A Noether Theorem for discrete Covariant Mechanics
arXiv:1902.08997
Abstract
Noether's theorem is an elegant and powerful tool of classical mechanics, but it is of little to no consequence in discrete theories. Here we define and explore a discrete approach to covariant mechanics and show that within this framework a discrete version of Noether's theorem, completely analogous to the well-known continuum version with all its ramifications, remains valid. We also discuss why more traditional approaches to discretized mechanics violate certain conservation laws by construction.
11 pages, 2 figures