Lagrangian Method

Classical Mechanics
By
Barger and Olsson
• Different forms of Newton’s equations of motion depends on
coordinates
 Rectangular Components – Cartesian Coordinates

 ( Fx î  Fy ˆj  Fz k̂ )  m( a x î  a y ˆj  a z k̂ )
or
Fx  max  mx
Fy  may  my
Fz  maz  mz
 Tangential and Normal Components

Ft  mat y F
mat

Fn  man F
m

an m

x
And as a reminder O

z
2
dv v
Ft  m Fn  m 
dt
 EQUATIONS OF MOTION IN TERMS OF
RADIAL AND TRANSVERSE
COMPONENTS
Consider particle at r and q, in polar
coordinates,

Fr  mar  mr  rq 

2 
Fq
Fq  maq  mrq  2rq  y

Fr

r
q x
O
EQUATIONS OF MOTION IN TERMS OF
SPHERICAL COORDINATES

 
F  ma  m(r  rq 2  r 2 sin 2 q )rˆ 
m(rq  2rq  r 2 sin q cos q )qˆ 
m(rsin q  2rq cos q  2r sin q )ˆ
• The Lagrangian method makes it simple to write the equations of
motion in any coordinate system.
• It makes it simpler to work with constraints and to identify conserved
quantities.
• The Lagrangian method makes it easier to find the equations of
motions for certain problems.
• Lagrange’s equations and the related Hamilton’s equations are of
fundamental importance to classical mechanics and quantum
mechanics.
 Lagrange Equation
• Consider a system of N particles in three dimensional space.
• There are 3N cartesian coordinates needed to describe their motions.
• There is a Newton’s equation for each of these coordinates.
• A first step to the Lagrange method is to choose a new set of coordinates called
general coordinates.
 
r1  r1 (q1 , q2 ,......q3 N ; t )
 
r2  r2 (q1 , q2 ,......q3 N ; t )
•
•
•
 
rN  rN (q1•, q2 ,......q3 N ; t ) (3.1)
• The set of {qj} collectively describe the configuration of the system.
• These coordinates are not necessarily of distance dimensions. Often
they are angles.
• Example of one particle in spherical polar coordinates (r, q, ).

x  r sin q cos 
y  r sin q sin  (3.2)

z  r cos q
• If particle moves on the surface of a sphere of radius l centered at the
origin, then only q and  vary in time.
• A relation of this type is called a constraint.
• Equations of motion which result directly from the substitutions of
(3.1) in Newton’s equations are usually messy.
• Lagrange’s equations are much nicer. They show explicitly the
simplifications of symmetries and constraints.
• Lagrange equations are not the same as Newton ‘s but are equivalent.
• In fact each Lagrange equation is a linear combination of Newton’s
equations, and vice versa.
 Lagrange’s Equations in One Dimension
• We introduce a general coordinate q(t) expressed in terms of x by

q (t )  q[ x(t ), t ] (3.3)

or

x(t )  x[q (t ), t ] (3.4)

dx
x 
dt
• Chain differentiation

x x
x  q  (3.5)
q t

• The partials are functions of q and t.

• The momentum is
p  mx
2
dK d ( 1
m 
x )
p  2
(3.6)
dx dx
• Introduce a new momentum p(t) called the generalized momentum

K
• p (t )  (q, q , t )
q
(3.7)

dK x x
• Where p p
dx q q
(3.8)

x x
• From (3.4) and (3.5) 
q q (3.9)
• Therefore

x
pp
q
(3.10)

• Newton’s equation of motion.

p  F ( x, x , t ) (3.11)

• The corresponding Lagranian equation of motion involves the time

derivative of p. Take the derivative of both sides of 3.10.
 x d  x 
p  p  p   (3.12)
q dt  q 

• To simplify the second term we interchange the order of

differentiation.

d  x  x
   (3.13)
dt  q  q
• We digress to show 3.13

d  x    x    x 
    q    (3.14)
dt  q  q  q  t  q 

• In Lagrangian formalism q and q are independent variables in the

sense that
q
0
q
• Differentiating 3.5

x   x    x 
  q   
q q  q  q  t 
(3.15)

• Since the right-hand sides of 3.14 and 3.15 are identical, then 3.13
follows.
d  x    x    x 
    q    (3.14)
dt  q  q  q  t  q 
d  x  x
   (3.13)
dt  q  q
• Multiple 3.13 times p and replace p on right-hand side with 3.6.

d  x  x
   (3.13)
dt  q  q

2
dK d ( 1
m 
x )
p  2 (3.6)

dx dx

d  x  dK x K
p     (3.16)
dt  q  dx q q
Substitute 3.11 and 3.16 into 3.12

p  F ( x, x , t ) (3.11)

d  x  dK x K
p     (3.16)
dt  q  dx q q
x d  x 
p  p  p   (3.12)
q dt  q 
x K
p  F  (3.17)
q q
 x K
p  F  (3.17)
q q
The first term on the right-hand side is called the general force

x
Q(q, q , t )  F (3.18)
q
Then the equation of motion
K
p  Q  (3.19)
q
The last term in this equation represents a “fictitious” force which x x
appears whenever the coefficients in 3.5 vary with q. x  q 
q t
If the force F is separated into a part

dV ( x)

dx
and a part that is not, then the general force can be separated into
corresponding parts.

dV ( x) x x dV (q )
Q  F    Q
dx q q
(3.20)
dq
3.20 into 3.19

L
p   Q
q (3.21)

Where
L(q, q , t )  K (q, q , t )  V (q) (3.22)

This is the Lagrangian function.

• Since
K L
p  (3.23)

q q
• follows from 3.7 and

V (q )
0
q
Then 3.21 can be written

d  L  L
    Q
dt  q  q (3.24)

The general force for Q’ must include all forces F’ on the particle which
are not included in the potential energy.
Lagrange’s Equations in Several Dimensions
• For 3D follow previous procedure, step by step
• There are now 3N cartesian components and likewise 3N general
coordinates
• In analogy to (3.6) we have
K
pk  (3.24)
xk

K K xk xk
pj    pk (3.25)
qk xk q j q j

xk xk
p j  pk  pk (3.26)
q j q j
• In parallel to the derivation in one dimension we find (see (3.17 and 3.18))

 V  xk K xk
pj    Fk  
 xk  q j xk q j
V K
  Qj 
q j q j (3.27)


  K  V   Qj
q j

 L  Qj
q j
• Where L is the Lagrangian

L {q},{q}; t   K {q},{q}; t   V {q} (3.28)

The general forces derived from a potential are (see (3.18))

xi V
Q pot
 Fi  (3.29)
q j q j
j
• and

xi
Qj  Fi (3.30)
q j

• are the other general forces. It follows from (3.25) and

V
0
q j

that the general momentum can be written as

L
pj  (3.31)
q j
• So (3.27) becomes

d  L  L
   = Qj (3.32)
dt  q j  q j
Elementary application of Lagrangian techniques
Determine the r and q equations of motion for a particle moving in a
plane under the influence of a central potential energy V(r). As general
coordinates we take

q1  r , q2  q (3.33)

x  r cos q
(3.34)
y  r sin q

K  12 m( x 2  y 2 ) (3.35)
• Easy to express in polar coordinates by taking time derivatives.

x  r cos q  rq sin q
(3.36)
y  r sin q  rq cos q

K  12 m(r 2  r 2q 2 ) (3.37)

• Note that K is not a function of q2 .

K  12 m(vr2  vq2 )
• The Lagrangian is (also see (3.32))

L  K  V  12 m(r 2  r 2q 2 )  V (r ) (3.38)

d  L  L
 
dt  r  r
(3.39)
d  L  L
 
dt  q  q

d V V
 mr   mrq 
2
or mr  mrq  
2

dt r r (3.40)
d
dt
 
mr q  0 or
2 d
dt
 
mr 2q  r (mrq  2mrq )  0
• The previous were obtained from direct application of Newton’s laws
with
V
Fr   and Fq  0
r

• Since L does not depend on q ,

 
pj  L  Qj or pq  L0 (3.27)
q j q
• hence the general momentum is constant,

L
pq   mr 2q  constant (3.41)
q
• This conservation law is an example of a general principle that can be
deduced from the Lagrange equation. If a general coordinate q j does
not appear in the Lagrangian and Qj  0
• The corresponding general momentum
L
pj 
q j

• is constant in time. It is a constant of the motion (a conserved

quantity).
 Constraints
• Example of constrained motion – the simple pendulum

• The tension will be the constraint force.

• Note that the number of unknown components of constraint force must

be the same as the number of constraints on the motion, otherwise the
motion will be over- or under-determined. (This refers to more
equations or less equations than the number of unknowns.)
• How can we systematically treat a mechanical system with
constraints? The first step is to find combinations of the Newton
equations in which the constraint forces are absent. As we shall more-
or-less demonstrate below, these are precisely Lagrange equations, for
an appropriate choice of coordinates. One has enough information to
solve these equations (while assuming the constraints to hold), and the
solutions to these determine the motion. The remaining equations, into
which one substitutes the solution to the motion, then determine the
constraint forces; if only the solution for the motion were desired, this
step would be unnecessary.
 Fq  m(lq  2lq )  mg sin q
or
g
q  sin q  0
l
q   sin q  0
2
0

Small angle approximation

q  02q  0 2


q  a cos(0t   ) 2 l
  2
 g
Fr  m(l  lq )  mg cos q  T
2

dq d q 2 
q q   
dq dq  2 

q 2  g q
 d  2    l q0 sin q dq
T  mg cos q  mlq 2
2g T  3mg cos q  2mg cos q 0
q 
2
(cosq  cosq 0 )
l
 Now using Lagrangian Method
Lagrangian in polar coordinates, with r = l
1
L  m(r 2  r 2q 2 )  mgr cos q  V constraint (r )
2
V (r ,q )  mgr cos q
is the gravitational potential energy
V constraint (r )
the potential energy that will
enforce the constraint, r  l
 Radial Lagrangian equation

d  L  L
  0
dt  r  r
Remember
1
L  m(r 2  r 2q 2 )  mgr cos q  V constraint (r )
2
constraint
dV (r )
mr  mrq  mg cos q 
2
0
dr
 constraint
dV (r )
mr  mrq  mg cosq 
2
0
dr
constraint
dV (r )
constraint
Qr   mrq 2  mg cos q
dr
The constraint force is the
negative of the tension.

T  mg cosq  mlq 2
T  3mg cosq  2mg cosq0
 Angular Lagrangian equation

d  L  L
  0
dt  q  q
Remember
1
L  m(r 2  r 2q 2 )  mgr cos q  V constraint (r )
2

mr 2q  mgr sin q  0

g
q  sin q  0
r
• The result of the above exercise is that:
• 1. We can impose constraints directly in the Lagrangian and determine
the correct equations of motion without ever explicitly referring
to the constraint forces.
• 2. If we wish to find the force required to enforce a constraint, we
choose an additional general coordinate (in this case r) so that
when it is held to a particular constant (r = l here) the constraint is
maintained. The constraint force then follows as in (3.46).
 Hamiltonian Dynamics*
• If the potential energy of a system is velocity independent, then the linear
momentum components in rectangular coordinates are given by

L
pi 
xi

• In general coordinates
L
pj 
q j

* Classical Dynamics by Marion and Thornton

• The Hamiltonian may be written as

H = p j q j  L

The Lagrangian is considered to be a function of the generalized

coordinates, the generalized velocities, and possibly the time. The
dependence of L on the time may arise either if the constraints are time
dependent or if the transformation equations connecting the rectangular
and generalized coordinates explicitly contain the time.

H (qk , pk , t )=  p j q j  L(q k ,q k ,t)

The Hamiltonian is always considered as a function of the

(qk , pk , t ) set
• H is the total energy if the following conditions are met.
• The equations of the transformation connecting the rectangular and
generalized coordinates must be independent of the time.
• The potential energy must be velocity independent.

H = p j q j  L

• The equations of motion are

H
qk =
pk

H
 pk =
qk
• Using the Hamiltonian method, find the equations of motion for a
spherical pendulum of mass m and length b.
• The generalized coordinates are q and .
q b
T= mb q + mb sin q
1
2
2 2 1
2
2 2 2


V=-mgbcosq
• The generalized momenta are then

L
pq   mb 2q
q
L
p   mb 2 sin 2 q

 L pq
pq   mb q or q 
2

q mb 2
L p
p   mb sin q or  
2 2

 mb 2 sin 2 q q b

pq 2
p2
T= mb q + mb sin q 
1 2 2 1 2

2 2 
2mb 2mb sin q
2 2 2 2 2

V=-mgbcosq
pq 2
p2
H   mgb cos q
2mb 2mb sin q
2 2 2
 H H
• The equations of motion are qk =  pk =
pk qk
H pq
q 
pq mb 2 b
q

H p
  
p mb sin q
2 2

H p 2
p 2
  H
pq
  mgb cosq
p mb2 sin 2 q 2mb 2mb sin q
2 2 2
 H H
• The equations of motion are qk =  pk =
pk qk

H p cos q
pq     mgb sin q
q mb sin q
2 3
q b

H
p   0 

2 2
pq p
H   mgb cosq
2mb 2mb sin q
2 2 2

• Because  is cyclic, the momentum p

about the symmetry axis is constant.