Continuous and Discrete Clebsch Variational Principles

The Clebsch method provides a unifying approach for deriving variational principles for continuous and discrete dynamical systems where elements of a vector space are used to control dynamics on the cotangent bundle of a Lie group via a velocity map. This paper proves a reduction theorem which states that the canonical variables on the Lie group can be eliminated, if and only if the velocity map is a Lie algebra action, thereby producing the Euler–Poincaré (EP) equation for the vector space variables. In this case, the map from the canonical variables on the Lie group to the vector space is the standard momentum map defined using the diamond operator. We apply the Clebsch method in examples of the rotating rigid body and the incompressible Euler equations. Along the way, we explain how singular solutions of the EP equation for the diffeomorphism group (EPDiff) arise as momentum maps in the Clebsch approach. In the case of finite-dimensional Lie groups, the Clebsch variational principle is discretized to produce a variational integrator for the dynamical system. We obtain a discrete map from which the variables on the cotangent bundle of a Lie group may be eliminated to produce a discrete EP equation for elements of the vector space. We give an integrator for the rotating rigid body as an example. We also briefly discuss how to discretize infinite-dimensional Clebsch systems, so as to produce conservative numerical methods for fluid dynamics.