Symmetries of mechanical systems with nonlinear nonholonomic constraints

Abstract

The dynamical symmetries and adjoint symmetries of nonlinear nonholonomic constrained mechanical systems are analysed in two kinds of geometrical frameworks whose evolution equations are Routh's equations and generalized Chaplygin's equations, respectively. The Lagrangian inverse problem and the interrelation between Noether's symmetries and dynamical symmetries are briefly concerned with. Finally an illustrative example is analysed.