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Geometric Mechanics and Symmetry

Book January 2009

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MR2548736 (2011d:37001) 37-01 (37Jxx 37K05 37K65 70G45 70G65 70H05 70Hxx)
Holm, Darryl D. (4-LNDIC); Schmah, Tanya [Schmah, T. I.] (5-MCQR);
Stoica, Cristina (3-WLR)
FGeometric mechanics and symmetry.
From finite to infinite dimensions.
With solutions to selected exercises by David C. P. Ellis.
Oxford Texts in Applied and Engineering Mathematics, 12.
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2009. xvi+515 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-921291-0
This book gives a nice introduction to the fascinating and growing field of geometric mechanics,
i.e. the differential geometric treatment of classical mechanics. It is primarily oriented towards
advanced undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics and in physics, but it may be
appreciated equally well by more experienced researchers in the field. The prerequisites consist
of some basic knowledge of linear algebra, multivariable calculus and the standard methods for
solving ordinary and partial differential equations. Some familiarity with the variational principles
and the canonical Poisson brackets of classical mechanics is also recommended, but not necessary.
The book consists of two parts which deal with the case of finite- and infinite-dimensional
systems, respectively. Part I starts with a brief discussion of the Newtonian, Lagrangian and
Hamiltonian formalism of unconstrained N -particle systems in Euclidean space. The classical
treatment of rigid bodies is also briefly recalled. The introduction of constraints then leads to
the general notion of a manifold, with the emphasis on submanifolds of Euclidean space. A
concise introduction to differential geometry is then given with, among others, the basic elements
of Riemannian and symplectic geometry. Next, the treatment of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian
mechanics on the tangent bundle and the cotangent bundle of a manifold, respectively, is given. In
particular, Hamiltons principle of stationary action, leading to the Euler-Lagrange equations of
motion, is discussed. The notion of a Poisson bracket then leads to defining Hamiltonian systems
on a manifold with a general Poisson structure which need not be symplectic. Subsequently, a brief
discussion is devoted to the notions of symmetry, reduction and conservation laws of mechanical
systems. A more detailed treatment of these topics requires, however, the introduction of Lie
groups and Lie algebras. The abstract theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras is briefly reviewed,
but the main focus lies on the case of matrix Lie groups and algebras. The action of a Lie group
on a manifold and the corresponding quotient space are defined, and the Poisson reduction of a
Poisson manifold under the canonical action of a Lie group is considered.
The remaining chapters of Part I then deal with mechanical systems which are defined on Lie
groups, in particular with rigid bodies. The Euler-Poincare reduction of rigid body dynamics
is described, with the free rigid body and the heavy top taken as examples. The theory of the
momentum map for a canonical action of a Lie group on a Poisson manifold is also given. Next
follows a discussion of Lie-Poisson reduction, the Hamiltonian counterpart of Euler-Poincare
reduction. Finally, the preceding results are applied to the example of a pseudo-rigid body. Pseudo-
rigid bodies in particular provide a link between rigid bodies on the one hand and fluid motions,
treated in Part II, on the other hand.
Using the geometric machinery developed in the previous chapters, Part II of this book starts
by explaining how the Euler equations of an ideal incompressible fluid can be seen as Euler-
Poincare equations (EPDiff equations) defined on the dual of the Lie algebra of the group of
volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of the region occupied by the fluid. The EPDiff equations
are the dynamical equations of the fluid which result through symmetry reduction of Hamiltons
variational principle in case the kinetic energy Lagrangian of the fluid happens to be (right)
invariant under the diffeomorphism group. The kinetic energy norm is thereby taken to be the
L2 norm of the spatial fluid velocity. Other choices of the kinetic energy norm, such as the
H 1 Sobolev norm, also lead to interesting EPDiff equations, even when incompressibility is
no longer imposed. In the case of one spatial dimension one finds, for instance, an equation
which is the zero-dispersion limit of the Camassa-Holm equation for shallow-water wave motion.
This EPDiff equation possesses peaked-soliton solutions, called peakons. In solving the initial
value problem an emergent phenomenon is the occurrence of a wave train of peakons, which
is observed for essentially any spatially confined initial condition. The Camassa-Holm equation
and its zero-dispersion limit are examples of integrable Hamiltonian systems. The geometric
ingredients underlying integrability, and the existence of soliton solutions, are reviewed.
Subsequently, the peakon solutions of the EPDiff equation for the H 1 norm are generalized to
higher dimensions. Methods for applying these higher-dimensional singular solutions for match-
ing image contours in computational anatomy are outlined. Using the metamorphosis approach, the
geometry of image matching is explained and the geometric-mechanical analogy of image match-
ing with the falling cat problem is analysed. Next, a discussion follows of the Euler-Poincare (EP)
theorem concerning the reduction by right-invariance under the diffeomorphism group of Hamil-
tons principle for ideal fluid flows with advected quantities. Finally, the application of this general
EP theorem in deriving and analysing geophysical fluid dynamical models is discussed.
Throughout this book, the theoretical development of the subject is illustrated by means of
examples. Some theorems are proven explicitly, whereas in other cases theorems are stated without
a proof or with a sketch of the proof only, but the reader is then always given the appropriate
reference to the literature. The text is moreover supplemented by a wide variety of solved and
unsolved exercises. At the end of each chapter, solutions to selected exercises are collected by
David C. P. Ellis. This book, which contains a lot of information on the state of the art in geometric
mechanics, reads very fluently and may certainly be regarded as a most useful addition to the
existing literature in the field.
Reviewed by Frans Cantrijn

c Copyright American Mathematical Society 2011, 2013

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