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Published November 2000 | public
Journal Article

Symmetry reduction of discrete Lagrangian mechanics on Lie groups

Abstract

For a discrete mechanical system on a Lie group G determined by a (reduced) Lagrangian ℓ we define a Poisson structure via the pull-back of the Lie–Poisson structure on the dual of the Lie algebra g^* by the corresponding Legendre transform. The main result shown in this paper is that this structure coincides with the reduction under the symmetry group G of the canonical discrete Lagrange 2-form ωL on G×G. Its symplectic leaves then become dynamically invariant manifolds for the reduced discrete system. Links between our approach and that of groupoids and algebroids as well as the reduced Hamilton–Jacobi equation are made. The rigid body is discussed as an example.

Additional Information

© 2000 Elsevier Science. Received 14 October 1999; revised 7 February 2000. Available online 25 September 2000. February 1999; current version October 26, 2000. The authors would like to thank Alan Weinstein for pointing out the connections with the general theory of dynamics on groupoids and algebroids. SP and SS would also like to thank the Center for Nonlinear Science in Los Alamos for providing a valuable setting for part of this work. SS was partially supported by NSF-KDI grant ATM-98-73133, and JEM and SP were partially supported by NSF-KDI grant ATM-98-73133 and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

Additional details

Created:
August 21, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023