Publications [#9573] of Robert L Bryant

Papers Published

1. On notions of equivalence of variational problems with one independent variable, in Differential geometry: the interface between pure and applied mathematics (San Antonio, Tex., 1986), Contemporary Mathematics, edited by Mladen Luksic, Clyde Martin and William Shadwick, vol. 68 (1987), pp. 65–76, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI [MR89f:58037]
   (last updated on 2004/04/06)

   Author's Comments:
   This is a short expository paper discussing the different notions of equivalence, such as simple equivalence, contact equivalence, and divergence equivalence for variational problems with one independent variable. I show that the group of symmetries under one notion of equivalence can be distinct from the group of symmetries under another notion. I discuss how one can set up the equivalence problem to compute these different groups of symmetries, but do not enter into any actual equivalence calculations.

   Please note: This paper was typeset directly from my handwritten manuscript (nearly the last handwritten one I ever produced) and I did not get to proofread the result before it appeared. Consequently, there are many typos, particularly in the matrices on the last pages.