General U(N) gauge transformations in the realm of covariant hamiltonian field theory

Abstract

A consistent, local coordinate formulation of covariant Hamiltonian field theory is presented. While the covariant canonical field equations are equivalent to the Euler-Lagrange field equations, the covariant canonical transformation theory offers more general means for defining mappings that preserve the action functional- and hence the form of the field equations-than the usual Lagrangian description. Similar to the well-known canonical transformation theory of point dynamics, the canonical transformation rules for fields are derived from generating functions.As an interesting example, wework out the generating function of type F2 of a general local U(N) gauge transformation and thus derive the most general form of a Hamiltonian density H that is form-invariant under local U(N) gauge transformations.