Generalized Noether's theorem. I. theory

This article is a theoretical investigation of generalized Noether's theorem, which, though unconcerned with considerations such as coordinate transformations, symmetry, and invariance, is the basic mechanism of conventional Noether's theorem, its extensions, and its inverse. The generalized theorem is a completely new approach to the subject—formally, conceptually, and practically. It is an association, for a set of field equations, of field variations with conserved currents. The theorem is stated from two points of view and analyzed with regard to its interpretation and its formal and conceptual relation to conventional Noether's theorem and extensions, transformation groups, and Hamilton's principle. The inverse theorem is also treated. The role of coordinate transformations in conventional Noether's theorem is analyzed.     

A theorem for time-dependent dynamical systems

A generalization of a theorem of Reid and Cullen is given. The limitations of using only point transformations are discussed and a procedure for the use of Noether's theorem with velocity-dependent transformations promoted.     

Noether's theorem and invariants of certain nonlinear systems

The invariants of certain nonlinear systems (having the form of inhomogeneous time-dependent harmonic oscillators) proposed by Ray and Reid are derived from Noether's theorem.     

Local versus global conservation and Noether's theorem

A distinction between local and global conservation resolves a long standing dispute between Hilbert and Klein, which inadvertently has precipitated an inadequate use of Noether's theorem in contemporary work.     

Infinite number of conservation laws in two-dimensional superconformal models

Superconformal theories in two-dimensional space-time are considered. Noether's theorem and the Belinfante improvement procedure are extended to superspace where they are used to construct the supercurrent. With its aid, an infinite number of classical conservation laws are derived. These laws are shown to survive quantization in the supersymmetric, non-linear, O(N) sigma model.     

A note on non-Noether constants of motion

It is shown that various recent results on the existence of constants of motion not arising directly from Noether's theorem or similar considerations, such as the result of Hojman and Harleston for systems with alternative lagrangian formulations, are consequences of some rather simple and general facts of differential geometry.     

Supercurrents in extended supersymmetry

Using the generalization of Noether's theorem to superspace, spinor superfields in extended superspace are derived that satisfy generalized conservation equations. These spinor superfields are superspace moments involving the superconformal parameters of vector indexed supercurrents as in the unextended case. The vector indexed supercurrents obtained in this fashion are simply related to the usual scalar supercurrents in extended superspace.     

Conservation laws of nonconservative nonholonomic system based on Herglotz variational problem

The generalized variational principle of Herglotz type provides a variational method for describing nonconservative or dissipative processes. The purpose of this letter is to extend this variational principle to a first order linear nonholonomic system and study the conservation laws of the nonconservative nonholonomic system based on Herglotz variational problem. A new differential variational principle of the nonconservative nonholonomic system is proposed, which is based on Herglotz variational problem. And the differential equations of motion of the system are also obtained. Then, according to the condition for the invariance of the differential variational principle, the conservation theorem based on Herglotz variational problem for the nonconservative nonholonomic system are obtained. The theorem contains the conservation theorem of the nonconservative holonomic system as its special case, which can be reduced to the first Noether's theorem based on Herglotz variational problem under proper conditions. The inverse theorem of the conservation theorem is also provided and proved. An example is given to illustrate the application at the end of this letter.     

Internal symmetry currents and supersymmetric effective lagrangians

A supersymmetric and non-linearly realized internally symmetric action is constructed from the super Kähler potential of Goldstone scalar superfields. Noether's theorem in superspace is derived and the associated superfield of currents defined. The currents are used to derive a super Dashen formula relating the (quasi) Goldstone masses and decay constants to the symmetry breaking part of the theory and to supersymmetrically gauge the invariant subgroup as well as the full group.     

A variational approach to bäcklund and infinitesimal bäcklund transformation for Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation

A new form of the Bäcklund transformation for the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation is obtained through the variational formalism. At no stage we use the equation of motion for the deduction of the Bäcklund transformation. So we follow the method of Steudel for the derivation of the infinite number of conservation laws using Noether's theorem in three dimensions and the corresponding infinitesimal Bäcklund transformation.     

Ward-takahashi identities and Noether’s theorem in quantum field theory

The gap in the mathematical derivation of Noether’s theorem, and also of the Ward-Takahashi identities, caused by performing variation before quantization is closed by introduction of variational calculus for operator fields. It is demonstrated that both Noether’s theorem and the Ward-Takahashi identities retain full validity in quantum field theory.     

A lattice Maxwell system with discrete space–time symmetry and local energy–momentum conservation

A lattice Maxwell system is developed with gauge-symmetry, symplectic structure and discrete space–time symmetry. Noether's theorem for Lie group symmetries is generalized to discrete group symmetries for the lattice Maxwell system. As a result, the lattice Maxwell system is shown to admit a discrete local energy–momentum conservation law corresponding to the discrete space–time symmetry. A lattice model that respects all local conservation laws and geometric structures is as good as and probably more preferable than standard models on continuous space–time. It can also be viewed as an effective algorithm for the governing differential equations on continuous space–time.     

An operatorially solved model of massless two-dimensional quantum chromodynamics

An operator solution is constructed in (1,1) dimensions to the massless quantum chromodynamics of n fermion quarks and n² ? 1 vector boson gluons with local colour SU(n) symmetry. The interacting quark field is a confined SU(n) Thirring field with zero Abelian coupling. The colour gluons are dependent Lie fields obeying the gluon-free fermionic current identity. Explicit local infinitesimal operator colour transformations (with an arbitrary coordinate-independent Lorentz vector coefficient defining the gauge) are given and the requirement of proper colour covariance linked to the vanishing of the coloured quark source currents and hence to the absence of coloured quark-composite states. The status of Noether's theorem is also clarified.     

A note on Keldysh's perturbation formalism

The expansion theorem of quantum field theoy relating Heisenberg operators to asymptotic free-field operators is rewritten by means of the time-path technique, originally due to Schwinger, which to date has only found application in statistical mechanics. The theorem is combined with Bogoliubov's initial condition of vanishing correlations in the infinite past to rederive Keldysh's perturbation scheme for non-equilibrium statistical Green's functions.     

Symmetries,Conservation Laws and Multipliers via Partial Lagrangians and Noether’s Theorem for Classically Non-Variational Problems

We show how one can construct conservation laws of equations that are not variational but are Euler–Lagrange in part using Noether-type symmetries associated with partial Lagrangians. These Noether-type symmetries are, usually, not symmetries of the system. The resultant construction of the conservation law resorts to a formula equivalent to Noether’s theorem. A variety of examples are given.     

Symmetry transformations in indefinite metric spaces: A generalization of Wigner's theorem

We formulate and prove a generalization to indefinite metric spaces of Uhlhorn's version of Wigner's theorem.     

Conserved momenta of a ferromagnetic soliton

Linear and angular momenta of a soliton in a ferromagnet are commonly derived through the application of Noether’s theorem. We show that these quantities exhibit unphysical behavior: they depend on the choice of a gauge potential in the spin Lagrangian and can be made arbitrary. To resolve this problem, we exploit a similarity between the dynamics of a ferromagnetic soliton and that of a charged particle in a magnetic field. For the latter, canonical momentum is also gauge-dependent and thus unphysical; the physical momentum is the generator of magnetic translations, a symmetry combining physical translations with gauge transformations. We use this analogy to unambiguously define conserved momenta for ferromagnetic solitons. General considerations are illustrated on simple models of a domain wall in a ferromagnetic chain and of a vortex in a thin film.     

Conservation Laws and Associated Noether Type Vector Fields via Partial Lagrangians and Noether’s Theorem for the Liang Equation

We show how one can construct conservation laws of the Liang equation which is not variational but may be regarded as Euler-Lagrange in part. This first requires the determination of the Noether-type symmetries associated with the partial Lagrangian. The final construction of the conservation laws resort to a formula equivalent to Noether’s theorem. A variety of subclasses are given and, for each, a large number of conserved flows are found—the method is usable for any general choice of the variable speed of sound.     

Applications of Noether conservation theorem to Hamiltonian systems

The Noether theorem connecting symmetries and conservation laws can be applied directly in a Hamiltonian framework without using any intermediate Lagrangian formulation. This requires a careful discussion about the invariance of the boundary conditions under a canonical transformation and this paper proposes to address this issue. Then, the unified treatment of Hamiltonian systems offered by Noether’s approach is illustrated on several examples, including classical field theory and quantum dynamics.