Related papers: Variational integrators for optimal control of fol…
In this paper we develop a novel, discrete-time optimal control framework for mechanical systems with uncertain model parameters. We consider finite-horizon problems where the performance index depends on the statistical moments of the…
An asynchronous, variational method for simulating elastica in complex contact and impact scenarios is developed. Asynchronous Variational Integrators (AVIs) are extended to handle contact forces by associating different time steps to…
We introduce the differential, integral, and variational delta-embeddings. We prove that the integral delta-embedding of the Euler-Lagrange equations and the variational delta-embedding coincide on an arbitrary time scale. In particular, a…
We establish a variety of results extending the well-known Pontryagin maximum principle of optimal control to discrete-time optimal control problems posed on smooth manifolds. These results are organized around a new theorem on critical and…
In this paper we study a Hamiltonization procedure for mechanical systems with velocity-depending (nonholonomic) constraints. We first rewrite the nonholonomic equations of motion as Euler-Lagrange equations, with a Lagrangian that follows…
Applications of variational methods are typically restricted to conservative systems. Some extensions to dissipative systems have been reported too but require ad hoc techniques such as the artificial doubling of the dynamical variables.…
In this paper, we consider a geometric formalism for optimal control of underactuated mechanical systems. Our techniques are an adaptation of the classical Skinner and Rusk approach for the case of Lagrangian dynamics with higher-order…
Retractions maps are used to define a discretization of the tangent bundle of the configuration manifold as two copies of the configuration manifold where the dynamics take place. Such discretization maps can be conveniently lifted to a…
We present and compare different numerical schemes for the integration of the variational equations of autonomous Hamiltonian systems whose kinetic energy is quadratic in the generalized momenta and whose potential is a function of the…
In this work we make use of Livens principle (sometimes also referred to as Hamilton-Pontryagin principle) in order to obtain a novel structure-preserving integrator for mechanical systems. In contrast to the canonical Hamiltonian equations…
Variational integrators applied to degenerate Lagrangians that are linear in the velocities are two-step methods. The system of modified equations for a two-step method consists of the principal modified equation and one additional equation…
Gaussian wavepacket dynamics has proven to be a useful semiclassical approximation for quantum simulations of high-dimensional systems with low anharmonicity. Compared to Heller's original local harmonic method, the variational Gaussian…
Recently, an extended version of magnetohydrodynamics that incorporates electron inertia, dubbed inertial magnetohydrodynamics, has been proposed. This model features a noncanonical Hamiltonian formulation with a number of conserved…
In this work, we present a new approach to the construction of variational integrators. In the general case, the estimation of the action integral in a time interval $[q_k,q_{k+1}]$ is used to construct a symplectic map $(q_k,q_{k+1})\to…
Two-dimensional systems with time-dependent controls admit a quadratic Hamiltonian modelling near potential minima. Independent, dynamical normal modes facilitate inverse Hamiltonian engineering to control the system dynamics, but some…
We propose a novel algorithmic method for constructing invariant variational schemes of systems of ordinary differential equations that are the Euler-Lagrange equations of a variational principle. The method is based on the invariantization…
We present a discrete analog of the recently introduced Hamilton-Pontryagin variational principle in Lagrangian mechanics. This unifies two, previously disparate approaches to discrete Lagrangian mechanics: either using the discrete…
This paper presents a geometric-variational approach to continuous and discrete mechanics and field theories. Using multisymplectic geometry, we show that the existence of the fundamental geometric structures as well as their preservation…
A modern notion of integrability is that of multidimensional consistency (MDC), which classically implies the coexistence of (commuting) dynamical flows in several independent variables for one and the same dependent variable. This property…
As deep learning becomes more prevalent for prediction and control of real physical systems, it is important that these overparameterized models are consistent with physically plausible dynamics. This elicits a problem with how much…