Discrete linear canonical evolution

Abstract

This work builds on an existing model of discrete canonical evolution and applies it to the case of a linear dynamical system, i.e., a finite-dimensional system with vector configuration space and linear equations of motion. The system is assumed to evolve in discrete time steps. The most distinctive feature of the model is that the equations of motion can be irregular. After an analysis of the arising constraints and the symplectic form, we introduce adjusted coordinates on the phase space, which uncover its internal structure and result in a trivial form of the Hamiltonian evolution map. For illustration, the formalism is applied to the example of a massless scalar field on a two-dimensional spacetime lattice.