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We construct the exponential map associated to a nonholonomic system that allows us to define an exact discrete nonholonomic constraint submanifold. We reproduce the continuous nonholonomic flow as a discrete flow on this discrete constraint submanifold deriving an exact discrete version of the nonholonomic equations. Finally, we derive a general family of nonholonomic integrators that includes as a particular case the exact discrete nonholonomic trajectory

Nonholonomic mechanics describes the motion of systems constrained by nonintegrable constraints. One of its most remarkable properties is that the derivation of the nonholonomic equations is not variational in nature. However, in this paper, we prove (Theorem 1.1) that for kinetic nonholonomic systems, the solutions starting from a fixed point q are true geodesics for a family of Riemannian metrics on the image submanifold Mnh q of the nonholonomic exponential map. This implies a surprising result: the kinetic nonholonomic trajectories with starting point q, for sufficiently small times, minimize length in Mnhq!

A theory of local convexity for a second order differential equation (sode) on a Lie algebroid is developed. The particular case when the sode is homogeneous quadratic is extensively discussed.

In this paper we provide a variational derivation of the Euler-Poincaré equations for systems subjected to external forces using an adaptation of the techniques introduced by Galley and others Martín de Diego and Martín de Almagro (2018 Nonlinearity 31 3814-3846), Galley (2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 174301), Galley et al (2014 (arXiv:[math-Ph] 1412.3082)). Moreover, we study in detail the underlying geometry which is related to the notion of Poisson groupoid. Finally, we apply the previous construction to the formal derivation of the variational error for numerical integrators of forced Euler-Poincaré equations and the application of this theory to the derivation of geometric integrators for forced systems.

We study the tracking of a trajectory for a nonholonomic system by recasting the problem as a constrained optimal control problem. The cost function is chosen to minimize the error in positions and velocities between the trajectory of a nonholonomic system and the desired reference trajectory, both evolving on the distribution which defines the nonholonomic constraints. The problem is studied from a geometric framework. Optimality conditions are determined by the Pontryagin maximum principle and also from a variational point of view, which allows the construction of geometric integrators. Examples and numerical simulations are shown to validate the results.

This paper introduces a novel geometric framework to define and study hybrid systems. We exploit the geometry and topology of the set of jump points, where the instantaneous change of dynamics takes place, in order to gain controllability for the system. This approach allows us to describe new global controllability tests for hybrid control systems. We illustrate these results with several examples where none of the continuous control systems are controllable, but the associated hybrid system is controllable because of the characteristics of the jump set.

We consider the localization problem between agents while they run a decentralized formation control algorithm. The agents need to solve an observability problem of reconstructing their relative positions based on measurements between them. We model the relative kinematics between agents as a left-invariant control system to solve the observability problem. We focus on agents running a distancebased algorithm where their relative positions aren't accessible but the distances between them. Several practical robustness issues are studied.

We study the tracking of a trajectory for a nonholonomic system by recasting the problem as an optimal control problem. The cost function is chosen to minimize the error in positions and velocities between the trajectory of a non-holonomic system and the desired reference trajectory evolving on the distribution which defines the nonholonomic constraints. We propose a geometric framework since it describes the class of nonlinear systems under study in a coordinate-free framework. Necessary conditions for the existence of extrema are determined by the Pontryagin Minimum Principle. A nonholonomic fully actuated particle is used as a benchmark example to show how the proposed method is applied.

Dirac structures and Morse families are used to obtain a geometric formalism that unifies most of the scenarios in mechanics (constrained calculus, nonholonomic systems, optimal control theory, higher-order mechanics, etc.), as the examples in the paper show. This approach generalizes the previous results on Dirac structures associated with Lagrangian submanifolds. An integrability algorithm in the sense of Mendella, Marmo and Tulczyjew is described for the generalized Dirac dynamical systems under study to determine the set where the implicit differential equations have solutions.

In this paper, we consider a generalization of variational calculus which allows us to consider in the same framework different cases of mechanical systems, for instance, Lagrangian mechanics, Hamiltonian mechanics, systems subjected to constraints, optimal control theory... This generalized variational calculus is based on two main notions: the tangent lift of curves and the notion of complete lift of a vector field. Both concepts are also adapted for the case of skew-symmetric algebroids, therefore, our formalism easily extends to the case of Lie algebroids and nonholonomic systems (see also [20]). Hence, this framework automatically includes reduced mechanical systems subjected or not to constraints. Finally, we show that our formalism can be used to tackle the case of discrete mechanics, including reduced systems, systems subjected to constraints and discrete optimal control theory.

In this paper we develop a geometric version of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation in the Poisson setting. Specifically, we “geometrize” what is usually called a complete solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi equation. We use some well-known results about symplectic groupoids, in particular cotangent groupoids, as a keystone for the construction of our framework. Our methodology follows the ambitious program proposed by Weinstein (In Mechanics day (Waterloo, ON, 1992), volume 7 of fields institute communications, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 1996) in order to develop geometric formulations of the dynamical behavior of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian systems on Lie algebroids and Lie groupoids. This procedure allows us to take symmetries into account, and, as a by-product, we recover results from Channell and Scovel (Phys D 50(1):80–88, 1991), Ge (Indiana Univ. Math. J. 39(3):859–876, 1990), Ge and Marsden (Phys Lett A 133(3):134–139, 1988), but even in these situations our approach is new. A theory of generating functions for the Poisson structures considered here is also developed following the same pattern, solving a longstanding problem of the area: how to obtain a generating function for the identity transformation and the nearby Poisson automorphisms of Poisson manifolds. A direct application of our results gives the construction of a family of Poisson integrators, that is, integrators that conserve the underlying Poisson geometry. These integrators are implemented in the paper in benchmark problems. Some conclusions, current and future directions of research are shown at the end of the paper.

© 2015 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics. We geometrically describe optimal control problems in terms of Morse families in the Hamiltonian framework. These geometric structures allow us to recover the classical first order necessary conditions for optimality and the starting point to run an integrability algorithm. Moreover the integrability algorithm is adapted to optimal control problems in such a way that the trajectories originated by discontinuous controls are also obtained. From the Hamiltonian viewpoint we obtain the equations of motion for optimal control problems in the Lagrangian formalism by means of a proper Lagrangian submanifold. Singular optimal control problems and overdetermined ones are also studied in the paper.

A close relationship between the classical Hamilton- Jacobi theory and the kinematic reduction of control systems by decoupling vector fields is shown in this paper. The geometric interpretation of this relationship relies on new mathematical techniques for mechanics defined on a skew-symmetric algebroid. This geometric structure allows us to describe in a simplified way the mechanics of nonholonomic systems with both control and external forces., Peer Reviewed, Preprint

We develop an intrinsic geometrical setting for higher order constrained field theories. As a main tool we use an appropriate generalization of the classical Skinner–Rusk formalism. Some examples of applications are studied, in particular to the geometrical description of optimal control theory for partial differential equations.

The developments in this paper are concerned with nonholonomic field theories in the presence of symmetries. Having previously treated the case of vertical symmetries, we now deal with the case where the symmetry action can also have a horizontal component. As a first step in this direction, we derive a new and convenient form of the field equations of a nonholonomic field theory. Nonholonomic symmetries are then introduced as symmetry generators whose virtual work is zero along the constraint submanifold, and we show that for every such symmetry, there exists a so-called momentum equation, describing the evolution of the associated component of the momentum map. Keeping up with the underlying geometric philosophy, a small modification of the derivation of the momentum lemma allows us to treat also generalized nonholonomic symmetries, which are vector fields along a projection. Such symmetries arise for example in practical examples of nonholonomic field theories such as the Cosserat rod, for which we recover both energy conservation (a previously known result), as well as a modified conservation law associated with spatial translations.

A k-symplectic framework for classical field theories subject to nonholonomic constraints is presented. If the constrained problem is regular one can construct a projection operator such that the solutions of the constrained problem are obtained by projecting the solutions of the free problem. Symmetries for the nonholonomic system are introduced and we show that for every such symmetry, there exist a nonholonomic momentum equation. The proposed formalism permits to introduce in a simple way many tools of nonholonomic mechanics to nonholonomic field theories.

We present a unified geometric framework for describing both the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms of regular and non-regular time-dependent mechanical systems, which is based on the approach of Skinner and Rusk (1983). The dynamical equations of motion and their compatibility and consistency are carefully studied, making clear that all the characteristics of the Lagrangian and the Hamiltonian formalisms are recovered in this formulation. As an example, it is studied a semidiscretization of the nonlinear wave equation proving the applicability of the proposed formalism.

In this paper, we study the underlying geometry in the classical Hamilton-Jacobi theory. The proposed formalism is also valid for nonholonomic systems. We first introduce the essential geometric ingredients: a vector bundle, a linear almost Poisson structure and a Hamiltonian function, both on the dual bundle (a Hamiltonian system). From them, it is possible to formulate the Hamilton-Jacobi theory, obtaining as a particular case, the classical theory. The main application in this paper arises in nonholonomic mechanical systems. For it, we first construct the linear almost Poisson structure on the dual space of the vector bundle of admissible directions, and then, apply the Hamilton-Jacobi theorem. Another important fact in our paper is the introduction of the notion of morphisms preserving the Hamiltonian system; indeed, this concept will be very useful to treat with reduction procedures for systems with symmetries. Several detailed examples are given to illustrate the theory.

The purpose of this paper is to describe Lagrangian Mechanics for constrained systems on Lie algebroids, a natural framework which covers a wide range of situations (systems on Lie groups, quotients by the action of a Lie group, standard tangent bundles...). In particular, we are interested in two cases: singular Lagrangian systems and vakonomic mechanics (variational constrained mechanics). Several examples illustrate the interest of these developments.

This paper studies the construction of geometric integrators for nonholonomic systems. We derive the nonholonomic discrete Euler-Lagrange equations in a setting which permits to deduce geometric integrators for continuous nonholonomic systems (reduced or not). The formalism is given in terms of Lie groupoids, specifying a discrete Lagrangian and a constraint submanifold on it. Additionally, it is necessary to fix a vector subbundle of the Lie algebroid associated to the Lie groupoid. We also discuss the existence of nonholonomic evolution operators in terms of the discrete nonholonomic Legendre transformations and in terms of adequate decompositions of the prolongation of the Lie groupoid. The characterization of the reversibility of the evolution operator and the discrete nonholonomic momentum equation are also considered. Finally, we illustrate with several classical examples the wide range of application of the theory (the discrete nonholonomic constrained particle, the Suslov system, the Chaplygin sleigh, the Veselova system, the rolling ball on a rotating table and the two wheeled planar mobile robot).

We describe the reduction procedure for a symplectic Lie algebroid by a Lie subalgebroid and a symmetry Lie group. Moreover, given an invariant Hamiltonian function we obtain the corresponding reduced Hamiltonian dynamics. Several examples illustrate the generality of the theory.

This paper presents a geometric description of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian systems on Lie affgebroids subject to affine nonholonomic constraints. We define the notion of nonholonomically constrained system, and characterize regularity conditions that guarantee that the dynamics of the system can be obtained as a suitable projection of the unconstrained dynamics. It is shown that one can define an almost aff-Poisson bracket on the constraint AV-bundle, which plays a prominent role in the description of nonholonomic dynamics. Moreover, these developments give a general description of nonholonomic systems and the unified treatment permits to study nonholonomic systems after or before reduction in the same framework. Also, it is not necessary to distinguish between linear or affine constraints and the methods are valid for explicitly time-dependent systems.

In this paper we obtain a Hamilton-Jacobi theory for nonholonomic mechanical systems. The results are applied to a large class of nonholonomic mechanical systems, the so-called ˇCaplygin systems.

In this paper, we propose a geometric integrator for nonholonomic mechanical systems. It can be applied to discrete Lagrangian systems specified through a discrete Lagrangian defined on QxQ, where Q is the configuration manifold, and a (generally nonintegrable) distribution in TQ. In the proposed method, a discretization of the constraints is not required. We show that the method preserves the discrete nonholonomic momentum map, and also that the nonholonomic constraints are preserved in average. We study in particular the case where Q has a Lie group structure and the discrete Lagrangian and/or nonholonomic constraints have various invariance properties, and show that the method is also energy-preserving in some important cases.

A geometric approach to time-dependent optimal control problems is proposed. This formulation is based on the Skinner and Rusk formalism for Lagrangian and Hamiltonian systems. The corresponding unified formalism developed for optimal control systems allows us to formulate geometrically the necessary conditions given by Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, providing that the differentiability with respect to controls is assumed and the space of controls is open. Furthermore, our method is also valid for implicit optimal control systems and, in particular, for the so-called descriptor systems (optimal control problems including both differential and algebraic equations).

The purpose of this paper is to describe geometrically discrete Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics on Lie groupoids. From a variational principle we derive the discrete Euler-Lagrange equations and we introduce a symplectic 2-section, which is preserved by the Lagrange evolution operator. In terms of the discrete Legendre transformations we define the Hamiltonian evolution operator which is a symplectic map with respect to the canonical symplectic 2-section on the prolongation of the dual of the Lie algebroid of the given groupoid. The equations we get include as particular cases the classical discrete Euler-Lagrange equations, the discrete Euler-Poincaré and discrete Lagrange-Poincaré equations. Our results can be important for the construction of geometric integrators for continuous Lagrangian systems.

In this paper we develop the construction of geometric integrators for higher-order mechanics. These integrators are naturally symplectic and preserve momentum since they have a discrete variational origin.

A geometric model for nonholonomic Lagrangian field theory is studied. The multisymplectic approach to such a theory as well as the corresponding Cauchy formalism are discussed. It is shown that in both formulations, the relevant equations for the constrained system can be recovered by a suitable projection of the equations for the underlying free (i.e. unconstrained) Lagrangian system.

We develop a semi-discrete version of discrete variational mechanics with applications to numerical integration of classical field theories. The geometric preservation properties are studied.

In this survey, we present a geometric description of Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mechanics on Lie algebroids. The flexibility of the Lie algebroid formalism allows us to analyze systems subject to nonholonomic constraints, mechanical control systems, Discrete Mechanics and extensions to Classical Field Theory within a single framework. Various examples along the discussion illustrate the soundness of the approach.

The multisymplectic description of Classical Field Theories is revisited, including its relation with the presymplectic formalism on the space of Cauchy data. Both descriptions allow us to give a complete scheme of classification of infinitesimal symmetries, and to obtain the corresponding conservation laws.

The constraint distribution in non-holonomic mechanics has a double role. On one hand, it is a kinematic constraint, that is, it is a restriction on the motion itself. On the other hand, it is also a restriction on the allowed variations when using D'Alembert's Principle to derive the equations of motion. We will show that many systems of physical interest where D'Alembert's Principle does not apply can be conveniently modeled within the general idea of the Principle of Virtual Work by the introduction of both kinematic constraints and variational constraints as being independent entities. This includes, for example, elastic rolling bodies and pneumatic tires. Also, D'Alembert's Principle and Chetaev's Principle fall into this scheme. We emphasize the geometric point of view, avoiding the use of local coordinates, which is the appropriate setting for dealing with questions of global nature, like reduction.

A geometric derivation of nonholonomic integrators is developed. It is based in the classical technique of generating functions adapted to the special features of nonholonomic systems. The theoretical methodology and the integrators obtained are, in general, different from the previously obtained.

In this paper the notion of Tulczyjew's triples in classical mechanics is extended to classical field theories, using the so-called multisymplectic formalism, and a convenient notion of lagrangian submanifold in multisymplectic geometry. Accordingly, the dynamical equations are interpreted as the local equations defining these lagrangian submanifolds.

A geometric derivation of numerical integrators for optimal control problems is proposed. It is based in the classical technique of generating functions adapted to the special features of optimal control problems.