Students ’ Journal of Physics Rolling down solution in a simple mechanical model

Abstract. We explicitly construct a time-dependent rolling down solution from symmetry preserving phase to the sym-metry broken one within a simple mechanical system. It consists of a particle which is free to move on a loop. The loop, attached at the top to a support, rotates about the vertical axis passing through its center. As one tunes the frequency, this model provides a toy example of spontaneous symmetry breaking and continuous phase transition. Communicated by: L. Satpathy 1