A Hamiltonian look at the Rikitake two-disk dynamo system (Q984578)

Some relevant dynamical properties of the Rikitake dynamo system are described. The Hamiltonian realizations of a particular case of the Rikitake system are introduced and the corresponding properties are studied from the Poisson geometry point of view. The Rikitake system is written as a Hamilton-Poisson system and a SL\((2,\mathbb{R})\) parameterized family of Hamilton-Poisson realizations is obtained. The equilibria of the Rikitake system are obtained and their Lyapunov stability is analyzed. The existence of periodic solutions is also studied. It is shown that each regular symplectic leaf of the Poisson configuration manifold is locally foliated by periodic orbits around some special Lyapunov stable equilibria. Two Lax formulations of the system are given also in the last part of the article.