Classical Mechanics

The book introduces the main ideas and concepts of Newtonian, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, including the basics of rigid body motion and relativistic dynamics, at an intermediate to advanced level.

Classical Mechanics is a textbook for undergraduate students majoring in Physics (or Mathematics and Physics). The book introduces the main ideas and concepts of Newtonian, Lagrangian, and Hamiltonian mechanics, including the basics of rigid body motion and relativistic dynamics, at an intermediate to advanced level. The physical prerequisites are minimal, with a short primer included in the first chapter. As to the mathematical prerequisites, only a working knowledge of linear algebra, basic multivariate calculus, and the rudiments of ordinary differential equations is expected.

Features

• Numerous exercises and examples
• A focus on mathematical rigor that will appeal to Physics students wanting to specialize in theoretical physics, or Mathematics students interested in math- ematical physics

• Sufficient material to service either a one- or two-semester course

  Autorentext

  Artemio González-López (Madrid, 1959) is a theoretical physicist specializing in mathematical physics, particularly classical and quantum integrability. He earned degrees in Physics (1982) and Mathematics (1995) at Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), and a Ph.D. in Physics (1984) at UCM. A Fulbright Scholar at Princeton University (1985-87), he has taught at the Universities of Minnesota and Waterloo and at UCM, where he is a Full Professor since 2009. Author of over 90 papers, he has supervised four Ph.D. theses and led ten research projects. He is also an editor of several scientific journals and heads UCM's Mathematical Physics group.

  Inhalt

  1 Preliminaries 2 Review of Newtonian mechanics 3 Motion in a central potential 4 Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics 5 Motion relative to a non-inertial frame 6 Rigid body motion 7 Introduction to relativistic mechanics Bibliography Index