The Hojman Construction and Hamiltonization of Nonholonomic Systems

In this paper, using the Hojman construction, we give examples of various Poisson brackets which differ from those which are usually analyzed in Hamiltonian mechanics. They possess a nonmaximal rank, and in the general case an invariant measure and Casimir functions can be globally absent for them

Understanding Reversals of a Rattleback

A counterintuitive unidirectional (say counterclockwise) motion of a toy rattleback takes place when it is started by tapping it at a long side or by spinning it slowly in the clockwise sense of rotation. We study the motion of a toy rattleback having an ellipsoidal-shaped bottom by using frictionless Newton equations of motion of a rigid body rolling without sliding in a plane. We simulate these equations for tapping and spinning initial conditions to see the contact trajectory, the force arm and the reaction force responsible for torque turning the rattleback in the counterclockwise sense of rotation. Long time behavior of such a rattleback is, however, quasi-periodic and a rattleback starting with small transversal oscillations turns in the clockwise direction.Funding Agencies|National Science Center of Poland [DEC-2013/09/B/ST1/04130]; Department of Mathematics of Linkoping University</p

On integrability of certain rank 2 sub-Riemannian structures

We discuss rank 2 sub-Riemannian structures on low-dimensional manifolds and prove that some of these structures in dimensions 6, 7 and 8 have a maximal amount of symmetry but no integrals polynomial in momenta of low degrees, except for those coming from the Killing vector fields and the Hamiltonian, thus indicating nonintegrability of the corresponding geodesic flows