Questions tagged [classical-mechanics]
Mathematics of classical mechanics, including Hamiltonian mechanics, Lagrangian mechanics, applications of symplectic geometry to mechanics, deterministic chaos, resonance etc.
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an example on kinematical theory in the book "A treatise on the analytical dynamics of particles and rigid bodies"
In page 3, Example 1 says "A lamina moves in any manner in its plane. Prove that the locus at any instant of points which are at inflexions of their paths is a circle, which touches the loci in the ...
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When does a Lagrangian dynamical system have an equivalent Hamiltonian description?
Let a Lagrangian dynamical system with $n$ degrees of freedom and configuration space $\mathbb{R}^n$
(i.e. phase space $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$), which is described by $L=L(q_{i},\dot{q}_{i},t)$, $i=1,2,......
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From Boundary to righthandside
I have a problem coming from linear elasticity in $(x,y,z)\in\mathbb{R}^2\times \mathbb{R}^+$, $t\in \mathbb R$:
$$\left\{\begin{aligned}\partial_{tt} \sigma&=A(D_x,D_y,D_z) \sigma\\
\sigma\big|...
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Ping-pong progress through a quincunx
A quincunx or
Galton board consists of
staggered pegs from which ping-pong balls bounce and eventually display
a binomial / normal distribution in catch-bins. I am wondering if the
downward progress ...
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Construction of an optimal electron cage
I will describe the question first in 2D, but my interest is in $\mathbb{R}^3$.
An electron $x$ will shoot from the origin along an initial vector $v$. You know the speed $|v|$ but not the direction.
...
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Is there any connection between Lagrange points and the icosahedron?
Given the Newtonian two-body problem, one can ask if there are any orbits that allow a test particle to maintain a fixed configuration relative to the two bodies. In other words, in a frame that ...
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Stability of the Solar System
Is the Solar System stable?
You can see this Wikipedia page.
In May 2015 I was at the conference of Cedric Villani at Sharif university of technology with this title: "Of planets, stars and ...
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In search for a more geometric proof of a result of van der Schaft and Maschke on nonholonomic mechanics
Edit: Now I have found something that appears to answer my own question. It is section 2 in the paper "On Submanifolds and Quotients of Poisson and Jacobi Manifolds" by Ch.-M. Marle. (There, he ...
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The isotropy group for the Euler-Lagrange vector-fields
Let $Q$ be a manifold, and let $X_{EL}$ be a second order vector-field on $TQ$ derived from the Euler-Lagrange equation,
$$ \frac{d}{dt} \left( \frac{\partial L}{\partial \dot{q} } \right) - \frac{ \...
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A soft question on Gauge Equivalence in Integrable Systems
I have a question about two well-known spectral problems in Integrable Systems. These are the Dirac and the ZS-AKNS spectral problems. They are are known to be gauge equivalent (please see equations (...
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One problem about tower stability [closed]
Some years ago i asked myself a question that I still can not answer. Here it is:
A given tower consists of finite homogeneous cubic blocks staying one on another and equal to each other. What is ...
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Dynamics of pairwise distances in the $n$-body problem
Disclaimer: I have asked this question on Physics SE a week ago, but got no answers. I know that some MO users are interested in the $n$-body problem, so I decided to cross post here as well.
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turbulence as an unsolved problem of classical mechanics
Why is it that turbulence is considered to be an unsolved problem of classical mechanics? What is meant by "unsolved"? Don't the Navier-Stokes equations apply to turbulent flows? It's difficult to ...
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underdamped oscillation with quadratic decay
I know that for a 2nd order linear differential equation system, there are 3 possible scenarios: over-damped, critically damped and underdamped. For the underdamped case the solutions are of the form:
...
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Differentiable functions with discontinuous derivatives
For years I've taught my honors calculus students about functions like (the continuous extension of) $x^2 \sin 1/x$, and for just as many years I've told them that they won't encounter functions like ...
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Classical Limit of Feynman Path Integral
I understand that in the limit that $\hbar$ goes to zero, the Feynman path integral is dominated by the classical path, and then using the stationary phase approximation we can derive an approximation ...
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Poincaré Recurrence and Dense Sets
This is kind of a spin-off of the question asked here. Take the interval $X:=[0,1]$ with $\mu$ being standard Lebesgue measure. Let $f$ be a measure preserving map $f:[0,1]\rightarrow [0,1]$. The ...
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Poisson structures on non-smooth manifolds with singularities
It's very known how we can describe a Poisson structure on a manifold $M$, where $M$ is a smooth manifold, but what about a Non-smooth manifold with singularities? In section $(2)$ of the paper The ...
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Invariance of the Noether charge
The paper http://epubs.siam.org/doi/abs/10.1137/1023098 (Generalizations of Noether’s Theorem in Classical Mechanics, by Willy Sarlet and Frans Cantrijn) mentions "an interesting property of the ...
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Bouncing a ball down the stairs
In a nutshell, the question is whether it can be faster to bounce a ball down an infinite flight of stairs than to bounce it down a ramp with the same slope.
To be more specific: this is a $2$ ...
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Question about theorem in Arnold's book on action-angles variables
I have a question about the action-angle theorem on p. 283 in Arnold's textbook on classical mechanics.(I added the link to this book in the last part of this question)
If you don't have the book or ...
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Local symplectomorphisms become global ones?
It is widely known that a local diffeomorphism is not necessarily a global diffeomosphism and so on.
Now, I stumbled over the question whether in some particular cases, as I will describe below, ...
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Find a maximizing solution to an ODE which depends on a paramater function
(For the physical meaning of this problem see https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/122818/how-should-i-throttle-my-rocket-to-reach-highest-altitude).
Given $g \in (0,\infty), k \in C^1( [0, \...
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Can the equation of motion with friction be written as Euler-Lagrange equation, and does it have a quantum version?
My (non-expert) impression is that many physically important equations of motion can be obtained as Euler-Lagrange equations. For example in quantum fields theories and in quantum mechanics quantum ...
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Kinematics of rolling knots
It is well known that there are trefoil knots without tritangent planes, and with 3d printers one can print these beautiful objects and make them roll on planes.
(An example:https://www.youtube.com/...
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Lagrangian flow preserves symplectic form
Let $X$ be a configuration space and $L: TX \rightarrow \mathbb{R}$ a Lagrangian. Then I want to show that the Lagrangian flow $F^t(x(0),x'(0)) = (x(t),x'(t))$ preserves the symplectic form just like ...
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higher order Noether identities
Noether's second variational theorem gives a correspondence between symmetries of a Lagrangian and Noether identities, which are relations among the Euler–Lagrange equations.
How about relations ...
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1-jet bundle on vector bundle with metric connection
Background
I'm working to simplify the Lagrangian formalism of classical field theory for the situation of a vector bundle with a bundle metric and a metric connection. Particularly, I want to specify ...
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Momentum a cotangent vector
Apparently one identifies the configuration space in physics often with a manifold $M$. The tangent bundle $TM$ is then the space of all possible positions and velocities.
Furthermore, many sources ...
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Motivation for the existence of periodic solutions [closed]
I have been reading the book Critical Point Theory and Hamiltonian System by Mawhin and Willem, as well as several other papers on the existence of periodic solutions for equations of the form
$$\ddot{...
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*The* open problem in General Relativity?
Q. Is there a single, clear mathematical question that has emerged as
the open problem in General Relativity?
I ask this on the ~100th anniversary of Einstein's (4-page!) 1915 paper,
"Die ...
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Dynamics of electrons on a sphere
Suppose one place $n$ electrons closely surrounding the north pole of a sphere, forming
a perfect planar regular $n$-gon:
Q1.
What will happen if the electrons ...
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Shortest rope to capture a sphere of diameter 1 [duplicate]
I have a perfect rigid sphere of diameter 1.
I have infinite supply of rope. The rope is infinitely flexible and can be cut or glued without losing or adding length. The rope can be glued at any ...
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Stable equilibria of points on the 2-sphere
Suppose $n$ points lie on the sphere $S^2=\{x\in\mathbb{R}^3\mid \|x\|=1\}$ and are subjected to a repulsive acceleration that pushes away a point from each other point with an intensity proportional ...
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Nature of separatrix in Fokker--Planck Hamiltonian with two degrees of freedom
Background The semiclassical (weak noise, small $D$) limit of the Fokker--Planck equation
$$\frac{\partial P}{\partial t}=D\frac{\partial^2 P}{\partial x^2}-\frac{\partial}{\partial x}(v(x) P)$$
can ...
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Weinstein's local classification of Lagrangian foliations
In the paper "Symplectic manifolds and their Lagrangian submanifolds", Weinstein showed that locally all the Lagrangian foliations are symplectomorhic to the fiber foliation of a cotangent bundle.
I ...
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A taut string of equilateral triangles
Let $T$ be a unit edge-length equilateral triangle composed of three cylinders each
of (small) radius $r>0$. (By "small" I mean approximately $< 0.1$.)
Think of $T$ as a physical, rigid triangle,...
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Is there a sideways-walking rolling convex body?
Let $K$ be a solid, homogenous convex body in $\mathbb{R}^3$.
Place $K$ on an inclined plane, and let it roll down the plane,
under some reasonable assumptions of friction between $K$ and
the plane, ...
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Catenary curve under non-uniform gravitational field
The catenary curve is the shape of a chain hanging between two equal-height poles under the influence of gravity. But the derivation of the (hyperbolic cosine) curve equation from the physics ...
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Newton equations, second order equation and (im)possible motions
I am am currently studying Newtonian mechanics from a conceptional and axiomatic point of view. Now, if I am not mistaken, one (but surely not all) statement of Newtons second law about nature is, ...
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Well-definedness of single-particle smooth billiards flow
Single-particle billiards systems in a domain with corners, or multi-particle billiards in a domain with smooth boundary, can exhibit singularities in finite time. (The former phenomenon is well known;...
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Periodic orbits of a spinning ball in a square
Periodic orbits of a billiard ball bouncing in a square have been well-studied.
I am seeking similar analysis of what is sometimes called a rough ball, one
whose high friction causes it to pick up ...
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Find a second integral for Arnold's example
Consider Arnold's example for Arnold diffusion 1964.
$$H=I_1^2/2+I_2^2/2+\epsilon(1-\cos\theta_2)(1+\mu(\sin\theta_1+\sin t)) $$
We can first make it a system of three degrees of freedom.
Then we ...
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Oloid and sphericon: rolling develops entire surface
Wikipedia says that,
"The oloid is one of the only known objects, along with some members of the sphericon family, that while rolling, develops its entire surface."
Below are illustrations of ...
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Regarding understanding differential geometry [closed]
I am essentially looking for a book that would hold my hand through basic concepts to more complicated ones. I am coming from physics. I am looking to make some connections with Classical mechanics ...
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On linear independence of exponentials
Problem.
Let $\{\lambda_n\}_{n\in\mathbb N}$ be a sequence of complex numbers . Let's call a family of exponential functions $\{\exp (\lambda_n s)\}_{n\in\mathbb N}$ $F$-independent (where $F$ is ...
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Minimizing action squared versus action
I have a very basic question in the calculus of variations:
Suppose I want to minimize the functional
$$A[r, r'] = \int_\Omega L(r, r') dx $$
When is it possible to say that extremals of $A$ agree ...
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Do there exist small neighborhoods in a classical mechanical system without pairs of focal points?
The question I will ask makes sense in much more generality, but I will leave the translation to the experts, since I'm only looking for a special case (and it would not surprise me if the answer does ...
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How to find solutions of non-linear ODE with particular BCs
What are some methods, numerical or otherwise, of finding solutions to nonlinear ODEs that satisfy particular boundary conditions? In particular, I'm looking for curves y(s) constrained to a ...
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Relation between Lee and Yang' s "circle theorem", zeta functions and Weil conjectures?
Ruelle mentions ( http://www.ihes.fr/~ruelle/PUBLICATIONS/%5B94%5D.pdf ) Lee and Yang' s "circle theorem", which comes from statistical mechanics and shall have not yet explored connections with zeta ...