Paper 3, Section I, A

Classical Dynamics
Part II, 2014

(a) The action for a one-dimensional dynamical system with a generalized coordinate qq and Lagrangian LL is given by

S=t1t2L(q,q˙,t)dtS=\int_{t_{1}}^{t_{2}} L(q, \dot{q}, t) d t

State the principle of least action. Write the expression for the Hamiltonian in terms of the generalized velocity q˙\dot{q}, the generalized momentum pp and the Lagrangian LL. Use it to derive Hamilton's equations from the principle of least action.

(b) The motion of a particle of charge qq and mass mm in an electromagnetic field with scalar potential ϕ(r,t)\phi(\mathbf{r}, t) and vector potential A(r,t)\mathbf{A}(\mathbf{r}, t) is characterized by the Lagrangian

L=mr˙22q(ϕr˙A)L=\frac{m \dot{\mathbf{r}}^{2}}{2}-q(\phi-\dot{\mathbf{r}} \cdot \mathbf{A})

(i) Write down the Hamiltonian of the particle.

(ii) Consider a particle which moves in three dimensions in a magnetic field with A=(0,Bx,0)\mathbf{A}=(0, B x, 0), where BB is a constant. There is no electric field. Obtain Hamilton's equations for the particle.