Conformal Hamiltonian systems
by
Matthew Perlmutter
Massey University

Vector fields whose flow preserves a symplectic form up to a constant, such as simple mechanical systems with friction, are called ``conformal''. We present a reduction theory for symmetric conformal Hamiltonian systems, analogous to symplectic reduction theory. This entire theory extends naturally to Poisson systems: given a symmetric conformal Poisson vector field, we show that it induces two reduced conformal Poisson vector fields, again analogous to the dual pair construction for symplectic manifolds. Conformal Poisson systems form an interesting infinite-dimensional Lie algebra of foliate vector fields. Manifolds supporting such conformal vector fields include cotangent bundles, Lie-Poisson manifolds, and their natural quotients.

Date received: October 26, 2000