On the Jacobi-Metric Stability Criterion
arXiv:0705.4437
Abstract
We investigate the exact relation existing between the stability equation for the solutions of a mechanical system and the geodesic deviation equation of the associated geodesic problem in the Jacobi metric constructed via the Maupertuis-Jacobi Principle. We conclude that the dynamical and geometrical approaches to the stability/instability problem are not equivalent.
14 pages, no figures