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1 vote
0 answers
108 views

Stability of rigid bodies spinning around $z$-axis under gravity

Consider the problem of a rigid body rotating in 3D space under gravity with one point fixed. I am particularly curious about the equilibrium state where the body is spinning at a constant angular ...
6 votes
2 answers
3k views

Poincaré recurrence and its implications for statistical physics and the arrow of time

A very important theorem in mathematical physics is Poincaré’s recurrence theorem. As you recall, this theorem states that given a dynamical system $(M , \phi , \mu)$ with $ \mu M < +\infty$, for ...
0 votes
1 answer
214 views

Hamilton equations-Symplectic scheme [closed]

We know that $\dot{q} = \frac{\partial H}{\partial p}$ and $\dot{p} = -\frac{\partial H}{\partial q}$, and we also know the values $Q$ and $P$ respectively of $q$ and $p$ at a later time step $\Delta ...
1 vote
0 answers
76 views

What exactly are the benefits of keeping a Hamiltonian system of equations Hamiltonian during solving or transformation?

When faced with a system of differential equations that happens to be Hamiltonian in form, or a perturbation of a Hamiltonian system, we often see in classical work a clear attempt to pursue solutions ...
4 votes
1 answer
299 views

Symplectic forms and sign of eigenvalues

This question has come out while reading J. Moser "New Aspects in the Theory of Stability of Hamiltonian Systems". I'm particularly interested to the Appendix, where one investigates the stability of ...
27 votes
4 answers
13k views

Hamiltonian, Lagrangian and Newton formalism of mechanics

If my thinking is wrong please let me know. I have little knowledge on beyond-college physics. For research purposes, I read a few introductions to these three formalisms of classical mechanics [1,2,...
9 votes
1 answer
726 views

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,......