Analytical Dynamics

Fall 2015 - Assignment 2 solutions

1.
As described, the system yields:

T = 12 ma 2 ! 2 + 2 sin 2 ,

V = mga cos ,

[ = 0 means here the bottom of the hoop.]

We have then:
L T V

d L L
= ma 2 !! + g/a 2 cos sin = 0
!

dt

The equation of motion does not depend explicitly on time so the energy function is
conserved:
L
h = ! ! L = 12 ma 2 ! 2 2(g/a)cos + 2 sin 2 ,

And we can identify an effective potential:

Veff = ma 2 (g/a)cos + 12 2 sin 2

Stationary points are obtained:

Veff

sin 0 (g/a) 2 cos 0 = 0

=0

0 = 0, , cos1(g/a 2 )

We examine the stability of the stationary point at the bottom:

2Veff

= ma(g a 2 ) > 0

02 (g / a) > 2

=0

So at < 0 the bottom of the hoop is the only stable stationary point, but at > 0 the
point-mass moves up to a stable angle.

2.
Since there is no friction and the field is conservative, the total energy T + V of the
system is conserved in every instance. For the momenta, on symmetry grounds the
conserved quantities are found to be:

(a) px , py , Lz (this system is invariant under translations in the x-y plane or rotations about
the z-axis). Following similar arguments:
(b) px
(c) pz , Lz
(d) Lz
(e) pz
(f) Lz
(g) There is no isolated conservation of momentum here, unlike the above examples.
However, we can imagine following a particle moving along the vertical direction while
rotating about the z-axis in a way that makes everything look like its not moving at all.
This is then obviously a symmetry of this system: if the distance between two coils is l,
the corresponding conserved quantity is proportional to: pz + (Lz / l) , or equivalently to:

lpz + Lz , as can be deduced from the geometry.

3.
With: L = mc 2 1 r! 2 /c 2 V(r) , we get for the x-component:

d L L
d
mx!
+ V(r)
=

dt x! x
dt 1 r! 2 /c 2
x
r! !!r V(r)
m!!
x
mx!

+
=
+
=0
2
2 3/2 2
2
2

x
!
(1

r
/c
)
c

!
1 r /c
The y and z equations are obtained similarly.
Alternatively, one can directly vary the action to obtain them simultaneously:

I = mc 2 1 r! 2 /c 2 dt V(r)dt
= m
=

r! r!
2

1 r! /c

dt

V(r)
rdt
r

d mr! r
dt

dt 1 r! 2 /c 2

d
mr!
+ V(r) = 0

dt 1 r! 2 /c 2
r

mr!
d
+ V(r) rdt = 0

r
dt 1 r! 2 /c 2

In the limit | r! | c : (1 r! 2 /c 2 )1/2 = 1 +O(!r2 /c 2 ) ,

So that, to first order in | r! | /c we recover Newtons equations:

d
mx!
V(r)
+ V(r) d (mx)
! +
=0

dt 1 r! 2 /c 2
x
dt
x
dp
V(r)
x =
= Fx (r)
dt
x