On the influence of the kinetic energy on the stability of equilibria of natural Lagrangian systems (Q1570906)

The authors consider natural Lagrangian systems \((T,\Pi)\) on \(\mathbb{R}^2\) described by the equation \({d\over dt}({\partial T\over \partial \dot q})-{\partial T\over \partial q}= -{\partial\Pi \over\partial q}\), where \(T\) is a positive definite quadratic form in \(\dot q\), and \(\Pi(q)\) has a critical point at 0. It is constructively proved that there exists a \(C^\infty\) potential energy \(\Pi\) and two \(C^\infty\) kinetic energies \(T\) and \(\widetilde T\), such that the equilibrium \(q(t)\equiv 0\) is stable for the system \((T,\Pi)\) and unstable for the system \((\widetilde T,\Pi)\). Equivalently, it is established that for \(C^\infty\) natural systems kinetic energy can influence the stability.