Analytical mechanics

by Valter Moretti

ISBN: 9783031276118

Published: 2023-05-30

This textbook aims at introducing readers, primarily students enrolled in undergraduate Mathematics or Physics courses, to the topics and methods of classical Mathematical Physics, including Classical Mechanics, its Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, Lyapunov stability, plus the Liouville theorem and the Poincaré recurrence theorem among others. The material also rigorously covers the theory of Special Relativity. The logical-mathematical structure of the physical theories of concern is introduced in an axiomatic way, starting from a limited number of physical assumptions. Special attention is paid to themes with a major impact on Theoretical and Mathematical Physics beyond Analytical Mechanics, such as the Galilean symmetry of classical Dynamics and the Poincaré symmetry of relativistic Dynamics, the far-fetching relationship between symmetries and constants of motion, the coordinate-free nature of the underpinning mathematical objects, or the possibility of describing...