Hamiltonisation, measure preservation and first integrals of the multi-dimensional rubber Routh sphere

We consider the multi-dimensional generalisation of the problem of a sphere, with axi-symmetric mass distribution, that rolls without slipping or spinning over a plane. Using recent results from Garc\'ia-Naranjo (arXiv: 1805:06393) and Garc\'ia-Naranjo and Marrero (arXiv: 1812.01422), we show that the reduced equations of motion possess an invariant measure and may be represented in Hamiltonian form by Chaplygin's reducing multiplier method. We also prove a general result on the existence of first integrals for certain Hamiltonisable Chaplygin systems with internal symmetries that is used to determine conserved quantities of the problem.Comment: 23 pages, 1 figure. Submitted to the special issue of Theor. Appl. Mech. in honour of Chaplygin's 150th anniversar

Gauge Transformations, Twisted Poisson Brackets and Hamiltonization of Nonholonomic Systems

In this paper we study the problem of Hamiltonization of nonholonomic systems from a geometric point of view. We use gauge transformations by 2-forms (in the sense of Severa and Weinstein [29]) to construct different almost Poisson structures describing the same nonholonomic system. In the presence of symmetries, we observe that these almost Poisson structures, although gauge related, may have fundamentally different properties after reduction, and that brackets that Hamiltonize the problem may be found within this family. We illustrate this framework with the example of rigid bodies with generalized rolling constraints, including the Chaplygin sphere rolling problem. We also see how twisted Poisson brackets appear naturally in nonholonomic mechanics through these examples

Non-existence of an invariant measure for a homogeneous ellipsoid rolling on the plane

It is known that the reduced equations for an axially symmetric homogeneous ellipsoid that rolls without slipping on the plane possess a smooth invariant measure. We show that such an invariant measure does not exist in the case when all of the semi-axes of the ellipsoid have different length.Comment: v2: Minor changes after journal review. This text uses the theory developed in arXiv:1304.1788 for the specific example of a homogeneous ellipsoid rolling on the plan

Moving energies as first integrals of nonholonomic systems with affine constraints

In nonholonomic mechanical systems with constraints that are affine (linear nonhomogeneous) functions of the velocities, the energy is typically not a first integral. It was shown in [Fass\`o and Sansonetto, JNLS, 26, (2016)] that, nevertheless, there exist modifications of the energy, called there moving energies, which under suitable conditions are first integrals. The first goal of this paper is to study the properties of these functions and the conditions that lead to their conservation. In particular, we enlarge the class of moving energies considered in [Fass\`o and Sansonetto, JNLS, 26, (2016)]. The second goal of the paper is to demonstrate the relevance of moving energies in nonholonomic mechanics. We show that certain first integrals of some well known systems (the affine Veselova and LR systems), which had been detected on a case-by-case way, are instances of moving energies. Moreover, we determine conserved moving energies for a class of affine systems on Lie groups that include the LR systems, for a heavy convex rigid body that rolls without slipping on a uniformly rotating plane, and for an $n$-dimensional generalization of the Chaplygin sphere problem to a uniformly rotating hyperplane.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure. Final version prepared according to the modifications suggested by the referees of Nonlinearit

Some remarks about the centre of mass of two particles in spaces of constant curvature

The concept of centre of mass of two particles in 2D spaces of constant Gaussian curvature is discussed by recalling the notion of "relativistic rule of lever" introduced by Galperin [Comm. Math. Phys. 154 (1993), 63--84] and comparing it with two other definitions of centre of mass that arise naturally on the treatment of the 2-body problem in spaces of constant curvature: firstly as the collision point of particles that are initially at rest, and secondly as the centre of rotation of steady rotation solutions. It is shown that if the particles have distinct masses then these definitions are equivalent only if the curvature vanishes and instead lead to three different notions of centre of mass in the general case.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Unimodularity and preservation of volumes in nonholonomic mechanics

The equations of motion of a mechanical system subjected to nonholonomic linear constraints can be formulated in terms of a linear almost Poisson structure in a vector bundle. We study the existence of invariant measures for the system in terms of the unimodularity of this structure. In the presence of symmetries, our approach allows us to give necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of an invariant volume, that unify and improve results existing in the literature. We present an algorithm to study the existence of a smooth invariant volume for nonholonomic mechanical systems with symmetry and we apply it to several concrete mechanical examples.Comment: 37 pages, 3 figures; v3 includes several changes to v2 that were done in accordance to the referee suggestion

The inhomogeneous Suslov problem

We consider the Suslov problem of nonholonomic rigid body motion with inhomogeneous constraints. We show that if the direction along which the Suslov constraint is enforced is perpendicular to a principal axis of inertia of the body, then the reduced equations are integrable and, in the generic case, possess a smooth invariant measure. Interestingly, in this generic case, the first integral that permits integration is transcendental and the density of the invariant measure depends on the angular velocities. We also study the Painlev\'e property of the solutions.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure