Reduction (by stages) in the whole Lagrange-Poincaré category

Abstract

We study the reduction scheme in the whole LP category, introduced in [7] to perform Lagrangian reduction by stages. We answer affirmatively the open question of whether reduction can be done in the whole category. Furthermore, we analyze the Noether theorem on LP-bundles, the relationship with Hamiltonian reduction by stages and some geometric aspects of the definition of this category.