An extension of the classical theory of algebraic invariants to pseudo-Riemannian geometry and Hamiltonian mechanics

Abstract

We develop a new approach to the study of Killing tensors defined in pseudo-Riemannian spaces of constant curvature that is ideologically close to the classical theory of invariants. The main idea, which provides the foundation of the new approach, is to treat a Killing tensor as an algebraic object determined by a set of parameters of the corresponding vector space of Killing tensors under the action of the isometry group. The spaces of group invariants and conformal group invariants of valence two Killing tensors defined in the Minkowski plane are described. The group invariants, which are the generators of the space of invariants, are applied to the problem of classification of orthogonally separable Hamiltonian systems defined in the Minkowski plane. Transformation formulas to separable coordinates expressed in terms of the parameters of the corresponding space of Killing tensors are presented. The results are applied to the problem of orthogonal separability of the Drach superintegrable potentials.