A Hamilton-Jacobi theory for implicit differential systems

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a geometric Hamilton-Jacobi theory for systems of implicit differential equations. In particular, we are interested in implicit Hamiltonian systems, described in terms of Lagrangian submanifolds of $TT^*Q$ generated by Morse families. The implicit character implies the nonexistence of a Hamiltonian function describing the dynamics. This fact is here amended by a generating family of Morse functions which plays the role of a Hamiltonian. A Hamilton--Jacobi equation is obtained with the aid of this generating family of functions. To conclude, we apply our results to singular Lagrangians by employing the construction of special symplectic structures.