Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion.
Vol. 53.
2011.
A maximum principle in the form given by R. V. Gamkrelidze is obtained, although without a priori regularity assumptions to be satisfied by the optimal trajectory. After its formulation and proof, we propose various regularity concepts that guarantee, in one sense or another, the nondegeneracy of the maximum principle. Finally, we show how the already known first-order necessary conditions can be deduced from the proposed theorem. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.