Inverse variational problem for equations in the Riccati chain

Abstract

The nonstandard Lagrangian representations of Ricatti and Riccati-type equations that exist in the literature cannot be obtained using Helmholtz solution of the inverse problem. In this work we consider Riccati and higher-order Riccati equations and construct their standard Lagrangian representation by using a simple variant of the Helmholtz theory. We make use of the self-adjoint form of the linear equations corresponding to odd-order equations in the Riccati chain to provide a symmetry-based approach for the solution of inverse problem. Explicit results presented for Lagrangians of the first and third-order Riccati equations show that one cannot Hamiltonize the Riccati family of equations by the traditional method used in classical mechanics.