Birkhauser Global Aspects of Classical Integrable Systems

This book gives a uniquely complete description of the geometry of the energy momentum mapping of five classical integrable systems: the 2-dimensional harmonic oscillator, the geodesic flow on the 3-sphere, the Euler top, the spherical pendulum and the Lagrange top. It presents for the first time in book form a general theory of symmetry reduction which allows one to reduce the symmetries in the spherical pendulum and the Lagrange top. Also the monodromy obstruction to the existence of global action angle coordinates is calculated for the spherical pendulum and the Lagrange top. The book addresses professional mathematicians and graduate students and can be used as a textbook on advanced classical mechanics or global analysis.