Exterior Differential Systems and the Calculus of Variations

Exterior Differential Systems and the Calculus of Variations gives a presentation of the calculus of var- iations for functionals defined on integral manifolds of exterior differential systems. The theory of differ- ential systems is used both to provide the theoretical background, and to work out the numerous examples drawn from differential geometry and mechanics. The subject material lies at the confluence of several of the most active areas of mathematics, and, because of the emphasis on examples and explicit solutions to special problems using general techniques, may be especially useful to students.