Hamiltonian approach to delay ordinary differential equations

Abstract The paper suggests a Hamiltonian formulation for delay ordinary differential equations (DODEs). Such equations are related to DODEs with a Lagrangian formulation via a delay analog of the Legendre transformation. The Hamiltonian delay operator identity is established. It states the relationship for the invariance of a delay Hamiltonian functional, appropriate delay variational equations, and their conserved quantities. The identity is used to formulate a Noether-type theorem, which provides first integrals for Hamiltonian DODEs with symmetries. The relationship between the invariance of the delay Hamiltonian functional and the invariance of the delay variational equations is also examined. Several examples illustrate the theoretical results.