ConstantOfMotion - crowlogic/arb4j GitHub Wiki

A constant of motion, also known as a conserved quantity, is a quantity that remains constant over time as a dynamical system evolves. Constants of motion are important in the study of classical mechanics and dynamical systems because they provide insights into the system's behavior and help simplify the analysis of its motion.

The conservation of a quantity is often associated with a symmetry in the system, according to Noether's theorem. For example:

1. Energy conservation: If a system exhibits time-translation symmetry, meaning its dynamics do not change over time, the total energy (kinetic plus potential) is conserved. Mathematically, for a Hamiltonian system, this conservation is expressed as:

   $$\frac{dH}{dt} = 0$$

   where $H$ is the Hamiltonian, representing the total energy of the system.

2. Linear momentum conservation: If a system has spatial translation symmetry, meaning its dynamics are invariant under translations in space, the linear momentum is conserved. For a system with a Lagrangian $L$, this conservation is expressed as:

   $$\frac{d}{dt} \left(\frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q}}\right) = 0$$

   where $q$ represents the generalized coordinates and $\dot{q}$ their time derivatives.

3. Angular momentum conservation: If a system has rotational symmetry, meaning its dynamics are invariant under rotations about an axis, the angular momentum is conserved. For a system with a Lagrangian $L$, the conservation of angular momentum $L_i$ about the $i$-th axis is expressed as:

   $$\frac{dL_i}{dt} = 0$$

Constants of motion play a critical role in understanding and solving problems in classical mechanics and dynamical systems. When a system possesses as many independent constants of motion as its degrees of freedom, the system is considered integrable, allowing for exact solutions or simplifications of the problem.