Hamilton's principle,covariant Hamiltonian,and canonical formalism in four and five dimensions

A discussion of the 1950s and 1960s on the existence of an explicit covariant canonical formalism is renewed. A new point of view is introduced where Hamilton's principle, based on the existence of a Hamiltonian, is postulated independently from the Lagrange formalism. The Hamiltonian is determined by transformation properties and dimensional considerations. The variation of the action without constraints leads to an explicit covariant canonical formalism and correct equations of motion. The introduction of the charge as a fifth momentum gives rise to a reformulation of classical relativistic point mechanics as a five-dimensionalU(1) gauge theory with a theoretically invisible extra dimension. A generalization to other gauge groups is given. The inversion of the proper time is introduced as a new particle-antiparticle symmetry that allows one to show that in the five-dimensional classical theory all particles have positive energy.