Lectures on Analytical Mechanics

Written by professional physicists with over 140 years’ of teaching experience combined, this book is aimed at students and lecturers in physics.

The authors present analytical mechanics as the basis for the study of theoretical physics, its methods and ideas forming the foundation of all other branches including quantum mechanics, statistical physics, and field theory.

The book begins by discussing the motion of particles in a central field and scattering of particles based on Newton’s equations. It then introduces and explores Lagrange equations for various systems, linear and non-linear oscillations, Hamiltonian formalism, and the motion of a rigid body. Each topic is accompanied by problems that are suitable for seminars and testing.

The book also includes five supplemental sections, which provide practical illustrations of the theoretical material. These sections can be used by teachers as the basis for conducting a specialized course, or by curious students who wish to explore different applications of analytical mechanics independently.

G. L. Kotkin, Professor Emeritus, Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, V. G. Serbo, Professor, Chair of Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University, A. I. Chernykh, Assistant of Professor, Chair of Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics, Novosibirsk State University

G. L. Kotkin graduated from the Physics Department of Moscow State University in 1958. He worked at Novosibirsk State University from 1962 to 2020 as a full professor (Chair of Theoretical Physics). He has authored six monographs, including A Collection of Problems in Classical Mechanics (together with V. G. Serbo), which has been translated from the original Russian into four other languages. Prof. Kotkin also published about 100 scientific works, including two papers about photon-photon colliders.

V. G. Serbo graduated from the Physics Department of Leningrad State University in 1962. Since 1965, he has worked at Novosibirsk State University, where he is now a full professor (Chair of Theoretical Physics). He has authored more than 160 scientific papers, including two papers about photon-photon colliders. As a visiting professor, he has worked in a number of foreign universities, including the University of Heidelberg, University of Leipzig, University of Milan, University of Paris VI, University of Minnesota, and scientific institutions such as Helmholtz-Institute Jena, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and Brookhaven National Laboratory. He is the author of six university textbooks, including A Collection of Problems in Classical Mechanics (co-authored with G. L. Kotkin).

A. I. Chernykh graduated from the Physics Department of Novosibirsk State University in 1970, where he is currently an Assistant Professor in Theoretical Physics. His research and teaching interests lie in the field of numerical modeling, including the emergence of turbulence in a Couette flow, instanton in the Burgers Equation, titanium-sapphire laser, passive scalar in the near-wall region of a turbulent flow.