Abstract
We present a new class of solutions for the inverse problem in the calculus of variations in arbitrary dimension n. This is the problem of determining the existence and uniqueness of Lagrangians for systems of n second order ordinary differential equations. We also provide a number of new theorems concerning the inverse problem using exterior differential systems theory (EDS). Concentrating on the differential step of the EDS process, our new results provide a significant advance in the understanding of the inverse problem in arbitrary dimension. In particular, we indicate how to generalise Jesse Douglas's famous solution for n=2. We give some non-trivial examples in dimensions 2, 3 and 4. We finish with a new classification scheme for the inverse problem in arbitrary dimension.
Published Version
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