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In physics, Liouville's theorem, named after the French mathematician Joseph Liouville, is a key theorem in classical statistical and Hamiltonian mechanics. It asserts that the phase-space distribution function is constant along the trajectories of the system — that is that the density of system points in the vicinity of a given system point traveling through phase-space is constant with time. There are also related mathematical results in symplectic topology and ergodic theory. ==Liouville equations== The Liouville equation describes the time evolution of the phase space distribution function. Although the equation is usually referred to as the "Liouville equation", Josiah Willard Gibbs was the first to recognize the importance of this equation as the fundamental equation of statistical mechanics.〔J. W. Gibbs, "On the Fundamental Formula of Statistical Mechanics, with Applications to Astronomy and Thermodynamics." Proceedings of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 33, 57-58 (1884). Reproduced in ''The Scientific Papers of J. Willard Gibbs, Vol II'' (1906), (pp. 16 ).〕 It is referred to as the Liouville equation because its derivation for non-canonical systems utilises an identity first derived by Liouville in 1838.〔(Liouville, Journ. de Math., 3, 349(1838) ).〕 Consider a Hamiltonian dynamical system with canonical coordinates and conjugate momenta , where . Then the phase space distribution determines the probability that the system will be found in the infinitesimal phase space volume . The Liouville equation governs the evolution of in time : : Time derivatives are denoted by dots, and are evaluated according to Hamilton's equations for the system. This equation demonstrates the conservation of density in phase space (which was Gibbs's name for the theorem). Liouville's theorem states that :''The distribution function is constant along any trajectory in phase space.'' A proof of Liouville's theorem uses the n-dimensional divergence theorem. This proof is based on the fact that the evolution of obeys an n-dimensional version of the continuity equation: : That is, the tuplet is a conserved current. Notice that the difference between this and Liouville's equation are the terms : where is the Hamiltonian, and Hamilton's equations have been used. That is, viewing the motion through phase space as a 'fluid flow' of system points, the theorem that the convective derivative of the density, , is zero follows from the equation of continuity by noting that the 'velocity field' in phase space has zero divergence (which follows from Hamilton's relations). Another illustration is to consider the trajectory of a cloud of points through phase space. It is straightforward to show that as the cloud stretches in one coordinate – say – it shrinks in the corresponding direction so that the product remains constant. Equivalently, the existence of a conserved current implies, via Noether's theorem, the existence of a symmetry. The symmetry is invariance under time translations, and the generator (or Noether charge) of the symmetry is the Hamiltonian. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liouville's theorem (Hamiltonian)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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