Effects of constraint curvature on structural instability: tensile buckling and multiple bifurcations

Bifurcation of an elastic structure crucially depends on the curvature of the constraints against which the ends of the structure are prescribed to move, an effect which deserves more attention than it has received so far. In fact, we show theoretically and we provide definitive experimental verification that an appropriate curvature of the constraint over which the end of a structure has to slide strongly affects buckling loads and can induce: (i.) tensile buckling; (ii.) decreasing- (softening), increasing- (hardening), or constant-load (null stiffness) postcritical behaviour; (iii.) multiple bifurcations, determining for instance two bifurcation loads (one tensile and one compressive) in a single-degree-of-freedom elastic system. We show how to design a constraint profile to obtain a desired postcritical behaviour and we provide the solution for the elastica constrained to slide along a circle on one end, representing the first example of an inflexional elastica developed from a buckling in tension. These results have important practical implications in the design of compliant mechanisms and may find applications in devices operating in quasi-static or dynamic conditions

Wigner's Problem and Alternative Commutation Relations for Quantum Mechanics

It is shown, that for quantum systems the vectorfield associated with the equations of motion may admit alternative Hamiltonian descriptions, both in the Schr\"odinger and Heisenberg pictures. We illustrate these ambiguities in terms of simple examples.Comment: Latex,14 pages,accepted by Int. Jour.Mod.Phy

Tomography on f-oscillators

Symplectic tomographies of classical and quantum states are shortly reviewed. The concept of nonlinear f-oscillators and their properties are recalled. The tomographic probability representations of oscillator coherent states and the problem of entanglement are then discussed. The entanglement of even and odd f-coherent states is evaluated by the linear entropy