Proof of stability in the Brower-Paul problem (Q2121841)

This paper addresses the Brower-Paul problem: the stability of a ball located at the critical point of a rotating saddle. It is proved that when the ball is a unit point mass and the surface is a perfect hyperbolic paraboloid \(f(x,y) = (\alpha x^2 + \beta y^2)/2\) with \(\alpha<0\) and \(\beta>0\) satisfying the conditions \(\alpha+\beta+2>0\), \((\alpha-1)(\beta-1)>0\), and \((\alpha-\beta)^2 + 8(\alpha+\beta)>0\), the equilibrium solution is Lyapunov stable. The problem is cast as a two-degrees-of-freedom Hamiltonian system and the proof uses the Arnold-Moser Theorem and results of Markeev. The effect of imperfections in the hyperbolic paraboloid surface \(f(x,y) = (\alpha x^2 + \beta y^2) + \cdots\) are considered by supposing its third- and fourth-order derivatives are not zero. The possibilities of third-order and fourth-order resonances now appear in the expansion of the Hamiltonian. Apart from a set of measure zero, the equilibrium solution for the imperfect saddle is stable by the Arnold-Moser Theorem. Finally, in the absence of friction, the effect of the ball with positive radius \(\rho\) satisfying \(\beta\rho<1\) is considered, where the center of the ball moves along the equidistant curve. Apart from a set of measure zero, the equilibrium solution for the positive radius ball is stable by the Arnold-Moser Theorem.