The inverse problem of the calculus of variations for systems of second-order partial differential equations in the plane

Abstract

A complete solution to the multiplier version of the inverse problem of the calculus of variations is given for a class of hyperbolic systems of second-order partial differential equations in two independent variables. The necessary and sufficient algebraic and differential conditions for the existence of a variational multiplier are derived. It is shown that the number of independent variational multipliers is determined by the nullity of a completely algebraic system of equations associated to the given system of partial differential equations. An algorithm for solving the inverse problem is demonstrated on several examples. Systems of second-order partial differential equations in two independent and dependent variables are studied and systems which have more than one variational formulation are classified up to contact equivalence.