Lagrangian submanifolds and the Euler-Lagrange equations in higher-order mechanics

A direct construction of the Euler-Lagrange equations in higher-order mechanics as a submanifold of a higher-order tangent bundle is given, starting from the Lagrangian submanifold defined by the Lagrangian function. This construction uses higher-order tangent bundle geometry, derives the Euler-Lagrange equations as the constraint equations of a submanifold, and makes no assumptions about the regularity of the Lagrangian.