Elementary Symplectic Topology and Mechanics (Lecture Notes of the Unione Matematica Italiana Book 16)

This is a short tract on the essentials of differential and symplectic geometry together with a basic introduction to several applications of this rich framework: analytical mechanics, the calculus of variations, conjugate points & Morse index, and other physical topics. A central feature is the systematic utilization of Lagrangian submanifolds and their Maslov-Hörmander generating functions. Following this line of thought, first introduced by Wlodemierz Tulczyjew, geometric solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi equations, Hamiltonian vector fields and canonical transformations are described by suitable Lagrangian submanifolds belonging to distinct well-defined symplectic structures. This unified point of view has been particularly fruitful in symplectic topology, which is the modern Hamiltonian environment for the calculus of variations, yielding sharp sufficient existence conditions. This line of investigation was initiated by Claude Viterbo in 1992; here, some primary consequences of this theory are exposed in Chapter 8: aspects of Poincaré's last geometric theorem and the Arnol'd conjecture are introduced. In Chapter 7 elements of the global asymptotic treatment of the highly oscillating integrals for the Schrödinger equation are discussed: as is well known, this eventually leads to the theory of Fourier Integral Operators. This short handbook is directed toward graduate students in Mathematics and Physics and to all those who desire a quick introduction to these beautiful subjects. Beginning -- Notes on Differential Geometry -- Symplectic Manifolds -- Poisson brackets environment -- Cauchy Problem for H-J equations -- Calculus of Variations and Conjugate Points -- Asymptotic Theory of Oscillating Integrals -- Lusternik-Schnirelman and Morse -- Finite Exact Reductions -- Other instances -- Bibliography. by Franco Cardin. Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Notes on Differential Geometry....Pages 1-32 Symplectic Manifolds....Pages 33-66 Poisson Brackets Environment....Pages 67-72 Cauchy Problem for Hamilton-Jacobi Equations....Pages 73-103 Calculus of Variations, Conjugate Points and Morse Index....Pages 105-128 A Short Introduction to the Asymptotic Theory of Rapidly Oscillating Integrals....Pages 129-135 Notes on Lusternik-Schnirelman and Morse Theories....Pages 137-196 Finite Exact Reductions....Pages 197-207 Other Instances: Generalized Elasticity....Pages 209-215 Back Matter....Pages 217-223