On the geometry of Lagrangian one-forms

Abstract Lagrangian multiform theory is a variational framework for integrable systems. In this article, we introduce a new formulation which is based on symplectic geometry and which treats position, momentum and time coordinates of a finite-dimensional integrable hierarchy on an equal footing. This formulation allows a streamlined one-step derivation of both the multi-time Euler–Lagrange equations and the closure relation (encoding integrability). We argue that any Lagrangian one-form for a finite-dimensional system can be recast in our new framework. This framework easily extends to non-commuting flows, and we show that the equations characterising (infinitesimal) Hamiltonian Lie group actions are variational in character. We reinterpret these equations as a system of compatible non-autonomous Hamiltonian equations.