Self-similarity in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem

DOI10.1007/S00332-021-09709-1MaRDI QIDQ2022528zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Victor Dods, Corey Shanbrom

Publication date 29 April 2021

Published in Journal of Nonlinear Science (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/1912.12375

zbMATH Keywords

Heisenberg groupKepler problemorbital dynamicsquasi-periodic orbitsself-similaritysub-Riemannian

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Sub-Riemannian geometry (53C17) Numerical methods for Hamiltonian systems including symplectic integrators (65P10) Two-body problems (70F05) Periodic and almost periodic solutions for problems in Hamiltonian and Lagrangian mechanics (70H12)

Abstract: The Kepler-Heisenberg problem is that of determining the motion of a planet around a sun in the Heisenberg group, thought of as a three-dimensional sub-Riemannian manifold. The sub-Riemannian Hamiltonian provides the kinetic energy, and the gravitational potential is given by the fundamental solution to the sub-Laplacian. The dynamics are at least partially integrable, possessing two first integrals as well as a dilational momentum which is conserved by orbits with zero energy. The system is known to admit closed orbits of any rational rotation number, which all lie within the fundamental zero-energy integrable subsystem. Here we demonstrate that, under mild conditions, zero-energy orbits are self-similar. Consequently we find that these zero-energy orbits stratify into three families: future collision, past collision, and quasi-periodicity without collision. If a collision occurs, it occurs in finite time.

Review text

The Kepler problem is studied in the Heisenberg group \((\mathcal{H},\langle.,.\rangle)\) , i.e. the motion of a single particle subject to a potential in the sub-Riemannian geometry of \(\mathcal{H}\). The potential is given by the fundamental solution of the sub-Laplacian in \((\mathcal{H},\langle.,.\rangle)\), see \textit{G. B. Folland}, Bull. Am. Math. Soc. 79, 373--376 (1973; Zbl 0256.35020). It is known that the zero energy level is integrable in the sense of Liouville-Arnold. The Kepler problem in this context was first posed in \textit{R. Montgomery} and \textit{C. Shanbrom}, Fields Inst. Commun. 73, 319--342 (2015; Zbl 1342.70041), where the existence of many periodic orbits was shown. The main result of the paper (Theorem 2.1) states that a certain class of zero energy orbits are self-similar. Here self-similarity involves a dilation, rotations and a reparametrization of the orbit. The proofs are computer-assisted. Several conjectures are formulated.

Recommendations

• Periodic orbits in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem
• Keplerian dynamics on the Heisenberg group and elsewhere
• Numerical methods and closed orbits in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem
• Non-integrability of the Kepler and the two-body problems on the Heisenberg group
• Periodic orbits of the planar anisotropic generalized Kepler problem

Cites work

• A fundamental solution for a subelliptic operator
• A tour of subriemannian geometries, their geodesics and applications
• Keplerian dynamics on the Heisenberg group and elsewhere
• Numerical methods and closed orbits in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem
• Periodic orbits in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem

Cited in

(6)

• Non-integrability of the Kepler and the two-body problems on the Heisenberg group
• Periodic orbits in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem
• Keplerian dynamics on the Heisenberg group and elsewhere
• Numerical methods and closed orbits in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem
• On the Kepler problem on the Heisenberg group
• Conformal relative equilibria for scaling symmetries and central configurations

Describes a project that uses

Uses Software

• GitHub

This page was built for publication: Self-similarity in the Kepler-Heisenberg problem

Report a bug (only for logged in users!)Click here to report a bug for this page (MaRDI item Q2022528)