Sur quelques questions du calcul des variations
In this note we present we present a new elementary approach in the theory of minimax inequalities. The proof of the main result (called the geometric principle) uses only some simple properties of convex functions. The geometric principle (which is equivalent to the well-known lemma of Klee [13]) is shown to have numerous applications in different areas of mathematics.
We analyze the problem of switching controls for control systems endowed with different actuators. The goal is to control the dynamics of the system by switching from an actuator to the other in a systematic way so that, in each instant of time, only one actuator is active. We first address a finite-dimensional model and show that, under suitable rank conditions, switching control strategies exist and can be built in a systematic way. To do this we introduce a new variational principle building...
In this paper we derive general equations for constraint Noethertype symmetries of a first order non-holonomic mechanical system and the corresponding currents, i.e. functions constant along trajectories of the nonholonomic system. The approach is based on a consistent and effective geometrical theory of nonholonomic constrained systems on fibred manifolds and their jet prolongations, first presented and developed by Olga Rossi. As a representative example of application of the geometrical theory...