Tippe top inversion as a dissipation-induced instability

Abstract. By treating tippe top inversion as a dissipation-induced instability, we explain tippe top inversion through a system we call the modified Maxwell–Bloch equations. We revisit previous work done on this problem and follow Or’s mathematical model [SIAM J. Appl. Math., 54 (1994), pp. 597–609]. A linear analysis of the equations of motion reveals that the only equilibrium points correspond to the inverted and noninverted states of the tippe top and that the modified Maxwell–Bloch equations describe the linear/spectral stability of these equilibria. We supply explicit criteria for the spectral stability of these states. A nonlinear global analysis based on energetics yields explicit criteria for the existence of a heteroclinic connection between the noninverted and inverted states of the tippe top. This criteria for the existence of a heteroclinic connection turns out to agree with the criteria for spectral stability of the inverted and noninverted states. Throughout the work we support the analysis with numerical evidence and include simulations to illustrate the nonlinear dynamics of the tippe top. Key words. tippe top inversion, dissipation-induced instability, constrained rotational motion, axisymmetric rigid bod