Bi-Hamiltonian Structures and Equivalent Representations of the Pais-Uhlenbeck Model

Abstract: We provide a complete classification of all the ways the Pais-Uhlenbeck osicllator might be embedded in two dimensional space. We discuss the Bi-Hamiltonian structures of this model, and examine how alternative Hamiltonian structures might be generated from the dynamical Lie symmetries of the theory. We then examine how the Bi-Hamiltonian strucutre may be exploited to evade the problem of unbounded Hamiltonians that is usually associated with Higher Time Derivative Theories. The effect of interactions on this Bi-Hamiltonian structure is also considered.