Ervin Goldfain. Nonintegrability and the Breakdown of Hamilton's Principle (final update)
Natural Sciences / Physics / Mathematical Physics
Submitted on: Oct 31, 2024, 08:56:16
Description: As a long-cherished postulate of theoretical physics, HamiltonâE™s principle (HP) defines the basis of classical mechanics and field theory. We argue here that HP is overturned in physical settings where sensitivity to initial conditions cannot be ignored. We find that the approach to chaos of nearly integrable Hamiltonian systems sheds new light on several foundational aspects of effective field theory.