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Published September 2018 | Published
Journal Article Open

Lagrangian vs Hamiltonian: The best approach to relativistic orbits

Abstract

In introductory general relativity courses, free particle trajectories, such as astronomical orbits, are generally developed via a Lagrangian and variational calculus, so that physical examples can precede the mathematics of tensor calculus. The use of a Hamiltonian is viewed as more advanced and typically comes later if at all. We suggest here that this might not be the optimal order in a first course in general relativity, especially if orbits are to be solved with numerical methods. We discuss some of the issues that arise in both the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian approaches.

Additional Information

© 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers. Received 28 July 2017; accepted 6 July 2018.

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August 19, 2023
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