Lagrange-Poincare field equations

Abstract

The Lagrange-Poincare equations of classical mechanics are cast into a field theoretic context together with their associated constrained variational principle. An integrability/reconstruction condition is established that relates solutions of the original problem with those of the reduced problem. The Kelvin-Noether theorem is formulated in this context. Applications to the isoperimetric problem, the Skyrme model for meson interaction, metamorphosis image dynamics, and molecular strands illustrate various aspects of the theory.