Is there a rigorous definition of D'Alembert's principle of virtual dynamic work in the language of differential geometry? Some questions I'm hoping to answer are:
- How to view the configuration space of a set of particles as a smooth manifold.
- The definition a virtual displacement as a smooth manifold object such as a tangent vector or 1-form.
- A rigorous statement of the principle of virtual work in the language of tangent vectors or 1-forms.
- A rigorous derivation of Lagrange's equations from this principle.
For reference, a standard physic presentation/derivation is given here.