| Abstract: | This paper is devoted to a constructiveand critical analysis of the structure of certain dynamical systems from a group manifold point of view recently developed. This approach is especially suitable for discussing the structure of the quantum theory, the classical limit, the Hamilton-Jacobi theory and other problems such as the definition and globalization of the Poincaré-Cartan form which appears in the variational approach to higher order dynamical systems. At the same time, i t opens a way for the classification of all hamiltonian and lagrangian systems associated with suitably defined dynamical groups. Both classical and quantum dynamics are discussed, and examples of all the different structures appearingin the theory are provided, including a treatment of constrained and generalized higher order dynamical systems. |
