Dynamics of the \(n\)-dimensional Suslov problem (Q1576289)

The aim of this paper is the reconstruction of a class of mechanical systems which have been reduced through the action of a symmetry group. In an introductory section, the authors recall the geometric description of nonholonomic systems, the meaning of symmetry for such systems, the construction of reduced dynamics and the concept of reconstruction equation. They further discuss the choice of adapted coordinates and a ``body fixed basis'', leading to the so-called nonholonomic momentum in body representation, and to the corresponding form of reduced Lagrange-d'Alembert-Poincaré equations. Orbits whose projection onto the quotient through the Lie group are equilibria, are called relative equilibria (and similarly for relative period orbits). The authors also recall the results by \textit{P. Ashwin} and \textit{I. Melbourne} [Nonlinearity 10, No. 3, 595-616 (1997; Zbl 0912.35079)] about the nature of reconstructed relative equilibria and periodic orbits. Next, the authors arrive at the main purpose of this paper, which is to generalize these results to the case of relative quasi-periodic orbits and to apply the newly obtained results to the \(n\)-dimensional Suslov problem, a generalization of the classical Suslov problem on an Euler top with nonholonomic constraints. It is proved that trajectories of the original problem in the case of relative quasi-periodic orbits, are themselves quasi-periodic, provided the reconstruction equation is reducible. But since this is a rather strong assumption (for practical purposes), the authors also discuss ``effective reducibility'', whereby the flow determined by the reconstruction equation may be approximated by a quasi-periodic flow on a time interval of length \(\exp(1/\varepsilon)\). In the case of the generalized Suslov problem, \(SO(n) \times T^{(n-2)}\) invariance is shown to be a condition for reducibility of the reconstruction equation, whereas approximation by quasi-periodic dynamics becomes possible when the angular velocity has one or three dominant components.