Multisymplectic geometry is an adequate formalism to geometrically describe first order classical field theories. The De Donder-Weyl equations are treated in the framework of multisymplectic geometry, solutions are identified as integral manifolds of Hamiltonean multivectorfields. In contrast to mechanics, solutions cannot be described by points in the multisymplectic phase space. Foliations of the configuration space by solutions and a multisymplectic version of Hamilton-Jacobi theory are also discussed.
We consider the De Donder-Weyl (DW) Hamiltonian formulation of the Palatini action of vielbein gravity formulated in terms of the solder form and spin connection, which are treated as independent variables. The basic geometrical constructions necessary for the DW Hamiltonian theory of vielbein gravity are presented. We reproduce the DW Hamilton equations in the multisymplectic and pre-multisymplectic formulations. We also give basic examples of Hamiltonian (n-1)-forms and related Poisson brackets.
The multisymplectic structure of the KP equation is obtained directly from the variational principal. Using the covariant De Donder-Weyl Hamilton function theories, we reformulate the KP equation to the multisymplectic form which proposed by Bridges. From the multisymplectic equation, we can derive a multisymplectic numerical scheme of the KP equation which can be simplified to multisymplectic forty-five points scheme.
The (pre)multisymplectic geometry of the De Donder--Weyl formalism for field theories is further developed for a variety of field theories including a scalar field theory from the canonical Klein-Gordon action, the electric and magnetic Carrollian scalar field theories, bosonic string theory from the Nambu-Goto action, and $2+1$ gravity as a Chern-Simons theory. The Lagrangians for the scalar field theories and for $2+1$ Chern-Simons gravity are found to be singular in the De Donder--Weyl sense while the Nambu-Goto Lagrangian is found to be regular. Furthermore, the constraint structure of the…
Multisymplectic geometry - which originates from the well known de Donder-Weyl theory - is a natural framework for the study of classical field theories. Recently, two algebraic structures have been put forward to encode a given theory algebraically. Those structures are formulated on finite dimensional spaces, which seems to be surprising at first. In this article, we investigate the correspondence of Hamiltonian functions and certain antisymmetric tensor products of vector fields. The latter turn out to be the proper generalisation of the Hamiltonian vector fields of classical mechanics. Thu…
This review paper is devoted to presenting the standard multisymplectic formulation for describing geometrically classical field theories, both the regular and singular cases. First, the main features of the Lagrangian formalism are revisited and, second, the Hamiltonian formalism is constructed using Hamiltonian sections. In both cases, the variational principles leading to the Euler-Lagrange and the Hamilton-De Donder-Weyl equations, respectively, are stated, and these field equations are given in different but equivalent geometrical ways in each formalism. Finally, both are unified in a new…
The Clifford algebraic formulation of the Duffin-Kemmer-Petiau (DKP) algebras is applied to recast the De Donder-Weyl Hamiltonian (DWH) theory as an algebraic description independent of the matrix representation of the DKP algebra. We show that the DWH equations for antisymmetric fields arise out of the action of the DKP algebra on certain invariant subspaces of the Clifford algebra which carry the representations of the fields. The matrix representation-free formula for the bracket associated with the DKP form of the DWH equations is also derived. This bracket satisfies a generalization of th…
The objective of this work is twofold: First, we analyze the relation between the k-cosymplectic and the k-symplectic Hamiltonian and Lagrangian formalisms in classical field theories. In particular, we prove the equivalence between k-symplectic field theories and the so-called autonomous k-cosymplectic field theories, extending in this way the description of the symplectic formalism of autonomous systems as a particular case of the cosymplectic formalism in non-autonomous mechanics. Furthermore, we clarify some aspects of the geometric character of the solutions to the Hamilton-de Donder-Weyl…
The elements of the contrained dynamics algorithm in the De Donder-Weyl (DW) Hamiltonian theory for degenerate Lagrangian theories are discussed. A generalization of the Dirac bracket to the DW Hamiltonian theory with second class constraints (defined in the text) is presented.
We analyse the behaviour of the MacDowell-Mansouri action with internal symmetry group $\mathrm{SO}(4,1)$ under the covariant Hamiltonian formulation. The field equations, known in this formalism as the De Donder-Weyl equations, are obtained by means of the graded Poisson-Gerstenhaber bracket structure present within the covariant formulation. The decomposition of the internal algebra $\mathfrak{so}(4,1)\simeq\mathfrak{so}(3,1)\oplus\mathbb{R}^{3,1}$ allows the symmetry breaking $\mathrm{SO}(4,1)\to\mathrm{SO}(3,1)$, which reduces the original action to the Palatini action without the topologi…
The main purpose in the present paper is to build a Hamiltonian theory for fields which is consistent with the principles of relativity. For this we consider detailed geometric pictures of Lepage theories in the spirit of Dedecker and try to stress out the interplay between the Lepage-Dedecker (LP) description and the (more usual) de Donder-Weyl (dDW) one. One of the main points is the fact that the Legendre transform in the dDW approach is replaced by a Legendre correspondence in the LP theory (This correspondence behaves differently: ignoring the singularities whenever the Lagrangian is dege…
We show that the covariant analytic mechanics (CAM) is closely related to the De Donder-Weyl (DW) theory. To treat space and time on an equal footing, the DW theory introduces $D$ conjugate fields ($D$ is the dimension of space-time) for each field and the CAM regards the differential forms as the basic variables. The generalization of the canonical equations is called the DW equations. Although one of the DW equations is not correct for the gauge field and the gravitational field, we show the way to improve it. By rewriting the canonical equations of the CAM, which are manifestly general coor…
In a first part we propose an introduction to multisymplectic formalisms, which are generalisations of Hamilton's formulation of Mechanics to the calculus of variations with several variables: we give some physical motivations, related to the quantum field theory, and expound the simplest example, based on a theory due to T. de Donder and H. Weyl. In a second part we explain quickly a work in collaboration with J. Kouneiher (math-ph/0211046) on generalizations of the de Donder--Weyl theory (known as Lepage theories). Lastly we show that in this framework a perturbative classical field theory (…
The De Donder-Weyl (DW) covariant Hamiltonian formulation of Palatini first-order Lagrangian of vielbein (tetrad) gravity and its precanonical quantization are presented. No splitting into the space and time is required in this formulation. Our recent generalization of Dirac brackets is used to treat the second class primary constraints appearing in the DW Hamiltonian formulation and to find the fundamental brackets. Quantization of the latter yields the representation of vielbeins as differential operators with respect to the spin connection coefficients, and the Dirac-like precanonical Schrö…
Elements of the quantization in field theory based on the covariant polymomentum Hamiltonian formalism (the De Donder-Weyl theory), a possibility of which was originally discussed in 1934 by Born and Weyl, are developed. The approach is based on a recently proposed graded Poisson bracket on differential forms in field theory (see e.g. hep-th/9709229). A covariant analogue of the Schrödinger equation for a hypercomplex wave function on the space of field and space-time variables is put forward. It is shown to lead to the De Donder-Weyl Hamilton-Jacobi equations in quasiclassical limit. A possib…
This papers is concerned with multisymplectic formalisms which are the frameworks for Hamiltonian theories for fields theory. Our main purpose is to study the observable $(n-1)$-forms which allows one to construct observable functionals on the set of solutions of the Hamilton equations by integration. We develop here two different points of view: generalizing the law $\{p,q\} = 1$ or the law $dF/dt = \{H,F\}$. This leads to two possible definitions; we explore the relationships and the differences between these two concepts. We show that -- in contrast with the de Donder--Weyl theory -- the tw…
The covariant Hamilton-Jacobi formulation of Maxwell's equations is derived from the first-order (Palatini-like) Lagrangian using the analysis of constraints within the De~Donder-Weyl covariant Hamiltonian formalism and the corresponding polysymplectic reduction.
A description of classical field theories of first order in terms of Lagrangian submanifolds of premultisymplectic manifolds is presented. For this purpose, a Tulczyjew's triple associated with a fibration is discussed. The triple is adapted to the extended Hamiltonian formalism. Using this triple, we prove that Euler-Lagrange and Hamilton-De Donder-Weyl equations are the local equations defining Lagrangian submanifolds of a premultisymplectic manifold.
Classical field theory is considered as a theory of unparametrized surfaces embedded in a configuration space, which accommodates, in a symmetric way, spacetime positions and field values. Dynamics is defined by a (Hamiltonian) constraint between multivector-valued generalized momenta, and points in the configuration space. Starting from a variational principle, we derive local equations of motion, that is, differential equations that determine classical surfaces and momenta. A local Hamilton-Jacobi equation applicable in the field theory then follows readily. The general method is illustrated…
Quantization of general relativity in metric variables using ``precanonical'' quantization based on the De Donder-Weyl covariant Hamiltonian formulation is outlined. Elements of classical geometry needed to formulate the (Dirac-like) wave equation emerge from a self-consistency with the underlying quantum dynamics of the metric. In this sense the formulation can be viewed as independent from an arbitrarily fixed background.
We analyze the De Donder-Weyl covariant field equations for the topologically massive Yang-Mills theory. These equations are obtained through the Poisson-Gerstenhaber bracket described within the polysymplectic framework. Even though the Lagrangian defining the system of our interest is singular, we show that by appropriately choosing the polymomenta one may obtain an equivalent regular Lagrangian, thus avoiding the standard analysis of constraints. Further, our simple treatment allows us to only consider the privileged $(n-1)$-forms in order to obtain the correct field equations, in oppositio…
Many important theories in modern physics can be stated using differential geometry. Symplectic geometry is the natural framework to deal with autonomous Hamiltonian mechanics. This admits several generalizations for nonautonomous systems, both regular and singular. Some of these extensions are the subject of this thesis. Recently there has been a growing interest in studying dissipative mechanical systems from a geometric perspective using contact geometry. In this thesis we review what has been done in this topic and go deeper, studying symmetries and dissipated quantities of contact systems…
