On symmetries and conserved quantities in Nambu mechanics

Abstract

In Hamiltonian mechanics, a (continuous) symmetry leads to conserved quantity, which is a function on (extended) phase space. In Nambu mechanics, a straightforward consequence of symmetry is just a relative integral invariant, a differential form which only upon integration over a cycle provides a conserved real number. The origin of the difference may be traced back to a shift in degrees of relevant forms present in equations of motion, or, alternatively, to a corresponding shift in degrees of relevant objects in action integral for Nambu mechanics.