Ap. Markeyev, Investigation of the stability of periodic motions of an autonomous Hamiltonian system in a critical case, J APPL MA R, 64(5), 2000, pp. 797-810
The problem of the orbital stability of periodic motions of a Hamiltonian s
ystem with two degrees of freedom is considered. The Hamilton function does
not depend explicitly on the time and is analytic in the neighbourhood of
the trajectory of the unperturbed motion. The critical case, when all the m
ultipliers are real and have moduli equal to unity, is investigated. The st
ability and instability conditions are obtained using Lyapunov's second met
hod and the KAM theory. Constructive algorithms for checking these conditio
ns are given. The case of a system containing a small parameter is consider
ed in particular. On the technical side, the investigation rests primarily
on the classical theory of perturbations of Hamiltonian systems and its mod
ern modifications. The problem of the stability of the permanent rotation o
f a heavy circular disc which is in collision with a fixed horizontal plane
and the problem of the stability of the plane rotations of a rigid body ab
out a fixed point are considered as applications. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.