Lagrangian supersymmetries depending on derivatives. Global analysis and cohomology

Lagrangian contact supersymmetries (depending on derivatives of arbitrary order) are treated in very general setting. The cohomology of the variational bicomplex on an arbitrary graded manifold and the iterated cohomology of a generic nilpotent contact supersymmetry are computed. In particular, the first variational formula and conservation laws for Lagrangian systems on graded manifolds using contact supersymmetries are obtained.Comment: 28 pp., appears in 'Communications in Mathematical Physics

Conservation laws for under determined systems of differential equations

This work extends the Ibragimov's conservation theorem for partial differential equations [{\it J. Math. Anal. Appl. 333 (2007 311-328}] to under determined systems of differential equations. The concepts of adjoint equation and formal Lagrangian for a system of differential equations whose the number of equations is equal to or lower than the number of dependent variables are defined. It is proved that the system given by an equation and its adjoint is associated with a variational problem (with or without classical Lagrangian) and inherits all Lie-point and generalized symmetries from the original equation. Accordingly, a Noether theorem for conservation laws can be formulated

Entropy of Self-Gravitating Systems from Holst's Lagrangian

We shall prove here that conservation laws from Holst's Lagrangian, often used in LQG, do not agree with the corresponding conservation laws in standard GR. Nevertheless, these differences vanish on-shell, i.e. along solutions, so that they eventually define the same classical conserved quantities. Accordingly, they define in particular the same entropy of solutions, and the standard law S=A/4 is reproduced for systems described by Holst's Lagragian. This provides the classical support to the computation usually done in LQG for the entropy of black holes which is in turn used to fix the Barbero-Immirzi parameter.Comment: 4 pages, no figures; just acknowledgments change

The Cartan form for constrained Lagrangian systems and the nonholonomic Noether theorem

This paper deals with conservation laws for mechanical systems with nonholonomic constraints. It uses a Lagrangian formulation of nonholonomic systems and a Cartan form approach. We present what we believe to be the most general relations between symmetries and first integrals. We discuss the so-called nonholonomic Noether theorem in terms of our formalism, and we give applications to Riemannian submanifolds, to Lagrangians of mechanical type, and to the determination of quadratic first integrals.Comment: 25 page