Non-autonomous mechanics

Non-autonomous mechanics describe non-relativistic mechanical systems subject to time-dependent transformations. In particular, this is the case of mechanical systems whose Lagrangians and Hamiltonians depend on the time. The configuration space of non-autonomous mechanics is a fiber bundle Q\to \mathbb R over the time axis \mathbb R coordinated by (t,q^i). This bundle is trivial, but its different trivializations Q=\mathbb R\times M correspond to the choice of different non-relativistic reference frames.

As a consequence, non-autonomous mechanics (in particular, non-autonomous Hamiltonian mechanics) can be formulated as a covariant classical field theory (in particular covariant Hamiltonian field theory) on X=\mathbb R. Accordingly, the velocity phase space of non-autonomous mechanics is the jet manifold J^1Q of Q\to \mathbb R provided with the coordinates (t,q^i,q^i_t). Its momentum phase space is the vertical cotangent bundle VQ of Q\to \mathbb R coordinated by (t,q^i,p_i) and endowed with the canonical Poisson structure. The dynamics of Hamiltonian non-autonomous mechanics is defined by a Hamiltonian form p_idq^i-H(t,q^i,p_i)dt.

One can associate to any Hamiltonian non-autonomous system an equivalent Hamiltonian autonomous system on the cotangent bundle TQ of Q coordinated by (t,q^i,p,p_i) and provided with the canonical symplectic form; its Hamiltonian is p-H.

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See also