a quasi-periodic perturbation of the Restricted Planar Circular three-body Problem (RPC3BP). Gelfreich-Turaev's and de la Llave's mechanism is employed to obtain the fast energy growth. The diffusion is created by a heteroclinic cycle formed by two Lyapunov periodic orbits surrounding $L_1$ and $L_2$ Lagrangian points and their heteroclinic intersections. Our model is the first known example in celestial mechanics of the a priori chaotic case of Arnold diffusion.
We prove a form of Arnold diffusion in the a priori stable case. Let H0(p) + $ε$H1($θ$, p, t), $θ$ $\in$ T n , p $\in$ B n , t $\in$ T = R/T be a nearly integrable system of arbitrary degrees of freedom n 2 with a strictly convex H0. We show that for a "generic" $ε$H1, there exists an orbit ($θ$, p)(t) satisfying p(t) -- p(0) {\textgreater} l(H1) {\textgreater} 0, where l(H1) is independent of $ε$. The diffusion orbit travels along a co-dimension one resonance , and the only obstruction to our construction is a finite set of additional resonances. For the proof we use a combination geometric a…
In the present paper we prove a strong form of Arnold diffusion. Let $\mathbb{T}^2$ be the two torus and $B^2$ be the unit ball around the origin in $\mathbb{R}^2$. Fix $ρ>0$. Our main result says that for a "generic" time-periodic perturbation of an integrable system of two degrees of freedom \[ H_0(p)+εH_1(θ,p,t),\quad \ θ\in \mathbb{T}^2,\ p\in B^2,\ t\in \mathbb{T}, \] with a strictly convex $H_0$, there exists a $ρ$-dense orbit $(θ_ε,p_ε,t)(t)$ in $\mathbb{T}^2 \times B^2 \times \mathbb{T}$, namely, a $ρ$-neighborhood of the orbit contains $\mathbb{T}^2 \times B^2 \times \mathbb{T}$. Our …
The evolution of a Lagrangian mechanical system is variational. Likewise, when dealing with a hybrid Lagrangian system (a system with discontinuous impacts), the impacts can also be described by variations. These variational impacts are given by the so-called Weierstrass-Erdmann corner conditions. Therefore, hybrid Lagrangian systems can be completely understood by variational principles. Unlike typical (unconstrained / holonomic) Lagrangian systems, nonholonomically constrained Lagrangian systems are not variational. However, by using the Lagrange-d'Alembert principle, nonholonomic systems ca…
This paper surveys some results by the author and collaborators on the existence of invariant Lagrangian graphs for Tonelli Hamiltonian systems. The presentation is based on an invited talk by the author at XIX Congresso Unione Matematica Italiana (Bologna, 12-17 Sept. 2011).
We present a variational formulation for the Navier-Stokes-Fourier system based on a free energy Lagrangian. This formulation is a systematic infinite dimensional extension of the variational approach to the thermodynamics of discrete systems using the free energy, which complements the Lagrangian variational formulation using the internal energy developed in \cite{GBYo2016b} as one employs temperature, rather than entropy, as an independent variable. The variational derivation is first expressed in the material (or Lagrangian) representation, from which the spatial (or Eulerian) representatio…
We extend the definition of the Maslov index to a broad class of non-Hamiltonian dynamical systems. To do this, we introduce a family of topological spaces--which we call Maslov-Arnold spaces--that share key topological features with the Lagrangian Grassmannian, and hence admit a similar index theory. This family contains the Lagrangian Grassmannian, and much more. We construct a family of examples, called hyperplane Maslov-Arnold spaces, that are dense in the Grassmannian, and hence are much larger than the Lagrangian Grassmannian (which is a submanifold of positive codimension). The resultin…
In this article, we introduce a method to approximate solutions of some variational mean field game problems with congestion, by finite sets of player trajectories. These trajectories are obtained by solving a minimization problem similar to the initial variational problem. In this discretized problem, congestion is penalized by a Moreau envelop with the 2-Wasserstein distance. Study of this envelop as well as efficient computation of its values and variations is done using semi-discrete optimal transport. We show convergence of the discrete sets of trajectories toward a solution of the mean f…
Hierarchies of Lagrangians of degree two, each only partly determined by the choice of leading terms and with some coefficients remaining free, are considered. The free coefficients they contain satisfy the most general differential geometric criterion currently known for the existence of a Lagrangian and variational formulation, and derived by solution of the full inverse problem of the calculus of variations for scalar fourth-order ODEs respectively. However, our Lagrangians have significantly greater freedom since our existence conditions are for individual coefficients in the Lagrangian. I…
Using the asymmetric fractional calculus of variations, we derive a fractional Lagrangian variational formulation of the convection-diffusion equation in the special case of constant coefficients.
In Haller and Beron-Vera (2013) we developed a variational principle for the detection of coherent Lagrangian vortex boundaries. The solutions of this variational principle turn out to be closed null-geodesics of the Lorentzian metric associated with a generalized Green-Lagrange strain tensor family. This metric interpretation implies a mathematical analogy between coherent Lagrangian vortex boundaries and photon spheres in general relativity. Here we give an improved discussion on this analogy.
In this article, we generalize the theory of discrete Lagrangian mechanics and variational integrators in two principal directions. First, we show that Lagrangian submanifolds of symplectic groupoids give rise to discrete dynamical systems, and we study the properties of these systems, including their regularity and reversibility, from the perspective of symplectic and Poisson geometry. Next, we use this framework -- along with a generalized notion of generating function due to Sniatycki and Tulczyjew -- to develop a theory of discrete constrained Lagrangian mechanics. This allows for systems …
