Dual pairs in fluid dynamics

Abstract

This paper is a rigorous study of the dual pair structure of the ideal fluid and the dual pair structure for the $n$-dimensional Camassa-Holm (EPDiff) equation, including the proofs of the necessary transitivity results. In the case of the ideal fluid, we show that a careful definition of the momentum maps leads naturally to central extensions of diffeomorphism groups such as the group of quantomorphisms and the Ismagilov central extension.