Geometrical dissipation for dynamical systems

On a Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$ we consider the $k+1$ functions $F_1,...,F_k,G$ and construct the vector fields that conserve $F_1,...,F_k$ and dissipate $G$ with a prescribed rate. We study the geometry of these vector fields and prove that they are of gradient type on regular leaves corresponding to $F_1,...,F_k$. By using these constructions we show that the cubic Morrison dissipation and the Landau-Lifschitz equation can be formulated in a unitary form

Control of finite-dimensional quantum systems: Application to a spin-1/2 particle coupled with a finite quantum harmonic oscillator

In this paper, we consider the problem of the controllability of a finite-dimensional quantum system in both the Schrödinger and interaction pictures. Introducing a Quantum Transfer Graph, we elucidate the role of Lie algebra rank conditions and the complex nature of the control matrices. We analyze the example of a sequentially coupled N-level system: a spin-1/2 particle coupled to a finite quantum harmonic oscillator. This models an important physical paradigm of quantum computers - the trapped ion. We describe the control of the finite model obtained, under the right conditions, from the original infinite-dimensional system

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.Comment: 23 pages, accepted for publication in Rep. Math. Phy

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.Comment: 27 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Reg. and Chaotic Dy

Moving constraints as stabilizing controls in classical mechanics

The paper analyzes a Lagrangian system which is controlled by directly assigning some of the coordinates as functions of time, by means of frictionless constraints. In a natural system of coordinates, the equations of motions contain terms which are linear or quadratic w.r.t.time derivatives of the control functions. After reviewing the basic equations, we explain the significance of the quadratic terms, related to geodesics orthogonal to a given foliation. We then study the problem of stabilization of the system to a given point, by means of oscillating controls. This problem is first reduced to the weak stability for a related convex-valued differential inclusion, then studied by Lyapunov functions methods. In the last sections, we illustrate the results by means of various mechanical examples.Comment: 52 pages, 4 figure

Discrete Variational Optimal Control

This paper develops numerical methods for optimal control of mechanical systems in the Lagrangian setting. It extends the theory of discrete mechanics to enable the solutions of optimal control problems through the discretization of variational principles. The key point is to solve the optimal control problem as a variational integrator of a specially constructed higher-dimensional system. The developed framework applies to systems on tangent bundles, Lie groups, underactuated and nonholonomic systems with symmetries, and can approximate either smooth or discontinuous control inputs. The resulting methods inherit the preservation properties of variational integrators and result in numerically robust and easily implementable algorithms. Several theoretical and a practical examples, e.g. the control of an underwater vehicle, will illustrate the application of the proposed approach.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure

Equivalence of the Siegert-pseudostate and Lagrange-mesh R-matrix methods

Siegert pseudostates are purely outgoing states at some fixed point expanded over a finite basis. With discretized variables, they provide an accurate description of scattering in the s wave for short-range potentials with few basis states. The R-matrix method combined with a Lagrange basis, i.e. functions which vanish at all points of a mesh but one, leads to simple mesh-like equations which also allow an accurate description of scattering. These methods are shown to be exactly equivalent for any basis size, with or without discretization. The comparison of their assumptions shows how to accurately derive poles of the scattering matrix in the R-matrix formalism and suggests how to extend the Siegert-pseudostate method to higher partial waves. The different concepts are illustrated with the Bargmann potential and with the centrifugal potential. A simplification of the R-matrix treatment can usefully be extended to the Siegert-pseudostate method.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

Iso-spectral deformations of general matrix and their reductions on Lie algebras

We study an iso-spectral deformation of general matrix which is a natural generalization of the Toda lattice equation. We prove the integrability of the deformation, and give an explicit formula for the solution to the initial value problem. The formula is obtained by generalizing the orthogonalization procedure of Szeg\"{o}. Based on the root spaces for simple Lie algebras, we consider several reductions of the hierarchy. These include not only the integrable systems studied by Bogoyavlensky and Kostant, but also their generalizations which were not known to be integrable before. The behaviors of the solutions are also studied. Generically, there are two types of solutions, having either sorting property or blowing up to infinity in finite time.Comment: 25 pages, AMSLaTe

Optimal path planning for nonholonomic robotics systems via parametric optimisation

Abstract. Motivated by the path planning problem for robotic systems this paper considers nonholonomic path planning on the Euclidean group of motions SE(n) which describes a rigid bodies path in n-dimensional Euclidean space. The problem is formulated as a constrained optimal kinematic control problem where the cost function to be minimised is a quadratic function of translational and angular velocity inputs. An application of the Maximum Principle of optimal control leads to a set of Hamiltonian vector field that define the necessary conditions for optimality and consequently the optimal velocity history of the trajectory. It is illustrated that the systems are always integrable when n = 2 and in some cases when n = 3. However, if they are not integrable in the most general form of the cost function they can be rendered integrable by considering special cases. This implies that it is possible to reduce the kinematic system to a class of curves defined analytically. If the optimal motions can be expressed analytically in closed form then the path planning problem is reduced to one of parameter optimisation where the parameters are optimised to match prescribed boundary conditions.This reduction procedure is illustrated for a simple wheeled robot with a sliding constraint and a conventional slender underwater vehicle whose velocity in the lateral directions are constrained due to viscous damping