WSEAS Transactions on Mathematics
Print ISSN: 1109-2769, E-ISSN: 2224-2880
Volume 11, 2012
On the Routh Reduction of Variational Integrals. Part 1: The Classical Theory
Author:
Abstract: A geometrical approach to the reductions of one-dimensional first order variational integrals with respect to a Lie symmetry group is discussed. The method includes both the Routh reduction of cyclic variables and the Jacobi-Maupertuis reduction to the constant energy level. In full generality, it may be applied even to the Lagrange variational problems with higher order symmetries.