37,632 research outputs found
Invariant higher-order variational problems II
Motivated by applications in computational anatomy, we consider a
second-order problem in the calculus of variations on object manifolds that are
acted upon by Lie groups of smooth invertible transformations. This problem
leads to solution curves known as Riemannian cubics on object manifolds that
are endowed with normal metrics. The prime examples of such object manifolds
are the symmetric spaces. We characterize the class of cubics on object
manifolds that can be lifted horizontally to cubics on the group of
transformations. Conversely, we show that certain types of non-horizontal
geodesics on the group of transformations project to cubics. Finally, we apply
second-order Lagrange--Poincar\'e reduction to the problem of Riemannian cubics
on the group of transformations. This leads to a reduced form of the equations
that reveals the obstruction for the projection of a cubic on a transformation
group to again be a cubic on its object manifold.Comment: 40 pages, 1 figure. First version -- comments welcome
Equivalence of variational problems of higher order
We show that for n>2 the following equivalence problems are essentially the
same: the equivalence problem for Lagrangians of order n with one dependent and
one independent variable considered up to a contact transformation, a
multiplication by a nonzero constant, and modulo divergence; the equivalence
problem for the special class of rank 2 distributions associated with
underdetermined ODEs z'=f(x,y,y',..., y^{(n)}); the equivalence problem for
variational ODEs of order 2n. This leads to new results such as the fundamental
system of invariants for all these problems and the explicit description of the
maximally symmetric models. The central role in all three equivalence problems
is played by the geometry of self-dual curves in the projective space of odd
dimension up to projective transformations via the linearization procedure
(along the solutions of ODE or abnormal extremals of distributions). More
precisely, we show that an object from one of the three equivalence problem is
maximally symmetric if and only if all curves in projective spaces obtained by
the linearization procedure are rational normal curves.Comment: 20 page
Conformal Metrics with Constant Q-Curvature
We consider the problem of varying conformally the metric of a four
dimensional manifold in order to obtain constant -curvature. The problem is
variational, and solutions are in general found as critical points of saddle
type. We show how the problem leads naturally to consider the set of formal
barycenters of the manifold.Comment: This is a contribution to the Proceedings of the 2007 Midwest
Geometry Conference in honor of Thomas P. Branson, published in SIGMA
(Symmetry, Integrability and Geometry: Methods and Applications) at
http://www.emis.de/journals/SIGMA
Lagrangian reductive structures on gauge-natural bundles
A reductive structure is associated here with Lagrangian canonically defined
conserved quantities on gauge-natural bundles. Parametrized transformations
defined by the gauge-natural lift of infinitesimal principal automorphisms
induce a variational sequence such that the generalized Jacobi morphism is
naturally self-adjoint. As a consequence, its kernel defines a reductive split
structure on the relevant underlying principal bundle.Comment: 11 pages, remarks and comments added, this version published in ROM
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