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Title: Hamiltonian analysis for linearly acceleration-dependent Lagrangians

Journal Article · · Journal of Mathematical Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4954804· OSTI ID:22596686
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Facultad de Física, Universidad Veracruzana, 91000 Xalapa, Veracruz, México (Mexico)
  2. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Avenida Salvador Nava S/N Zona Universitaria, CP 78290 San Luis Potosí, SLP, México (Mexico)

We study the constrained Ostrogradski-Hamilton framework for the equations of motion provided by mechanical systems described by second-order derivative actions with a linear dependence in the accelerations. We stress out the peculiar features provided by the surface terms arising for this type of theories and we discuss some important properties for this kind of actions in order to pave the way for the construction of a well defined quantum counterpart by means of canonical methods. In particular, we analyse in detail the constraint structure for these theories and its relation to the inherent conserved quantities where the associated energies together with a Noether charge may be identified. The constraint structure is fully analyzed without the introduction of auxiliary variables, as proposed in recent works involving higher order Lagrangians. Finally, we also provide some examples where our approach is explicitly applied and emphasize the way in which our original arrangement results in propitious for the Hamiltonian formulation of covariant field theories.

OSTI ID:
22596686
Journal Information:
Journal of Mathematical Physics, Vol. 57, Issue 6; Other Information: (c) 2016 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0022-2488
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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