English

Singularly perturbed dynamics of the tippedisk

Classical Physics 2021-12-09 v1 Mathematical Physics Dynamical Systems math.MP Applied Physics

Abstract

The tippedisk is a mathematical-mechanical archetype for a peculiar friction-induced instability phenomenon leading to the inversion of an unbalanced spinning disk, being reminiscent to (but different from) the well-known inversion of the tippetop. A reduced model of the tippedisk, in the form of a three-dimensional ordinary differential equation, has been derived recently, followed by a preliminary local stability analysis of stationary spinning solutions. In the current paper, a global analysis of the reduced system is pursued using the framework of singular perturbation theory. It is shown how the presence of friction leads to slow-fast dynamics and the creation of a two-dimensional slow manifold. Furthermore, it is revealed that a bifurcation scenario involving a homoclinic bifurcation and a Hopf bifurcation leads to an explanation of the inversion phenomenon. In particular, a closed-form condition for the critical spinning speed for the inversion phenomenon is derived. Hence, the tippedisk forms an excellent mathematical-mechanical problem for the analysis of global bifurcations in singularly perturbed dynamics.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2109.02542,
  title  = {Singularly perturbed dynamics of the tippedisk},
  author = {Simon Sailer and Remco I. Leine},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2109.02542},
  year   = {2021}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-24T05:43:23.108Z