I will teach this course from a more modern perspective than is usual the case. The textbook is Classical Dynamics: A contemporary Approach by Jorge Jose and Eugene Saletan, Cambridge University Press. In addition to the lecture there will be a recitation where comps-type problems will be discussed.
The following is a list of topics to be discussed in this lecture.
| Historical perspective | Euler equations |
| Action principle | Euler angles |
| Euler Lagrange equations | Lagrange's top |
| Symmetries | Space-time |
| Hamilton's equations | Special relativity |
| Flows in Phase space | Lorentz transformations |
| Liouville's theorem | Generalized coordinates |
| Motion in a central potential | Logistic map |
| Small oscillations | Canonical transformations |
| Chaotic motion | Poisson brackets |
| Poincar\'e sections | Hamilton-Jacobi equations |
| Area preserving maps | Action-angle variables |
| Rotations | Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser theorem |
TA: George Danilov (gdanilov@grad.physics.sunysb.edu), B-125; Office hours: Tuesday 2-4 pm
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