Complete solutions of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation and the envelope method

It is shown that the parameters contained in any two complete solutions of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation, corresponding to a given Hamiltonian, are related by means of a time-independent canonical transformation and that, in some cases, a generating function of this transformation is given by the env...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: G.F. Torres del Castillo, G.S. Anaya González
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:México
Recursos:Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Repositorio:Redalyc-BUAP
OAI Identifier:oai:redalyc.org:57032591002
Acesso em linha:https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=57032591002
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Física, Astronomía y Matemáticas
Hamilton
envelopes
Jacobi equation
eikonal equation
canonical transformations
Descrição
Resumo:It is shown that the parameters contained in any two complete solutions of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation, corresponding to a given Hamiltonian, are related by means of a time-independent canonical transformation and that, in some cases, a generating function of this transformation is given by the envelope of a family of surfaces defined by the difference of the two complete solutions. Conversely, in those cases, one of the complete solutions is given by the envelope of a family of surfaces defined by the sum of the other complete solution and the generating function of the canonical transformation. Some applications of these results to geometrical optics are also given.