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T. Mestdag

Publications and source records attributed to T. Mestdag.

32 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
arXiv2011

The Cartan form for constrained Lagrangian systems and the nonholonomic Noether theorem

This paper deals with conservation laws for mechanical systems with nonholonomic constraints. It uses a Lagrangian formulation of nonholonomic systems and a Cartan form approach. We present what we believe to be the most general relations between symmetries and first integrals. We discuss the so-called nonholonomic Noether theorem in terms of our formalism, and we give applications to Riemannian submanifolds, to Lagrangians of mechanical type, and to the determination of quadratic first integrals.

math.DG↗
arXiv2011

Reduction of invariant constrained systems using anholonomic frames

We analyze two reduction methods for nonholonomic systems that are invariant under the action of a Lie group on the configuration space. Our approach for obtaining the reduced equations is entirely based on the observation that the dynamics can be represented by a second-order differential equations vector field and that in both cases the reduced dynamics can be described by expressing that vector field in terms of an appropriately chosen anholonomic frame.

math.DG↗
arXiv2010

The inverse problem for Lagrangian systems with certain non-conservative forces

We discuss two generalizations of the inverse problem of the calculus of variations, one in which a given mechanical system can be brought into the form of Lagrangian equations with non-conservative forces of a generalized Rayleigh dissipation type, the other leading to Lagrangian equations with so-called gyroscopic forces. Our approach focusses primarily on obtaining coordinate-free conditions for the existence of a suitable non-singular multiplier matrix, which will lead to an equivalent representation of a given system of second-order equations as one of these Lagrangian systems with non-conservative forces.

math.DG↗
arXiv2009

A Generalization of Chaplygin's Reducibility Theorem

In this paper we study Chaplygin's Reducibility Theorem and extend its applicability to nonholonomic systems with symmetry described by the Hamilton-Poincare-d'Alembert equations in arbitrary degrees of freedom. As special cases we extract the extension of the Theorem to nonholonomic Chaplygin systems with nonabelian symmetry groups as well as Euler-Poincare-Suslov systems in arbitrary degrees of freedom. In the latter case, we also extend the Hamiltonization Theorem to nonholonomic systems which do not possess an invariant measure. Lastly, we extend previous work on conditionally variational systems using the results above. We illustrate the results through various examples of well-known nonholonomic systems.

math-ph↗
arXiv2009

Anholonomic frames in constrained dynamics

We demonstrate the usefulness of anholonomic frames in the contexts of nonholonomic and vakonomic systems. We take a consistently differential-geometric approach. As an application, we investigate the conditions under which the dynamics of the two systems will be consistent. A few illustrative examples confirm the results.

math-ph↗
arXiv2008

Hamiltonization of Nonholonomic Systems and the Inverse Problem of the Calculus of Variations

We introduce a method which allows one to recover the equations of motion of a class of nonholonomic systems by finding instead an unconstrained Hamiltonian system on the full phase space, and to restrict the resulting canonical equations to an appropriate submanifold of phase space. We focus first on the Lagrangian picture of the method and deduce the corresponding Hamiltonian from the Legendre transformation. We illustrate the method with several examples and we discuss its relationship to the Pontryagin maximum principle.

math-ph↗
arXiv2008

Reduction and reconstruction aspects of second-order dynamical systems with symmetry

We examine the reduction process of a system of second-order ordinary differential equations which is invariant under a Lie group action. With the aid of connection theory, we explain why the associated vector field decomposes in three parts and we show how the integral curves of the original system can be reconstructed from the reduced dynamics. An illustrative example confirms the results.

math.DG↗
arXiv2008

Routh's procedure for non-Abelian symmetry groups

We extend Routh's reduction procedure to an arbitrary Lagrangian system (that is, one whose Lagrangian is not necessarily the difference of kinetic and potential energies) with a symmetry group which is not necessarily Abelian. To do so we analyse the restriction of the Euler-Lagrange field to a level set of momentum in velocity phase space. We present a new method of analysis based on the use of quasi-velocities. We discuss the reconstruction of solutions of the full Euler-Lagrange equations from those of the reduced equations.

math.DG↗
arXiv2008

Invariant Lagrangians, mechanical connections and the Lagrange-Poincare equations

We deal with Lagrangian systems that are invariant under the action of a symmetry group. The mechanical connection is a principal connection that is associated to Lagrangians which have a kinetic energy function that is defined by a Riemannian metric. In this paper we extend this notion to arbitrary Lagrangians. We then derive the reduced Lagrange-Poincare equations in a new fashion and we show how solutions of the Euler-Lagrange equations can be reconstructed with the help of the mechanical connection. Illustrative examples confirm the theory.

math.DG↗
arXiv2008

The inverse problem for invariant Lagrangians on a Lie group

We discuss the problem of the existence of a regular invariant Lagrangian for a given system of invariant second-order differential equations on a Lie group $G$, using approaches based on the Helmholtz conditions. Although we deal with the problem directly on $TG$, our main result relies on a reduction of the system on $TG$ to a system on the Lie algebra of $G$. We conclude with some illustrative examples.

math.DG↗
arXiv2002

Note on generalised connections and affine bundles

We develop an alternative view on the concept of connections over a vector bundle map, which consists of a horizontal lift procedure to a prolonged bundle. We further focus on prolongations to an affine bundle and introduce the concept of affineness of a generalised connection.

math.DG↗
arXiv2002

Lie algebroid structures on a class of affine bundles

We introduce the notion of a Lie algebroid structure on an affine bundle whose base manifold is fibred over the real numbers. It is argued that this is the framework which one needs for coming to a time-dependent generalization of the theory of Lagrangian systems on Lie algebroids. An extensive discussion is given of a way one can think of forms acting on sections of the affine bundle. It is further shown that the affine Lie algebroid structure gives rise to a coboundary operator on such forms. The concept of admissible curves and dynamical systems whose integral curves are admissible, brings an associated affine bundle into the picture, on which one can define in a natural way a prolongation of the original affine Lie algebroid structure.

math.DG↗