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Classical Mechanics

This document contains: 1) An overview of classical mechanics concepts including degrees of freedom, action, Lagrangian, Euler-Lagrange equations, canonical momentum, Hamiltonian, and Poisson brackets. 2) Problems involving counting degrees of freedom for various physical systems and deriving the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for a point particle constrained to move on the surface of a cone. 3) Solutions to the problems, including choosing generalized coordinates for the particle on the cone and deriving the Lagrangian in different coordinate systems, as well as discussing constants of motion.

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Sebastian Soto Perdomo
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© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
86 views

Classical Mechanics

This document contains: 1) An overview of classical mechanics concepts including degrees of freedom, action, Lagrangian, Euler-Lagrange equations, canonical momentum, Hamiltonian, and Poisson brackets. 2) Problems involving counting degrees of freedom for various physical systems and deriving the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for a point particle constrained to move on the surface of a cone. 3) Solutions to the problems, including choosing generalized coordinates for the particle on the cone and deriving the Lagrangian in different coordinate systems, as well as discussing constants of motion.

Uploaded by

Sebastian Soto Perdomo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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046241 - Quantum Mechanics, Winter 2012-2013

Recitation 1: Classical Mechanics

1 Overview and concepts


Note: An elementary introduction to classical mechanics can be found in the book
“Analytical Mechanics” by Hand & Finch.
• Degrees of freedom - the number of parameters of a physical system that can be
varied independently. Generally, this is equal to the number of variables required
to determine the state of a physical system at a given time. We will denote these
varibales as qi , and define a vector:
Q(t) = (q1 (t), q2 (t), . . . , qN (t)). (1.1)
Degrees of freedom are also known as generalized coordiates.
• Action - a quantity with units of Energy · Time that can be computed for any
trajectory taken by the system between two times, t1 and t2 . The principle of
least action (PLA) tells us that the trajectory that will be chosen by the system
is the one for which the action is extremal. The action is given by
ˆ t2
S= L(Q(t), Q̇(t); t)dt, (1.2)
t1

where L is the Largrangian, defined next.


• Lagrangian - a function of the trajectory and its time derivate that is integrated
to give the action. Using the PLA, by knowing the Lagrangian and Q(t0 ), Q̇(t0 ) at
t0 , we can find the state of the system for all times. In most cases,
L =T − U. (1.3)

• Euler Lagrange Equations - a set of N 2nd order differential equations:


d ∂L ∂L
− = 0, qi = 1, . . . , N, (1.4)
dt ∂ q˙i ∂qi
derived using the PLA, that can be integrated to give the state of the system for
all times. These are the equations of motion of the physical system.

1
046241 - Quantum Mechanics Recitation 1 Winter 2012-2013

• Canonical momentum - a quantity defined as:


∂L
pi (t) = . (1.5)
∂ q̇i
Note that this is not always the same as “mechanical” (ordinary) momentum,
and doesn’t even have to be a measurable quantity!
• Hamiltonian - The function:
N
X
H(Q, P ; t) = q̇n pn − L(Q, Q̇(P ); t). (1.6)
n=1

Allows for another formulation of analytical mechanics. We will use a “quan-


tized”1 version of this function in QM. Using the PLA, we can derive a set of 2N
1st order differential equations (called “canonical equations”):
∂H
ṗi = −
∂qi
(1.7)
∂H
q̇i = .
∂pi
• Poisson Bracktes - A function of Q, P that we can compute for any two functions
F (Q, P ; t) and G(Q, P ; t), defined as:
N  
X ∂F ∂G ∂G ∂F
{F, G} = − . (1.8)
n=1
∂qn ∂pn ∂qn ∂pn
We need it because of the following equation:
dF ∂F
= {F, H} + , (1.9)
dt ∂t
which holds for any physical function F (Q, P ; t). We will use this function to
make a connection between quantum and classical mechanics.

2 Problems

2.1 Counting degrees of freedom


Find the number of degrees of freedom of the following systems:
1. A general rigid body
2. A point particle constarined to move on a cone
3. A spinning top (“sevivon”) on a table
4. An LC circuit
5. An O2 molecule
1
We will understand the meaning of this term later on.

2
046241 - Quantum Mechanics Recitation 1 Winter 2012-2013

Figure 2.1: A particle on a cone

2.2 Finding the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian for a particular


problem

A point particle is constrained to move on the surface of a cone (see fig. 2.1) , which
is parameterized by the equation

x2 + y 2 = z 2 , z ≥ 0. (2.1)

1. We have found in q. 2.1.2 that this particle has 2 degrees of freedom. Find 3
different sets of generalized coordinates for this system. For each set, write down
the corresponding Lagrangian. Find the Euler Lagrange equations for one of the
sets.
2. For the set of your choice, make a transformation to the Hamiltonian function.
Write down the corresponding canonical equations.
3. Find a constant of motion for the system, and show that it is conserved by using
the Poisson brackets. What general conclusions can be drawn from this example
regarding constants of motion?

2.3 Lecture notes problems

1. Problem 1.1, Lecture notes


2. Problem 1.5, Lecture notes

3
046241 - Quantum Mechanics Recitation 1 Winter 2012-2013

3 Solutions

3.1 degrees of freedom

1. A point particle has 3 degrees of freedom, corresponding to the three cartesian


coordinates x, y, z. Alternatively, we can use spherical or cylindrical (or any other
invertible transformation of coordinates). Since a rigid body has an orientation
in space, three additional coordinates are needed2 .
2. Here there is one constraint, given by: x2 + y 2 = z 2 , z ≥ 0. Therefore, there are 2
degrees of freedom.
3. Two varibles give the position of the tip of the top on the table. Another variable
gives the “tilt” angle, another gives the orientation, and another gives the angle
of rotation about the axis of symmetry. Together that’s 5.
4. One option is to use the charge on the capacitor. Another is to use the voltage.
See problem 1.2 in the lecture notes.
5. 3 degrees for the center of mass + three rotational degrees (rotation about the
axis of symmetry is always neglected - why?) + one vibrational degree - in total,
7 degrees without neglecting one of the rotational degrees.

3.2 particle on a cone

1. We already know from the previous question that there are 2 degrees of freedom.
We can choose those degrees from many options. In cartesian coordinates:
1
T = m(ẋ2 + ẏ 2 + ż 2 )
2
U = mgz (3.1)
z 2 = x2 + y 2

where the 3rd equation is the constraint. We can choose to work with any two of
the three coordinates. By substituting the constraint to eliminate z, we find that

1 1 (xẋ + y ẏ)2
T = m(ẋ2 + ẏ 2 ) + m 2
2 2 x + y2 , (3.2)
p
U = mg x2 + y 2
so
1 1 (xẋ + y ẏ)2 p
L = m(ẋ2 + ẏ 2 ) + m 2 2
− mg x2 + y 2 . (3.3)
2 2 x +y

2
The conventional choice is Euler angles.

4
046241 - Quantum Mechanics Recitation 1 Winter 2012-2013

Alternatively we can choose (x, z):

1 1 (xẋ − z ż)2
T = m(ẋ2 + ż 2 ) + m 2 , (3.4)
2 2 x − z2
so
1 1 (xẋ − z ż)2
L = m(ẋ2 + ż 2 ) + m 2 − mgz. (3.5)
2 2 x − z2
This is a very bad choice, because of the pole at z = ±x. A better choice would
be to work in cylindrical coordinates:

x = r cos θ
y = r sin θ (3.6)
z = z.

Now:
ẋ2 + ẏ 2 = r2 θ̇2 + ṙ2 (3.7)
and the constraint becomes
z = r, (3.8)
so
1
L = m(r2 θ̇2 + 2ṙ2 ) − mgr. (3.9)
2
Much better! The Euler Lagrange equations are:

g − rθ̇2
r̈ + =0
2 (3.10)
d
(mr2 θ̇) = 0.
dt
You may recognize the 3rd term in the 1st equation as the centripetal force,
known from physics 1m. The factor of 21 is because of the tilt of the cone. Note
that the second equation gives us a conserved quantity.
2. The transition to the Hamiltonian is simple:
∂L
pr = = 2mṙ
∂ ṙ (3.11)
∂L
pθ = = mr2 θ̇.
∂ θ̇
Note that pθ is in fact the angular momentum in the ẑ direction, Lz . We also saw
in (3.10) that it is conserved. By using (1.6), we find that

p2r p2
H= + θ 2 + mgr. (3.12)
4m 2mr

5
046241 - Quantum Mechanics Recitation 1 Winter 2012-2013

And the canonical equations of motion are, using (1.7):

p2θ pr
ṗr = −mg + 3
, ṙ =
mr 2m (3.13)
pθ
ṗθ = 0,θ̇ = .
mr2

3. As we saw, pθ , the angular momentum in the ẑ direction, is conserved. It is also


easy to see that
{pθ , H} = 0, (3.14)
and since ∂p
∂t
θ
= 0, this also shows that pθ is conserved. We can also see from the
above calculations that whenever a coordinate is missing from the Hamiltonian,
its conjugate momentum is a conserved quantity. This is an important conclusion.

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