Hamilton–Jacobi equation

In physics, the Hamilton–Jacobi equation, named after William Rowan Hamilton and Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, is an alternative formulation of classical mechanics, equivalent to other formulations such as Newton's laws of motion, Lagrangian mechanics and Hamiltonian mechanics.

The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is a formulation of mechanics in which the motion of a particle can be represented as a wave. In this sense, it fulfilled a long-held goal of theoretical physics (dating at least to Johann Bernoulli in the eighteenth century) of finding an analogy between the propagation of light and the motion of a particle. The wave equation followed by mechanical systems is similar to, but not identical with, Schrödinger's equation, as described below; for this reason, the Hamilton–Jacobi equation is considered the "closest approach" of classical mechanics to quantum mechanics.[1][2] The qualitative form of this connection is called Hamilton's optico-mechanical analogy.

In mathematics, the Hamilton–Jacobi equation is a necessary condition describing extremal geometry in generalizations of problems from the calculus of variations. It can be understood as a special case of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation from dynamic programming.[3]

Overview

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The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is a first-order, non-linear partial differential equation

 

for a system of particles at coordinates  . The function   is the system's Hamiltonian giving the system's energy. The solution of the equation is the action functional,  ,[4] called Hamilton's principal function in older textbooks. The solution can be related to the system Lagrangian   by an indefinite integral of the form used in the principle of least action:[5]: 431    Geometrical surfaces of constant action are perpendicular to system trajectories, creating a wavefront-like view of the system dynamics. This property of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation connects classical mechanics to quantum mechanics.[6]: 175 

Mathematical formulation

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Notation

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Boldface variables such as   represent a list of   generalized coordinates,  

A dot over a variable or list signifies the time derivative (see Newton's notation). For example,  

The dot product notation between two lists of the same number of coordinates is a shorthand for the sum of the products of corresponding components, such as  

The action functional (a.k.a. Hamilton's principal function)

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Definition

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Let the Hessian matrix   be invertible. The relation   shows that the Euler–Lagrange equations form a   system of second-order ordinary differential equations. Inverting the matrix   transforms this system into  

Let a time instant   and a point   in the configuration space be fixed. The existence and uniqueness theorems guarantee that, for every   the initial value problem with the conditions   and   has a locally unique solution   Additionally, let there be a sufficiently small time interval   such that extremals with different initial velocities   would not intersect in   The latter means that, for any   and any   there can be at most one extremal   for which   and   Substituting   into the action functional results in the Hamilton's principal function (HPF)

 

where

  •  
  •  
  •  

Formula for the momenta

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The momenta are defined as the quantities   This section shows that the dependency of   on   disappears, once the HPF is known.

Indeed, let a time instant   and a point   in the configuration space be fixed. For every time instant   and a point   let   be the (unique) extremal from the definition of the Hamilton's principal function  . Call   the velocity at  . Then

 

Proof

While the proof below assumes the configuration space to be an open subset of   the underlying technique applies equally to arbitrary spaces. In the context of this proof, the calligraphic letter   denotes the action functional, and the italic   the Hamilton's principal function.

Step 1. Let   be a path in the configuration space, and   a vector field along  . (For each   the vector   is called perturbation, infinitesimal variation or virtual displacement of the mechanical system at the point  ). Recall that the variation   of the action   at the point   in the direction   is given by the formula   where one should substitute   and   after calculating the partial derivatives on the right-hand side. (This formula follows from the definition of Gateaux derivative via integration by parts).

Assume that   is an extremal. Since   now satisfies the Euler–Lagrange equations, the integral term vanishes. If  's starting point   is fixed, then, by the same logic that was used to derive the Euler–Lagrange equations,   Thus,  

Step 2. Let   be the (unique) extremal from the definition of HPF,   a vector field along   and   a variation of   "compatible" with   In precise terms,      

By definition of HPF and Gateaux derivative,  

Here, we took into account that   and dropped   for compactness.

Step 3. We now substitute   and   into the expression for   from Step 1 and compare the result with the formula derived in Step 2. The fact that, for   the vector field   was chosen arbitrarily completes the proof.

Formula

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Given the Hamiltonian   of a mechanical system, the Hamilton–Jacobi equation is a first-order, non-linear partial differential equation for the Hamilton's principal function  ,[7]

 

Derivation

For an extremal   where   is the initial speed (see discussion preceding the definition of HPF),  

From the formula for   and the coordinate-based definition of the Hamiltonian   with   satisfying the (uniquely solvable for   equation   obtain   where   and  

Alternatively, as described below, the Hamilton–Jacobi equation may be derived from Hamiltonian mechanics by treating   as the generating function for a canonical transformation of the classical Hamiltonian  

The conjugate momenta correspond to the first derivatives of   with respect to the generalized coordinates  

As a solution to the Hamilton–Jacobi equation, the principal function contains   undetermined constants, the first   of them denoted as  , and the last one coming from the integration of  .

The relationship between   and   then describes the orbit in phase space in terms of these constants of motion. Furthermore, the quantities   are also constants of motion, and these equations can be inverted to find   as a function of all the   and   constants and time.[8]

Comparison with other formulations of mechanics

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The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is a single, first-order partial differential equation for the function of the   generalized coordinates   and the time  . The generalized momenta do not appear, except as derivatives of  , the classical action.

For comparison, in the equivalent Euler–Lagrange equations of motion of Lagrangian mechanics, the conjugate momenta also do not appear; however, those equations are a system of  , generally second-order equations for the time evolution of the generalized coordinates. Similarly, Hamilton's equations of motion are another system of 2N first-order equations for the time evolution of the generalized coordinates and their conjugate momenta  .

Since the HJE is an equivalent expression of an integral minimization problem such as Hamilton's principle, the HJE can be useful in other problems of the calculus of variations and, more generally, in other branches of mathematics and physics, such as dynamical systems, symplectic geometry and quantum chaos. For example, the Hamilton–Jacobi equations can be used to determine the geodesics on a Riemannian manifold, an important variational problem in Riemannian geometry. However as a computational tool, the partial differential equations are notoriously complicated to solve except when is it possible to separate the independent variables; in this case the HJE become computationally useful.[5]: 444 

Derivation using a canonical transformation

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Any canonical transformation involving a type-2 generating function   leads to the relations   and Hamilton's equations in terms of the new variables   and new Hamiltonian   have the same form:  

To derive the HJE, a generating function   is chosen in such a way that, it will make the new Hamiltonian  . Hence, all its derivatives are also zero, and the transformed Hamilton's equations become trivial   so the new generalized coordinates and momenta are constants of motion. As they are constants, in this context the new generalized momenta   are usually denoted  , i.e.   and the new generalized coordinates   are typically denoted as  , so  .

Setting the generating function equal to Hamilton's principal function, plus an arbitrary constant  :   the HJE automatically arises  

When solved for  , these also give us the useful equations   or written in components for clarity  

Ideally, these N equations can be inverted to find the original generalized coordinates   as a function of the constants   and  , thus solving the original problem.

Separation of variables

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When the problem allows additive separation of variables, the HJE leads directly to constants of motion. For example, the time t can be separated if the Hamiltonian does not depend on time explicitly. In that case, the time derivative   in the HJE must be a constant, usually denoted ( ), giving the separated solution   where the time-independent function   is sometimes called the abbreviated action or Hamilton's characteristic function [5]: 434  and sometimes[9]: 607  written   (see action principle names). The reduced Hamilton–Jacobi equation can then be written  

To illustrate separability for other variables, a certain generalized coordinate   and its derivative   are assumed to appear together as a single function   in the Hamiltonian  

In that case, the function S can be partitioned into two functions, one that depends only on qk and another that depends only on the remaining generalized coordinates  

Substitution of these formulae into the Hamilton–Jacobi equation shows that the function ψ must be a constant (denoted here as  ), yielding a first-order ordinary differential equation for  

 

In fortunate cases, the function   can be separated completely into   functions    

In such a case, the problem devolves to   ordinary differential equations.

The separability of S depends both on the Hamiltonian and on the choice of generalized coordinates. For orthogonal coordinates and Hamiltonians that have no time dependence and are quadratic in the generalized momenta,   will be completely separable if the potential energy is additively separable in each coordinate, where the potential energy term for each coordinate is multiplied by the coordinate-dependent factor in the corresponding momentum term of the Hamiltonian (the Staeckel conditions). For illustration, several examples in orthogonal coordinates are worked in the next sections.

Examples in various coordinate systems

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Spherical coordinates

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In spherical coordinates the Hamiltonian of a free particle moving in a conservative potential U can be written  

The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is completely separable in these coordinates provided that there exist functions   such that   can be written in the analogous form  

Substitution of the completely separated solution   into the HJE yields  

This equation may be solved by successive integrations of ordinary differential equations, beginning with the equation for     where   is a constant of the motion that eliminates the   dependence from the Hamilton–Jacobi equation  

The next ordinary differential equation involves the   generalized coordinate   where   is again a constant of the motion that eliminates the   dependence and reduces the HJE to the final ordinary differential equation   whose integration completes the solution for  .

Elliptic cylindrical coordinates

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The Hamiltonian in elliptic cylindrical coordinates can be written   where the foci of the ellipses are located at   on the  -axis. The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is completely separable in these coordinates provided that   has an analogous form   where  ,   and   are arbitrary functions. Substitution of the completely separated solution   into the HJE yields  

Separating the first ordinary differential equation   yields the reduced Hamilton–Jacobi equation (after re-arrangement and multiplication of both sides by the denominator)   which itself may be separated into two independent ordinary differential equations     that, when solved, provide a complete solution for  .

Parabolic cylindrical coordinates

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The Hamiltonian in parabolic cylindrical coordinates can be written  

The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is completely separable in these coordinates provided that   has an analogous form   where  ,  , and   are arbitrary functions. Substitution of the completely separated solution   into the HJE yields  

Separating the first ordinary differential equation   yields the reduced Hamilton–Jacobi equation (after re-arrangement and multiplication of both sides by the denominator)   which itself may be separated into two independent ordinary differential equations     that, when solved, provide a complete solution for  .

Waves and particles

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Optical wave fronts and trajectories

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The HJE establishes a duality between trajectories and wavefronts.[10] For example, in geometrical optics, light can be considered either as “rays” or waves. The wave front can be defined as the surface   that the light emitted at time   has reached at time  . Light rays and wave fronts are dual: if one is known, the other can be deduced.

More precisely, geometrical optics is a variational problem where the “action” is the travel time   along a path,  where   is the medium's index of refraction and   is an infinitesimal arc length. From the above formulation, one can compute the ray paths using the Euler–Lagrange formulation; alternatively, one can compute the wave fronts by solving the Hamilton–Jacobi equation. Knowing one leads to knowing the other.

The above duality is very general and applies to all systems that derive from a variational principle: either compute the trajectories using Euler–Lagrange equations or the wave fronts by using Hamilton–Jacobi equation.

The wave front at time  , for a system initially at   at time  , is defined as the collection of points   such that  . If   is known, the momentum is immediately deduced. 

Once   is known, tangents to the trajectories   are computed by solving the equation for  , where   is the Lagrangian. The trajectories are then recovered from the knowledge of  .

Relationship to the Schrödinger equation

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The isosurfaces of the function   can be determined at any time t. The motion of an  -isosurface as a function of time is defined by the motions of the particles beginning at the points   on the isosurface. The motion of such an isosurface can be thought of as a wave moving through  -space, although it does not obey the wave equation exactly. To show this, let S represent the phase of a wave   where   is a constant (the Planck constant) introduced to make the exponential argument dimensionless; changes in the amplitude of the wave can be represented by having   be a complex number. The Hamilton–Jacobi equation is then rewritten as   which is the Schrödinger equation.

Conversely, starting with the Schrödinger equation and our ansatz for  , it can be deduced that[11]  

The classical limit ( ) of the Schrödinger equation above becomes identical to the following variant of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation,  

Applications

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HJE in a gravitational field

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Using the energy–momentum relation in the form[12]   for a particle of rest mass   travelling in curved space, where   are the contravariant coordinates of the metric tensor (i.e., the inverse metric) solved from the Einstein field equations, and   is the speed of light. Setting the four-momentum   equal to the four-gradient of the action  ,   gives the Hamilton–Jacobi equation in the geometry determined by the metric  :   in other words, in a gravitational field.

HJE in electromagnetic fields

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For a particle of rest mass   and electric charge   moving in electromagnetic field with four-potential   in vacuum, the Hamilton–Jacobi equation in geometry determined by the metric tensor   has a form   and can be solved for the Hamilton principal action function   to obtain further solution for the particle trajectory and momentum:[13]               where   and   with   the cycle average of the vector potential.

A circularly polarized wave

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In the case of circular polarization,    

Hence         where  , implying the particle moving along a circular trajectory with a permanent radius   and an invariable value of momentum   directed along a magnetic field vector.

A monochromatic linearly polarized plane wave

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For the flat, monochromatic, linearly polarized wave with a field   directed along the axis       hence                 implying the particle figure-8 trajectory with a long its axis oriented along the electric field   vector.

An electromagnetic wave with a solenoidal magnetic field

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For the electromagnetic wave with axial (solenoidal) magnetic field:[14]     hence                     where   is the magnetic field magnitude in a solenoid with the effective radius  , inductivity  , number of windings  , and an electric current magnitude   through the solenoid windings. The particle motion occurs along the figure-8 trajectory in   plane set perpendicular to the solenoid axis with arbitrary azimuth angle   due to axial symmetry of the solenoidal magnetic field.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Goldstein, Herbert (1980). Classical Mechanics (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. pp. 484–492. ISBN 978-0-201-02918-5. (particularly the discussion beginning in the last paragraph of page 491)
  2. ^ Sakurai, J. J. (1994). Modern Quantum Mechanics (rev. ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. pp. 103–107. ISBN 0-201-53929-2.
  3. ^ Kálmán, Rudolf E. (1963). "The Theory of Optimal Control and the Calculus of Variations". In Bellman, Richard (ed.). Mathematical Optimization Techniques. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 309–331. OCLC 1033974.
  4. ^ Hand, L.N.; Finch, J.D. (2008). Analytical Mechanics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57572-0.
  5. ^ a b c Goldstein, Herbert; Poole, Charles P.; Safko, John L. (2008). Classical mechanics (3, [Nachdr.] ed.). San Francisco Munich: Addison Wesley. ISBN 978-0-201-65702-9.
  6. ^ Coopersmith, Jennifer (2017). The lazy universe : an introduction to the principle of least action. Oxford, UK / New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-874304-0.
  7. ^ Hand, L. N.; Finch, J. D. (2008). Analytical Mechanics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57572-0.
  8. ^ Goldstein, Herbert (1980). Classical Mechanics (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. p. 440. ISBN 978-0-201-02918-5.
  9. ^ Hanc, Jozef; Taylor, Edwin F.; Tuleja, Slavomir (2005-07-01). "Variational mechanics in one and two dimensions". American Journal of Physics. 73 (7): 603–610. Bibcode:2005AmJPh..73..603H. doi:10.1119/1.1848516. ISSN 0002-9505.
  10. ^ Houchmandzadeh, Bahram (2020). "The Hamilton-Jacobi Equation : an alternative approach". American Journal of Physics. 85 (5): 10.1119/10.0000781. arXiv:1910.09414. Bibcode:2020AmJPh..88..353H. doi:10.1119/10.0000781. S2CID 204800598.
  11. ^ Goldstein, Herbert (1980). Classical Mechanics (2nd ed.). Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. pp. 490–491. ISBN 978-0-201-02918-5.
  12. ^ Wheeler, John; Misner, Charles; Thorne, Kip (1973). Gravitation. W.H. Freeman & Co. pp. 649, 1188. ISBN 978-0-7167-0344-0.
  13. ^ Landau, L.; Lifshitz, E. (1959). The Classical Theory of Fields. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley. OCLC 17966515.
  14. ^ E. V. Shun'ko; D. E. Stevenson; V. S. Belkin (2014). "Inductively Coupling Plasma Reactor With Plasma Electron Energy Controllable in the Range from ~6 to ~100 eV". IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science. 42, part II (3): 774–785. Bibcode:2014ITPS...42..774S. doi:10.1109/TPS.2014.2299954. S2CID 34765246.

Further reading

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