Where does Hamilton's Principle come from?

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

Hamilton's Principle is fundamentally linked to the formulation of action in modern physics, specifically through the use of a Lagrangian for a system. The principle asserts that the action is stationary, a concept rooted in the symmetry of the principle of relativity. The Poincare group, which describes transformations between inertial observers, plays a crucial role in this framework. Understanding these connections leads to insights into the relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics as articulated by Wigner and Dirac.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of Hamiltonian mechanics
  • Familiarity with Lagrangian formulation
  • Knowledge of the Poincare group in relativity
  • Basic concepts of quantum field theory
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the derivation of the Lagrangian from classical mechanics
  • Explore the role of symmetries in physics, focusing on the Poincare group
  • Study Wigner's representation theory in quantum mechanics
  • Examine Dirac's contributions to Hamiltonian dynamics
USEFUL FOR

Physicists, students of theoretical physics, and anyone interested in the foundations of classical and quantum mechanics will benefit from this discussion.

PhilipsPhysics
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
TL;DR
Hamiltons Principle
Hamiltons Principle and the physcial entity action are the terms in which modern physics is formulated. How do you know that you can always find a Lagrangian for a System which is then used for Hamitlons Principle and the formulation of Action? Why is the action stationary?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
:welcome:

What have you found so far on this question?
 
Thanks! Pretty much nothing, I know classical mechanics, quantum field theory, electromagnetism can formulated this way by I don't see why (I understand the math, I don't see where it comes from).
 
In my opinion, the deepest origin of the Hamiltonian formalism is the symmetry associated with the principle of relativity.

As all inertial observers are equivalent, there has to be a Lie group of transformations connecting different observers. In relativistic physics this is the Poincare group. According to Wigner, transformations from this group are represented by unitary operators in the Hilbert space of any isolated physical system. Generators of this representation form a 10-dimensional Lie algebra of Hermitian operators. The generator of time translations is the Hamiltonian.

This path will lead you to the relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics of Wigner and Dirac.

Eugene.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
3K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
1K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • · Replies 30 ·
2
Replies
30
Views
8K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
3K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
5K