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.     

Unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for analytical mechanics

According to the basic idea of classical yin-yang complementarity and modern dual-complementarity, in a simple and unified new way proposed by Luo, the un-conventional Hamilton-type variational principles of holonomic conservative system in analytical mechanics can be established systematically. This unconventional Hamilton-type variational principle can fully characterize the initial-value problem of analytical mechanics, so that it is an important innovation for the Hamilton-type variational principle. In this paper, an important integral relation is given, which can be considered as the expression of the generalized principle of virtual work for analytical mechanics in mechanics. Based on this relation, it is possible not only to obtain the principle of virtual work of holonomic conservative system in analytical mechanics, but also to derive systematically the complementary functionals for three-field and two-field unconventional variational principles, and the functional for the one-field one by the generalized Legendre transformation given in this paper. Further, with this new approach, the intrinsic relationship among various principles can be explained clearly. Meanwhile, the unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles of nonholonomic conservative system in analytical mechanics can also be established systematically in this paper.     

Some variational principles in electroelastic media under finite deformation

It is proposed that the universal thermodynamic energy variational principle is included in the first law of thermodynamics. Some variational principles in the electroelastic media under finite deformation are derived from this universal thermodynamic variational principle. It is suggested that in the general electroelastic analysis the environment should be considered together with the discussed electroelastic medium. For the variational principle of nonlinear electroelastic media the variation of the electric potential is coupled with the virtual displacement, and the variation of the initial volume should be considered. The Maxwell stress in the initial configuration is naturally derived from this variational principle and it is unique in the second order precision. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10472069)     

Hamilton formalism and variational principle construction

It is widely accepted that a variational principle cannot be constructed for an arbitrary differential equation; a rigorous mathematical condition shows which equations can have a variational formulation. On the other hand, the importance for variational principles in various fields of physics resulted in several methods to circumvent this condition and to construct another type of variational principles for any differential equation. In this paper the common origin of the considered methods is investigated, and a generalized Hamiltonian formalism is formulated. Additionally, constructive algorithms are given by different methods to construct variational principles. Simple examples are presented to make construction methods more transparent: several Lagrangians are constructed for the different forms of the Maxwell equations and for the extended heat conduction equation.     

广义Birkhoff系统的时间积分定理

研究了广义Birkhoff系统的时间积分定理.给出系统的时间积分等式,并由此等式导出类能量方程、类维里定理、一个积分变分原理和一个微分变分原理. 关键词： 广义Birkhoff系统 时间积分定理 类能量方程 变分原理     

The Principle of Covariance and the Hamiltonian Formulation of General Relativity

The implications of the general covariance principle for the establishment of a Hamiltonian variational formulation of classical General Relativity are addressed. The analysis is performed in the framework of the Einstein-Hilbert variational theory. Preliminarily, customary Lagrangian variational principles are reviewed, pointing out the existence of a novel variational formulation in which the class of variations remains unconstrained. As a second step, the conditions of validity of the non-manifestly covariant ADM variational theory are questioned. The main result concerns the proof of its intrinsic non-Hamiltonian character and the failure of this approach in providing a symplectic structure of space-time. In contrast, it is demonstrated that a solution reconciling the physical requirements of covariance and manifest covariance of variational theory with the existence of a classical Hamiltonian structure for the gravitational field can be reached in the framework of synchronous variational principles. Both path-integral and volume-integral realizations of the Hamilton variational principle are explicitly determined and the corresponding physical interpretations are pointed out.     

The optical-mechanical analogy in general relativity: Exact Newtonian forms for the equations of motion of particles and photons

In many metrics of physical interest, the gravitational field can be represented as an optical medium with an effective index of refraction. We show that, in such a metric, the orbits of both massive and massless particles are governed by a variational principle which involves the index of refraction and which assumes the form of Fermat's principle or of Maupertuis's principle. From this variational principle we derive exact equations of motion of Newtonian form which govern both massless and massive particles. These equations of motion are applied to some problems of physical interest.     

A Schwinger variational method for the Bloch equation

A Schwinger variational principle has been derived for use in quantum, manybody systems at finite temperatures. The variational principle is a stationary expression for the density matrix which may be iterated to improve an approximate density matrix. It also can be used to find stationary expressions for observables. If an approximate, parametrized density matrix is used, the parameters are varied to find the regions where the variational principle is stationary. The variational density matrix obtained with the optimal parameters can be regarded as optimal for that observable. The method has been applied to two model problems, a particle in a box and two hard spheres at finite temperatures. The advantages and shortcomings of the method are discussed.     

Zur Begründung eines Variationsprinzipes für zerfallende Systeme

Taking into account the circumstance that the decay of an unstable microscopic system into two fragments is established by the counting of one of the decay products in a detector, the observed exponential decay law then asserts only knowledge of the spatiotemporal behaviour of the probability density (and therewith knowledge of the decaying state) at a large finite distance from the site of decay. We therefore formulate a variational principle, of which stationary functions show this decay behaviour. In addition to the resonant wave functions there are also solutions of the variational principle, which decrease exponentially with increasing distance, i.e., functions which could be used to describe the bound states. As the time-dependent treatment shows, the decaying states cannot occur in isolation in a scattering process. The mathematical characterisation of the decaying states via a variational principle is incorporated in a theory of open physical systems. In contradiction to the variational principle of Schrödinger our principle does not provide complete knowledge of the quantum states, but this is not needed in order to describe the decay.     

A comparison of approximate methods for solving non-conservative problems of elastic stability

The methods of Ritz, Galerkin, and complementary energy are applied to a nonconservative problem in the theory of elastic stability. The numerical calculations are based upon (i) a variational expression, for which no functional can be determined, and (ii) an adjoint variational principle, for which a functional is established in terms of the variables of the original non-self-adjoint eigenvalue problem and the adjoint problem. The adjoint variational principle yields somewhat more accurate values for the critical load parameter than does the variational expression. In addition, the results obtained by means of the complementary energy method are more precise than the corresponding results obtained from the Ritz and Galerkin methods.     

Structure-preserving algorithms for Birkhoffian systems

We propose a new approach to construct structure-preserving algorithms for Birkhoffian systems. First, the Pfaff–Birkhoff variational principle is discretized, and based on the discrete variational principle the discrete Birkhoffian equations are obtained. Then, taking the discrete equations as an algorithm, the corresponding discrete flow is proved to be symplectic. That means the algorithm preserves the symplectic structure of Birkhoffian systems. Simulation results of the given example indicate that structure-preserving algorithms obtained by this method have great advantage in conserving conserved quantities.     

不同积分变分原理的统一

依据定量因果原理的数学表示，统一地导出了Lagrange量中含坐标关于时间一阶、二阶导数 的积分型的Hamilton原理、Voss原理、Hlder原理和Maupertuis-Lagrange原理等，给出了 这些原理的本质联系和统一描述.得出f₀=0并不是通常的保持Euler-Lagrange方 程不 变的结果，而是满足定量因果原理的结果.还得出Lagrange量的所有的积分型变分原理等价 地对应于两类满足定量因果原理的不变形式.同时发现所有积分型变分原理的运动方程都是E uler-Lagrange 方程，但不同条件的变分原理所对应的不同群Ｇ作用下的守恒量是不同 的.从而可对过去众多零散的积分型变分原理有一个系统和深入的理解，并使这些变分原理 自然地成为定量因果原理的推论. 关键词： 变分原理 因果原理 运动方程 对称性     

Unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for electromagnetic elastodynamics

According to the basic idea of classical yin-yang complementarity and modern dual-complementarity, in a simple and unified new way proposed by Luo, the unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for electromagnetic elastodynamics can be established systematically. This new variational principles can fully characterize the initial-boundary-value problem of this dynamics. In this paper, the expression of the generalized principle of virtual work for electromagnetic dynamics is given. Based on this equation, it is possible not only to obtain the principle of virtual work in electromagnetic dynamics, but also to derive systematically the complementary functionals for eleven-field, nine-field and six-field unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for electromagnetic elastodynamics, and the potential energy functionals for four-field and three-field ones by the generalized Legendre transformation given in this paper. Furthermore, with this approach, the intrinsic relationship among various principles can be explained clearly.     

Birkhoff系统的时间积分定理

研究Birkhoff系统的时间积分定理.建立Birkhoff系统的时间积分等式，由此等式导出系统的类功率方程，Pfaff-Birkhoff积分变分原理以及Pfaff-Birkhoff-d′Alembert微分变分原理. 关键词： Birkhoff系统 时间积分等式 类功率方程 变分原理     

Noether Symmetry and Conserved Quantities of Fractional Birkhoffian System in Terms of Herglotz Variational Problem

The aim of this paper is to study the Herglotz variational principle of the fractional Birkhoffian system and its Noether symmetry and conserved quantities. First, the fractional Pfaff-Herglotz action and the fractional PfaffHerglotz principle are presented. Second, based on different definitions of fractional derivatives, four kinds of fractional Birkhoff's equations in terms of the Herglotz variational principle are established. Further, the definition and criterion of Noether symmetry of the fractional Birkhoffian system in terms of the Herglotz variational problem are given. According to the relationship between the symmetry and the conserved quantities, the Noether's theorems within four different fractional derivatives are derived, which can reduce to the Noether's theorem of the Birkhoffian system in terms of the Herglotz variational principle under the classical conditions. As applications of the Noether's t heorems of the fractional Birkhoffian system in terms of the Herglotz variational principle, an example is given at the end of this paper.     

Irreversible thermodynamics of fluids

Irreversible thermodynamics of fluids is formulated based on a set of postulates. The theory thus constructed generalizes thermostatics and linear irreversible thermodynamics into the realm of nonlinear irreversible processes. In this theory the extended Gibbs relation and the entropy balance equation appear as a pair of mutually consistent equations under the postulates made. An equivalent theory is also formulated by replacing one of the postulates with another that is basically a variational principle. The variational principle yields the evolution equations for fluxes as the Euler equations that extremize the variational functional postulated. The local form of the extremized variational functional is the entropy balance equation for the irreversible processes in the system. Some further consequences of the theory are also considered. For example, nonequilibrium specific heats are shown to be at least quadratic functions of fluxes and reduce to the equilibrium specific heats in the limit of vanishing fluxes. In order to illustrate an example of possible applications, we have considered nonlinear transport processes in fluids. The connections of the present theory with other theories are discussed.     

A New Variational Principle for the Fundamental Equations of Classical Physics

In this paper we introduce a variational principle from which the fundamental equations of classical physics can be deduced. This principle permits a sort of unification of the gravitational and the electromagnetic fields. The basic point of this variational principle is that the world-line of a material point is parametrized by a parameter a which carries some physical information, namely it is related to the rest mass and to the charge. In particular, the (inertial) rest mass will not be a property of a material point, but it will be a constant of the motion which is determined by the initial conditions. In this framework the equality between the inertial and gravitational mass can be deduced.     

Multi-symplectic Birkhoffian structure for PDEs with dissipation terms

A generalization of the multi-symplectic form for Hamiltonian systems to self-adjoint systems with dissipation terms is studied. These systems can be expressed as multi-symplectic Birkhoffian equations, which leads to a natural definition of Birkhoffian multi-symplectic structure. The concept of Birkhoffian multi-symplectic integrators for Birkhoffian PDEs is investigated. The Birkhoffian multi-symplectic structure is constructed by the continuous variational principle, and the Birkhoffian multi-symplectic integrator by the discrete variational principle. As an example, two Birkhoffian multi-symplectic integrators for the equation describing a linear damped string are given.     

A Variational Principle for Thermodynamical Waves

When the dissipative processes are dominant in the system, the assumption of local equilibrium holds good and the space time evolution of irreversible system can be described by the variational principle of GYARMATI. However when imposed changes in the state variables are fast, the system can not be in a state of local equilibrium and to define the nonequilibrium state of the system it is necessary to extend the formalism of classical irreversible thermodynamics. The wave approach of Onsagerian thermodynamics is one such pursuit and is a direct generalization of the original Onsager-Machlup proposition. An important consequence of this theory is that it leads to transport equations with finite propagation velocities, which are referred to as thermodynamical waves. In this note we endeavour to write the appropriate form of GYARMATI'S variational principle for thermodynamical waves.     

A new type of adiabatic invariants for disturbed Birkhoffian system of Herglotz type

The generalized variational principle of Herglotz type provides an effective way to study the problems of conservative and non-conservative systems in a unified way. According to the differential variational principle of Herglotz type, we study the adiabatic invariants for a disturbed Birkhoffian system in this paper. Firstly, the differential equations of motion of the Birkhoffian system based upon this variational principle are given, and the exact invariant of Herglotz type of the system is introduced. Secondly, a new type of adiabatic invariants for the system under the action of small perturbation is obtained. Thirdly, the inverse theorem of adiabatic invariant for the disturbed Birkhoffian system of Herglotz type is obtained. Finally, an example is given.