CHAPTER FIVE 3.1 NOETHER’S THEOREM AND HAMILTONIAN DYNAMICS OVERVIEW OF CHAPTER 5 Functions of the dynamical variables and their time derivatives that remain constant during the motion are called conserved quantities or constants of the motion. Noether's Theorem reveals how the symmetries of the Lagrangian can be used to construct constants of the motion from the Lagrangian. These constants of the motion can then be used to reduce the number of variables in the differential equations of motion. For example, angular momentum will no longer appear as a fortuitous combination of coordinates and momenta, but instead will be the answer to the question: “What remains constant if the physica] problem exhibits symmetry under three-dimensional rotations?” There are two distinct forms of analytical mechanics: the Lagrangian formal- ism and the form developed by Hamilton called Hamiltonian dynamics, which we introduce in this chapter. Not only is the Hamiltonian form used to obtain an elegant geometric picture of dynamical motion in phase space, but it also serves as the starting point for most advanced theoretical physics, most notably quantum mechanics, Prac- tical problems are often more easily solved by the Lagrangian formalism, whereas theoretical questions are almost always best stated in terms of the Hamiltonian and the new variable introduced therein, the canonically conjugate momentum. The variables q and g are not functionally independem, since ¢ = “2. However, the Lagrangian of each dynamical system wiil tell us the “other variable,” the dynamically indepen- dent partner of g. This is p(q.g) = a the momentum canonically conjugate to the variable g. Use of g and p rather than g and g leads to equations with a symmetric form in the two variables, This in turn has significant consequences in the theoretical development of mechanics. DISCOVERING ANGULAR MOMENTUM CONSERVATION FROM ROTATIONAL INVARIANCE Start by forgetting everything you have leamed previously about angular momen- tum. We want to be led to discover angular momentum from general principles instead of assuming it. Suppose that the Lagrangian of a particle of mass m contains an arbitrary5.1 DISCOVERING ANGULAR MOMENTUM CONSERVATION FROM ROTATIONAL INVARIANCE 71 central force V(r). The kinetic energy is }m(v? + uv? + v?), which depends only on the magnitude and not the direction of the coordinates and velocity. Hence the coordinate sys- tem can be freely rotated without changing the Lagrangian (as long as the rotation is time independent). What function of coordinates and velocity is conserved as a consequence of this symmetry? Coordinate transformations come in two kinds: discrete and continuous. A mirror reflection. x > —x, y + —y, 2 — —z, is an example of a discrete transformation. Rota- tion and translations are both examples of continuous transformations, since you can rotate and translate by any amount. Consider rotations about the Z axis. The rotational symmetry of our Lagrangian allows us to rename the coordinates or rotate them so that the axis we want is called the Z axis. If the force were not a central force, different directions would be physically different from each other and this renaming procedure would not be allowed. For any value of 6, a point at (x, y) is wansformed to a point (x’, y’) by the formulas x’ = xcosd — ysind, (3.1) y = ycosé + x sind. If8 = 0, this is the identity transformation. (This is just mathematical jargon for not rotating at all.) It is important to notice that velocities transform the same way as the coordinates do (velocity is, after all, a vector). To “discover” angular momentum, it will be sufficient to consider only an infinitesimal value of @ = 66. Make 4@ arbitrarily small, and thus neglect 56? and higher powers. As a limiting case of Equations (5.1), the transformation equation for an infinitesimal rotation becomes vax ys. (5.2) =y+x66. Prior to the infinitesimal rotation, the Lagrangian L had the general form L= L(x, y. 2.4.32. (5.3) After the infinitesimal rotation, the Lagrangian is transformed into L’: L' = Lx — y80, y +248, 2,% — 980, 9 + 268, 2,2). (5.4) Because 46 is an infinitesimal, we can make a Taylor se series expansion of L’ in 89 and keep only the first two terms: ah ak ak ak. vai +sel (sv) + (0 1 22) + over, (5.5) By definition, the invariance of the Lagrangian under these transformations implies that =. (5.6)172 CHAPTER 5 NOETHER’S THEOREM AND HAMILTONIAN DYNAMICS From Equation (5.6), it must be true that the term multiplied by 86 vanishes, since 6@ can take on arbitrary (infinitesimal) values. We use the Euler-Lagrange equations (1.60) to replace 2! by oe and 24 by de The coefficient of 50 in (5.5) is the total time derivative x of xp, ~ ye The standard definition of 3-D canonical momentum is p, = a Py = p. = 3£, Thus the vanishing coefficient of 5@ in Equation (5.5) is seen to be the total time derivative of a constant function of coordinates and momenta: dl. = =0, SAPs — VPs, 7 a §, = xpy — yp. (8.7) where {, is the z component of the angular momentum, You should prove to yourself that Equation (5.7) foltows from Equations (5.5, 5.6). The same derivation above (Equa- tions (5.1}+{5.7)) can be repeated for rotations around the X and the Y axes. Equation (5.7) will turn out be true for any direction in space; hence ai a QO & rotational invariance of L. (5.8) The notation for angular momentum will be i {It is often written in other texts as E. This Should not be confused with L, the Lagrangian, which is a scalar.) QUESTION 1: Rotational Invariance Rotational invariance about the Z axis leads to constant total angular momentum /., Prove that this statement is true for a Lagrangian with an arbitrary number of degrees of freedom, using a method similar to the book’s method for rotation about the Z axis for one degree of freedom. QUESTION 2: Translational Invariance Trans\ation invariance in the x direction leads to constant total momentum p,. Prove that this statement is true for a Lagrangian with an arbitrary number of degrees of freedom, using a method similar to the book's method for rotation about the Z axis in one degree of freedom. 5.2. NOETHER’S THEOREM In some cases, the choice of the best coordinate system to use isn't obvious. But if a symmetry exists, Noether’s Theorem” states that a corresponding constant of the motion exists. The theorem is a direct generalization of the method we have used in the previous section for rotational invariance. Each conserved quantity can be used to eliminate one degree of freedom, bringing us one step closer to a solution of the problem. To use the theorem, we need to find a continuous family of transformations (like the example of rotations) for the coordinates of the system. The transformation should depend * Emmy Noether (1882-1935) was a mathematician. The theorem bearing her name was proved in 1918,5.2 NOETHER’S THEOREM 173 Q10,1) FIGURE 5.1 on one or more continuously variable parameters (such as angles of rotation), which when zero, give the identity transformation (i.e.. no change in coordinates). If the Lagrangian is invariant under these transformations (i.e., does not change), Noether’s theorem gives a guaranteed way to find constants of the motion. There will be as many constants as there are parameters in the symmetry transformation. For example, rotationally invariant Lagrangians, no matter how complicated the system, must have three constants of the motion, which are the three components of the total angular momentum. Let the parameter characterizing a general transformation of coordinates be defined as s. (This is the generalization of 6 in the previous example.) If s = 0, the coordinates are not transformed; it is the identity transformation. If g(r) is a solution of the original EOM for the Lagrangian, we use the notation Q(s, ¢) for a solution of the Euler-Lagrange equations for any value of s, with Q(0,1) = g(t). (We suppress all indices for multiple degrees of freedom, but the whole derivation can be easily applied to any number of degrees of freedom.) Figure 5.1 shows two possible trajectories, one for s = 0, the other for some value s £0. (QUESTION 3: Free Particle Consider the Lagrangian of a free particle in three-dimens- ional space. This Lagrangian is invariant ander rotations around the Z axis. Explain what is meant by s, g(t), and Q(s, 1) for this case. L' = L(Q(s.1), O(s.t), t) = L(q.q.?) is the definition of invariance. If the La- grangian is invariant, L’ must not depend on s (dropping the time dependence for simplic- ity): £14045, 5.9) =0. 69) According to the chain rule dL aLdQ , aLd@ = tt -—, (5.10) ds aQds 7 aQ ds ‘ : From the Euler-Lagrange equations for the transformed solutions Q (1.60), abd aL 6.11) 30” aaa"174 CHAPTER 5 NOETHER'S THEOREM AND HAMILTONIAN DYNAMICS (5.12) This means that = aconstant, (5.13) where p = zg and dQ/ds is evaluated at s = 0 for convenience. Suppose the invariance transformation is described by more than one parameter. For example, the rotations are specified by three parameters. We need an index subscript on s to distinguish them: 5,, j = [, 2,3..,. For each parameter s;, we can repeat the previous derivation to show there is a conserved /; associated with it. In the formula below, we also explicitly indicate that there are N degrees of freedom. == a constant, .14) Jal s=0 (Qa. Ga. 6 Gs Qs Peo Gu) = yma a =I ‘Sy where (p; = #4). For the space rotations, f, d,, J; are the components of the total angular i = ae momenturn 7, Equation (5.14) is Noether’s Theorem: if the Lagrangian is invariant under a con- tinuous symmetry transformation, there are conserved quantities associated with that symmetry, one for each parameter of the transformation. These can be found by differenti- ating each coordinate with respect to the parameters of the transformation in the immediate neighborhood of the identity transformation, multiplying by the conjugate momentum, and summing over the degrees of freedom. QUESTION 4: Transformations What is a continuous transformation? Explain. Give an example of a continuous transformation and a discrete transformation (not already given). Why do we want only continuous transformations for Noether’s Theorem? Also why, in Equation (5.13) above. do we use p = Often students first encounter this idea of associating a symmetry of the system with a conserved quantity in connection with quantum mechanics. But this concept has its ori- gin in classical mechanics, although it continues to play an important role in quantum mechanics.