Cotangent bundle reduction and Poincaré-Birkhoff normal forms

Abstract

In this paper we study a systematic and natural construction of canonical coordinates for the reduced space of a cotangent bundle with a free Lie group action. The canonical coordinates enable us to compute Poincar{é}-Birkhoff normal forms of relative equilibria using standard algorithms. The case of simple mechanical systems with symmetries is studied in detail. As examples we compute Poincar{é}-Birkhoff normal forms for a Lagrangian equilateral triangle configuration of a three-body system with a Morse-type potential and the stretched-out configuration of a double spherical pendulum.

34 pages, 7 figures