Hamiltonian mechanics Definition and 37 Threads

In the derivation of Hamiltonian mechanics, the concept of "on-shell" vs "off-shell" is involved in the calculation. I searched it for like off-shelf, however it seems it makes sense in the context of four-momentum in special relativity. What is the meaning of that concept in the context of...

I've a doubt regarding the application of the principle of minimum action to real cases. Pick an inertial frame with a potential ##V## defined on it. The principle (aka Hamilton's principle) claims that the actual path taken from a body gives rise to a "stationary" action when calculated from a...

As said in the tl;dr: is the Hamiltonian necessarily differentiable (hence continuous) at the separatrix in the action-angle formalism? After all, the action variables are different depending on the type of motion. As far as I know the Hamiltonian H = H(J) can be found by inverting J for E, and...

So firstly I calculated the partial derivatives of f to be: $$ \frac{\partial f}{\partial x} = \frac{2x}{2} (y'^2 - \frac{1}{3} y^6) + \frac{x^2}{2} (2y'y'' - 2y^5y') = xy'^2 - \frac{1}{3} y^6 + x^2y'(y'' - y^5) $$ $$ \frac{\partial f}{\partial y} = \frac{x^2}{2}*\frac{1}{3}*6y^5 = x^2y^5 $$ $$...

As stated in the TLDR, I don't understand why the derivative of the Jacobi complete integral with respect to the constant α must be another constant, and furthermore why that constant is negative. The textbook I'm following, van Brunt's The Calculus of Variations proves it by taking: $$...

Hi, in the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics, the phase space is a symplectic manifold. Namely there is a closed non-degenerate 2-form ##\omega## that assign a symplectic structure to the ##2m## even dimensional manifold (the phase space). As explained here Darboux's theorem since...

I took the derviative of the Hamiltonian function with respect to Q and assumed that it was equal to 0 in order to find the Konstant A. I did find the Konstant A as -1/2m^2g but I still cant write the Hamiltonian equation without having the Q as a variable. Can someone please help? Translation...

I have found the Hamiltonian to be ##H = L - 6 (q_1)^2## using the method below: 1. Find momenta using δL/δ\dot{q_i} 2. Apply Hamiltonian equation: H = sum over i (p_i \dot{q_i}) - L 3(q_1)^2. Simplifying result by combining terms 4. Comparing the given Lagrangian to the resulting Hamiltonian I...

Hi, I believe that I have an acceptable level of understanding where SRT, GRT, QM and QFT come from. This is not true for me regarding the "good old stuff". Newton, okay, this is relatively (:wink:) clear to me but do you know something about the historical motivation for Lagrangian and...

Hello all, so I’ve been reading Jennifer Coopersmith’s The Lazy Universe: An Introduction to the Principle of Least Action, and on page 72 it says: If I understand it right, she’s saying that in our Euler-Lagrange equation ## \frac {\partial L} {\partial q} - \frac {d} {dt} \frac {\partial L}...

The issue here is that I don't know how to operate the final equations in order to get the phase diagram. I suppose some things are held constant so I can get a known curve such as an ellipse. I attach the solved part, I don't know how to go on.

Homework Statement:: ... Relevant Equations:: . What is the minimum mathematic requirement to the Lagrangian and hamiltonian mechanics? Maybe calc 3 and linear algebra?

Is Hamiltonian mechanics a mathematical generalization of Newtonian mechanics or is it explaining some fundamental relationship that has a meaning that extends into our nature ? I guess my question is what would led William Rowan Hamilton to come up with his type of mechanics or anything...

What types of math should a student be comfortable with going into a classical mechanics class at the level of Landau and Lifshitz? And are there any additional types of math that aren’t required, per se, but would be beneficial to know (for said course)?

I'm reading a book about analytical mechanics and in particular, in a chapter on hamiltonian Mechanics it says: "In the state space (...) the complete solutionbof the canonical equations is pictured as an infinite manifold of curves which fill (2n+1)-dimensional space. These curves never cross...

I need to learn about Hamiltonian mechanics involving functional and functional derivative... Also, I need to learn about generalized real and imaginary Hamiltonian... I only learned the basics of Hamiltonian mechanics during undergrad and now those papers I read show very generalized version...

in the Lagrangian mechanics, we assumed that the Lagrangian is a function of space coordinates, time and the derivative of those space coordinates by time (velocity) L(q,dq/dt,t). to derive the Hamiltonian we used the Legendre transformation on L with respect to dq/dt and got H = p*(dq/dt) -...

I know, $$ L=T-V \;\;\; \; \;\;\; [1]\;\;\; \; \;\;\; ( Lagrangian) $$ $$ H=T+V \;\;\; \; \;\;\;[2] \;\;\; \; \;\;\; (Hamiltonian)$$ and logically, this leads to the equation, $$ H - L= 2V \;\;\; \; \;\;\...

Generalized momentum is covariant while velocity is contravariant in coordinate transformation on configuration space, thus they are defined in the tangent bundle and cotangent bundle respectively. Question: Is that means the momentum is a linear functional of velocity? If so, the way to...

This book should introduce me to Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics and slowly teach me how to do problems. I know about Goldstein's Classical Mechanics, but don't know how do I approach the book.

Only thing I know about them is that they are alternate mechanical systems to bypass the Newtonian concept of a "force". How do they achieve this? Why haven't they replaced Newtonian mechanics, if they somehow "invalidate" it or make it less accurate, by the Occam's razor principle? Thanks in...

Recommend an easy going introduction to lagrangian and hamiltonian mechanics (for self study)

According to my book, and wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamiltonian_mechanics#As_a_reformulation_of_Lagrangian_mechanics, ##\frac{\partial{H}}{\partial{t}} = - \frac{\partial{L}}{\partial{t}}##, where ##L## is the Lagrangian. But how can this be? This assumes the generalized...

Hi I have been looking at canonical transformation using generating functions. I am using the Goldstein book and it gives the following example - F1=qQ ⇔ Q=p and P=-q F2=qP ⇔ Q=q and P=p F3=pQ ⇔ Q=-q and P=-p F4=pP ⇔ Q=p and P=-q I'm confused ! Obviously functions 1 and 4 give the...

Hi! I am trying to understand the statistical mechanics derivation of the ideal gas law shown at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law inder "Derivations". First of all, the statement "Then the time average momentum of the particle is: \langle \mathbf{q} \cdot \mathbf{F} \rangle=...

Generally, what sort of problems are handled better by Hamiltonian mechanics than by Lagrangian mechanics? Can anyone give a specific example?

Hi, A fundamental aspect in the Hamiltonian framework of mechanics is that the q's and p's are independent. I feel like I understand the steps in the Legendre transform from Lagrangian to Hamiltonian mechanics, but I don't see how you can go from a system where only the q's are independent...

The dimensions of action divided by the dimensions of electric field strength are distance x time x charge. Does this mean that distance x time x charge - whatever one might call that - is the "conjugate momentum" of an electric field? If so - is there any physical significance to this...

1. A particle of mass m is in the environment of a force field with components: Fz=-Kz, Fy=Fx=0 for some constant K. Write down the Hamiltonian of the particle in Cartesian coordinates .What are the constant of motion? 2. H=kinetic energy +potential energy [b]3. Is the Hamiltonian...

Apparently things like the Lorentz' force can't be handled as a hamiltonian system. I heard other people describe the hamiltonian mechanics as an equivalent characterization of classical mechanics, but this is wrong, then?

To which entitity (operators, wavefunctions etc) in quantum mechanics do the dynamical variables and the hamiltonian vector fields that they generate (through Symplectic structure of classical mechanics) correspond to?

Hey I was just wondering what the differences between the three forms of mechanics were. I've only studied basic Newtonian mechanics so I'm not really sure about the other two. Could anyone elaborate?

hello all, i'm an EE student,and I've recently started studying quantum mechanics. most textbooks start with schrodinger's equation directly but a few others (like say Liboff) start with the concept of hamiltonian from hamiltonian mechanics. is a knowledge of the same i.e...

Say I have a canonical transformation Q(q,p), P(q,p). In the {q,p} canonical coordinates, the Hamiltonian is H(q,p,t)=p\dot{q}-L(q,\dot{q},t) And the function K(Q,P,t)=H(q(Q,P),p(Q,P),t) plays the role of hamiltonian for the canonical coordinates Q and P in the sense that...

Homework Statement Using spherical coordinates (r, \theta, \phi), obtain the Hamiltonian and the Hamilton equations of motion for a particle in a central potential V(r). Study how the Hamilton equations of motion simplify when one imposes the initial conditions p_{\phi}(0) = 0 and \phi (0)...

Q is a conserved charge if \{Q, H\} = 0 Show that q+\epsilon\delta q satisfies the equation of motion. \delta q = \{q, Q\} I couldn't find the proof. Anybody knows? My workings: \delta q = \{q, Q\} \delta\dot{q} = \{\{q,Q\},H\} = - \{\{Q,H\},q\} - \{\{H,q\},Q\} \delta\dot{q} = \{\{q,Q\},H\} =...

Can anyone give me a basic definition of Hamiltonian Mechanics without all the fancy mathematics, and perhaps could supply a few examples as to this? I am trying to make sense of this, but everywhere I go, I run into very large mathematical equations and no defintions I can understand...