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The Darboux Inverse Problem In The Calculus Of Variations, Frank O. Lane

Mathematics & Statistics ETDs

The simplest non-parametric problem of the calculus of variation, the so-called direct problem of the plane, is the problem of finding that arc C_o of a family of admissible arcs y=y (x) joining two fixed pointed (x₁ , y₁ ), (x_1, y₂) in the x,y-plane such that along the C_o the integral takes on a minimum value.