Abstract
The ambiguity in the Hamiltonian for systems with constraints is discussed, and a counter example is provided to a conjecture of Dirac, which has led previously to the identification of the system Hamiltonian as the extended Hamiltonian, . The conjecture fails and also generates the wrong canonical equations; Dirac's test for identifying the Hamiltonian, however, leads to correct results for the example.
- Received 2 November 1977
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.42.413
©1979 American Physical Society