Relative equilibria of Hamiltonian systems with symmetry: Linearization, smoothness, and drift

Abstract

A relative equilibrium of a Hamiltonian system with symmetry is a point of phase space giving an evolution which is a one-parameter orbit of the action of the symmetry group of the system. The evolutions of sufficiently small perturbations of a formally stable relative equilibrium are arbitrarily confined to that relative equilibrium's orbit under the isotropy subgroup of its momentum. However, interesting evolution along that orbit, here called drift, does occur. In this article, linearizations of relative equilibria are used to construct a first order perturbation theory explaining drift, and also to determine when the set of relative equilibria near a given relative equilibrium is a smooth symplectic submanifold of phase space.