An asymmetrical body: example of analytical solution for the rotation matrix in elementary functions and Dzhanibekov effect (Q6591015)

During his cosmic trip in 1986, cosmonaut V.\;A.\ Dzhanibekov observed the paradoxical behaviour of a rotating asymmetrical wing nut. Being launched in uniform rotation around an axis, close to the intermediate axis of inertia, this body at regular time intervals suddenly changed the direction of its rotation to the opposite direction. Mathematical explanations of this phenomenon, presented in the literature, are based on known properties of motion of a rigid body with a fixed point in the case of absence of external moments (Euler case). These explanations are connected with instability of uniform rotations of a free rigid body around the intermediate axis of inertia.\N\NEuler equations of motion of a free rigid body are referred to the body-fixed coordinate system, and thus they contain only indirect information about the character of movement in the laboratory system, in which the body is observed. Besides, solutions to Euler equations generally can be written only in the form of elliptic integrals, which are not illuminative.\N\NIn the article, the special case is considered, when evolution of the angular velocity vector of a free asymmetrical rigid body in the body-fixed coordinate system is going on separatrices. In this case there exist two partial solutions to Euler equations, which can be expressed in elementary functions, and they are related to the Dzhanibekov effect. For these two solutions, explicit forms are obtained in the article for \(3\times 3\) rotation matrices, which describe the transformation of the body-fixed coordinate system to the laboratory coordinate system, and so these matrices determine the rotation of the body in the laboratory coordinate system. Elements of these rotation matrices are formed by time-periodic functions \(\sin kt\), \(\cos kt\) and by time-aperiodic functions \(1/ \cosh\omega t\), \(\tanh\omega t\) \((k, \omega >0)\).\N\NGraphs of the positive functions \(1/ \cosh\omega t\) and \(\tanh\omega t\) \((k, \omega >0)\) are presented for the case, when \(\omega=23.423\)~rad/s. The first of these functions is close to zero for all values of \(t\), excluding the short interval \([-0.3, 0.3]\) of 0.6~s length, where this function riches its maximum value equal to \(1\). The second of these functions is close to \(-1\) and \(1\) at intervals \((-\infty, 0.3)\) and \((0.3, +\infty)\), and on the interval \([-0.3, 0.3]\) this function makes a sharp jump. As a result, at time intervals \((-\infty, 0.3)\) and \((0.3, +\infty)\) the rotation matrix is close to the matrices describing uniform rotations of the body around two opposite directions of the intermediate axis of inertia.\N\NThus, the obtained rotation matrix, which corresponds to the non-periodic movement of the angular velocity vector along a separatrix, can describe a single-jump Dzhanibekov effect. But it is known that for the Euler solution the trajectories of the angular velocity vector, lying near separatrixes, are described with time-periodic functions. So, it can be expected that in some cases the rotation matrix, corresponding to such trajectories, is periodic with the properties similar to those discussed above: along trajectories lying near separatrixes, an asymmetrical rotating free body will periodically change the direction of its rotation to the opposite direction, and that is the Dzhanibekov effect.