In
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
, Nambu mechanics is a generalization of
Hamiltonian mechanics
Hamiltonian mechanics emerged in 1833 as a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta ...
involving multiple Hamiltonians. Recall that
Hamiltonian mechanics
Hamiltonian mechanics emerged in 1833 as a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta ...
is based upon the flows generated by a
smooth
Smooth may refer to:
Mathematics
* Smooth function, a function that is infinitely differentiable; used in calculus and topology
* Smooth manifold, a differentiable manifold for which all the transition maps are smooth functions
* Smooth algebrai ...
Hamiltonian over a
symplectic manifold
In differential geometry, a subject of mathematics, a symplectic manifold is a smooth manifold, M , equipped with a closed nondegenerate differential 2-form \omega , called the symplectic form. The study of symplectic manifolds is called sympl ...
. The flows are
symplectomorphism
In mathematics, a symplectomorphism or symplectic map is an isomorphism in the category of symplectic manifolds. In classical mechanics, a symplectomorphism represents a transformation of phase space that is volume-preserving and preserves the sy ...
s and hence obey
Liouville's theorem. This was soon generalized to flows generated by a Hamiltonian over a
Poisson manifold
In differential geometry, a Poisson structure on a smooth manifold M is a Lie bracket \ (called a Poisson bracket in this special case) on the algebra (M) of smooth functions on M , subject to the Leibniz rule
: \ = \h + g \ .
Equivalentl ...
. In 1973,
Yoichiro Nambu
was a Japanese-American physicist and professor at the University of Chicago. Known for his contributions to the field of theoretical physics, he was awarded half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2008 for the discovery in 1960 of the mechanism ...
suggested a generalization involving Nambu-Poisson manifolds with more than one Hamiltonian.
Nambu bracket
Specifically, consider a
differential manifold
In mathematics, a differentiable manifold (also differential manifold) is a type of manifold that is locally similar enough to a vector space to allow one to apply calculus. Any manifold can be described by a collection of charts (atlas). One ma ...
, for some integer ; one has a smooth -linear map from copies of to itself, such that it is completely antisymmetric:
the Nambu bracket,
:
which acts as a
derivation
Derivation may refer to:
Language
* Morphological derivation, a word-formation process
* Parse tree or concrete syntax tree, representing a string's syntax in formal grammars
Law
* Derivative work, in copyright law
* Derivation proceeding, a proc ...
:
whence the Filippov Identities (FI), (evocative of the
Jacobi identities
In mathematics, the Jacobi identity is a property of a binary operation that describes how the order of evaluation, the placement of parentheses in a multiple product, affects the result of the operation. By contrast, for operations with the associ ...
,
but unlike them, ''not'' antisymmetrized in all arguments, for ):
so that acts as a
generalized derivation over the -fold product .
Hamiltonians and flow
There are ''N'' − 1 Hamiltonians, , generating an
incompressible flow
In fluid mechanics or more generally continuum mechanics, incompressible flow ( isochoric flow) refers to a flow in which the material density is constant within a fluid parcel—an infinitesimal volume that moves with the flow velocity. An e ...
,
:
The generalized phase-space velocity is divergenceless, enabling
Liouville's theorem. The case reduces to a
Poisson manifold
In differential geometry, a Poisson structure on a smooth manifold M is a Lie bracket \ (called a Poisson bracket in this special case) on the algebra (M) of smooth functions on M , subject to the Leibniz rule
: \ = \h + g \ .
Equivalentl ...
, and conventional Hamiltonian mechanics.
For larger even , the Hamiltonians identify with the maximal number of independent invariants of motion (cf.
Conserved quantity
In mathematics, a conserved quantity of a dynamical system is a function of the dependent variables, the value of which remains constant along each trajectory of the system.
Not all systems have conserved quantities, and conserved quantities are ...
) characterizing a
superintegrable system which evolves in -dimensional
phase space
In dynamical system theory, a phase space is a space in which all possible states of a system are represented, with each possible state corresponding to one unique point in the phase space. For mechanical systems, the phase space usually ...
. Such systems are also describable by conventional
Hamiltonian dynamics
Hamiltonian mechanics emerged in 1833 as a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta ...
; but their description in the framework of Nambu mechanics is substantially more elegant and intuitive, as all invariants enjoy the ''same'' geometrical status as the Hamiltonian: the trajectory in phase space is the intersection of the hypersurfaces specified by these invariants. Thus, the flow is perpendicular to all gradients of these Hamiltonians, whence parallel to the generalized cross product specified by the respective Nambu bracket.
Nambu mechanics can be extended to fluid dynamics, where the resulting Nambu brackets are non-canonical and the Hamiltonians are identified with the Casimir of the system, such as enstrophy or helicity
Quantizing Nambu dynamics leads to intriguing structures
which coincide with conventional quantization ones when superintegrable systems are involved—as they must.
See also
*
Hamiltonian mechanics
Hamiltonian mechanics emerged in 1833 as a reformulation of Lagrangian mechanics. Introduced by Sir William Rowan Hamilton, Hamiltonian mechanics replaces (generalized) velocities \dot q^i used in Lagrangian mechanics with (generalized) ''momenta ...
*
Symplectic manifold
In differential geometry, a subject of mathematics, a symplectic manifold is a smooth manifold, M , equipped with a closed nondegenerate differential 2-form \omega , called the symplectic form. The study of symplectic manifolds is called sympl ...
*
Poisson manifold
In differential geometry, a Poisson structure on a smooth manifold M is a Lie bracket \ (called a Poisson bracket in this special case) on the algebra (M) of smooth functions on M , subject to the Leibniz rule
: \ = \h + g \ .
Equivalentl ...
*
Poisson algebra In mathematics, a Poisson algebra is an associative algebra together with a Lie bracket that also satisfies Leibniz's law; that is, the bracket is also a derivation. Poisson algebras appear naturally in Hamiltonian mechanics, and are also central i ...
*
Integrable system
In mathematics, integrability is a property of certain dynamical systems. While there are several distinct formal definitions, informally speaking, an integrable system is a dynamical system with sufficiently many conserved quantities, or first ...
*
Conserved quantity
In mathematics, a conserved quantity of a dynamical system is a function of the dependent variables, the value of which remains constant along each trajectory of the system.
Not all systems have conserved quantities, and conserved quantities are ...
*
Hamiltonian Fluid Mechanics Hamiltonian fluid mechanics is the application of Hamiltonian methods to fluid mechanics. Note that this formalism only applies to nondissipative fluids.
Irrotational barotropic flow
Take the simple example of a barotropic, inviscid vorticity-f ...
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nambu Mechanics
Hamiltonian mechanics
Mathematical physics
Theoretical physics