Theory and examples of intrinsically nonlinear oscillators

Pirooz Mohazzabia)
Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin–Parkside, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53141
共Received 24 March 2003; accepted 15 September 2003兲
Contrary to the general claim that small oscillations in any system can be approximately treated in
terms of simple harmonic motion, it is shown that in principle there are infinitely many oscillating
systems for which this approximation is not valid. The theory of intrinsically nonlinear oscillators
is discussed and examples are given in several areas including elasticity, electrodynamics, and
gravitation. © 2004 American Association of Physics Teachers.
关DOI: 10.1119/1.1624114兴

I. INTRODUCTION order terms in Eq. 共2兲 vanish, or the amplitude of oscillations

is small enough so that only the leading quadratic term is
The model of a simple harmonic oscillator turns up in a relevant, as is the case in most physical situations. In these
wide variety of physical problems and plays a major and cases the oscillator can be treated or approximately treated in
vital role in the description of such systems. The potential terms of simple harmonic motion. However, as we will show
energy function of a one-dimensional oscillator about its and contrary to the general misconception, there are infi-
stable equilibrium point, which we take to be x⫽0, can usu- nitely many situations where an oscillating system does not
ally be expanded in a Taylor series,1– 6 lend itself to such an approximation due to pathological chal-
1 (2) 2 1 (3) 3 1 (4) 4 lenges posed by the potential energy function.
V 共 x 兲 ⫽V 0 ⫹V (1)
0 x⫹ V x ⫹ V0 x ⫹ V0 x First, it is not true that the potential energy function of an
2! 0 3! 4! oscillating system can always be expanded about its equilib-
⫹¯ , 共1兲 rium configuration in a Taylor series. Second, even when
such an expansion is possible, there are cases where the co-
where V 0 is the value of V(x) at the equilibrium point, and efficient of the quadratic term vanishes and the series starts
V (n)
0 is the nth-order derivative of the potential function with a term higher than the second order. Although this pos-
evaluated at that point. The constant term V 0 can be set equal sibility has been pointed out by several authors, to the best of
to zero without loss of generality because the potential en- our knowledge, only one example has been cited in the lit-
ergy is only defined to within an additive constant. Further- erature in this context, as we will discuss later.7–9
more, the coefficient of the first-order term vanishes because In what follows, we will show that there are indeed infi-
at the point of stable equilibrium, the potential energy func- nitely many oscillating systems with potential energy func-
tion has a local minimum. Consequently, the power series tions belonging to the two pathological classes described
expansion starts with a leading term that is at least quadratic above. These oscillators can never be approximated linearly,
in the position of the oscillator, not even in the zero-amplitude limit and, therefore, they are
intrinsically nonlinear. Nevertheless, some highly regarded
1 (2) 2 1 (3) 3 1 (4) 4 textbooks incorrectly state that small oscillations in any sys-
V共 x 兲⫽ V x ⫹ V 0 x ⫹ V 0 x ⫹¯ , 共2兲
2! 0 3! 4! tem can be approximately treated in terms of simple har-
monic motion.3 Others either leave the reader with the same
and the behavior of the oscillator depends on the values of
impression, or at least with the impression that intrinsically
the remaining coefficients in the series. We note that because
nonlinear oscillators are extremely rare.
the potential energy function has a local minimum at x⫽0,
the coefficient of the second-order term in Eq. 共2兲 cannot be
negative. II. POTENTIAL ENERGY FUNCTIONS OF
The total energy E is a constant and is given by INTRINSICALLY NONLINEAR OSCILLATORS
1
2 mẋ 2 ⫹V 共 x 兲 ⫽E. 共3兲 Consider a potential energy function that can be expanded
in a Taylor series about the equilibrium configuration, as in
A quantity ␰ is said to execute simple harmonic motion or to Eq. 共2兲. Further suppose that the coefficient of the quadratic
oscillate linearly if its time evolution is governed by one of term vanishes. Then the coefficient of the third-order term
the following two equivalent differential equations, must also vanish for the following reason: for values of x
␰¨ ⫹ ␻ 2 ␰ ⫽0, 共4a兲 that are small enough, only the leading term determines the
behavior of the function. If this term were of odd order,
␰˙ 2 ⫹ ␻ 2 ␰ 2 ⫽c, 共4b兲 crossing the origin from one side to the other would change
the sign of the function contrary to the fact that the potential
where c and ␻ are positive constants. Note that Eq. 共4a兲 can function has a local minimum at that point. Consequently,
be obtained from Eq. 共4b兲 by differentiation with respect to the leading term in the series must be of even order. Further-
time. Conversely, multiplying Eq. 共4a兲 by 2 ␰˙ and integrating more, the coefficient of the leading term cannot be negative
gives Eq. 共4b兲. or else the origin would be a local maximum.
Based on the above discussion, we see that Eq. 共3兲 reduces Therefore, if the second-order term vanishes, the series
to that of a linear oscillator if one of the following two con- must start with at least a fourth-order term with a positive
ditions is satisfied: all coefficients of the third- and higher- coefficient. Similarly, if the fourth-order term vanishes, the

492 Am. J. Phys. 72 共4兲, April 2004 http://aapt.org/ajp © 2004 American Association of Physics Teachers 492
series must start with at least a sixth-order term with a posi-
冉 冊 1

冉 冊冉 冊
tive coefficient, and so on. Indeed, for the special case of a ⌫ ⫹1
␲m 1/2
E 1⫺n/2 1/n
n

冉 冊
potential energy function that is symmetric about the y axis, T⫽4 , 共11兲
the coefficients of all odd-order terms in the series expansion 2 b 1 1
⌫ ⫹
must be equal to zero. n 2
Thus, if the potential energy function is expandable in a
where we have taken advantage of the identity11
Taylor series about the equilibrium configuration and the co-
efficient of the second-order term vanishes, we will have an ⌫ 共 z⫹1 兲 ⫽z⌫ 共 z 兲 . 共12兲
intrinsically nonlinear oscillator. Furthermore, for small
Finally, if we substitute for the total energy in terms of the
enough oscillations, the potential energy function can be ap-
amplitude, we find
proximated by its leading term, V(x)⫽ax n , where a is a
positive constant and n is an even integer that is greater than
or equal to 4 共for n⫽2 we have the harmonic oscillator兲.
T⫽2 冑2 ␲
1
n
⌫ 冉 冊
⫹1
冑 m

冉 冊
A different situation leading to intrinsically nonlinear os- A 1⫺ n/2 共 n⬎0 兲 . 共13兲
1 1 b
cillations occurs when the Taylor expansion of the potential ⌫ ⫹
energy function does not exist. This happens when the func- n 2
tion has discontinuous low-order derivatives at equilibrium, Equation 共13兲 gives the period of oscillations of an oscil-
even though the function itself is continuous at that point lator whose potential energy function is of the form given by
with a local minimum. Examples of this class include V(x) Eq. 共5兲. Again we point out that n does not necessarily have
⫽a 兩 x 兩 n , where a is a positive constant and n is an odd to be an integer. Equation 共13兲 shows that the period 共and
integer greater than or equal to one. Of course, mathemati- frequency兲 of the oscillations is independent of the amplitude
cally speaking, one can always construct infinitely many 共and the total energy兲 only if n⫽2, where the oscillations are
such potential energy functions. However, we are only inter- simple harmonic. In this case with b⫽k/2, Eq. 共13兲 reduces
ested in those that are physically meaningful, as we shall to the familiar expression for the period of oscillations of a
explain. mass–spring system, T⫽2 ␲ 冑m/k. We point out in passing,
however, that although every linear oscillator has an
amplitude-independent period, the converse is not true. In-
III. THE PERIOD OF OSCILLATIONS deed, there are infinitely many isochronous oscillators that
are nonlinear.12
We now derive a general expression for the period of os- For any value of n other than 2 in Eq. 共5兲, the oscillation
cillations for any of the intrinsically nonlinear potential func- is intrinsically nonlinear and the period is amplitude-
tions described above. dependent. For n⬍2, the oscillation is sub-harmonic and the
Consider a particle of mass m oscillating under the influ- period increases with amplitude. For n⬎2, on the other hand,
ence of a potential energy function given by the period decreases as the amplitude increases. In other
V 共 x 兲 ⫽b 兩 x 兩 n , 共5兲 words, the longer the round trip, the shorter the time it takes.
The reason for this seemingly paradoxical situation is that
where b and n are both positive constants (n need not be an these potentials are fairly flat in the vicinity of the equilib-
integer兲. The system is, of course, conservative and we have rium point. Increasing the amplitude takes the oscillator out
1
2 mẋ 2 ⫹V 共 x 兲 ⫽E, 共6兲 to where the walls of the potential well steepen and potential
changes more rapidly, hence exerting a greater restoring
where the total energy E is a positive constant. Equation 共6兲 force on the oscillator.7
can be written as

dt⫽⫾ 冉 冊
m
2E
1/2
dx
冑1⫺V 共 x 兲 /E
, 共7兲 IV. PHYSICAL EXAMPLES
Although the discussion of nonlinear oscillators is com-
which can be integrated to obtain the period of the oscilla- monplace in the scientific literature, to the best of our knowl-
tions, edge only one example, a mass tethered by two springs, has

冉 冊 冕冑 1/2 been discussed in the context of intrinsically nonlinear

m A dx
T⫽4 . 共8兲 oscillators.7–9 We shall first discuss this example and then
2E 0 1⫺bx n /E provide several other physically realizable systems that be-
long to this class of oscillators.
Here A is the amplitude of the oscillations, which is related
to the total energy by E⫽bA n . The substitution,

冉冊
A. Mass–spring systems
1/n
E
x⫽ sin2/n ␪ , 共9兲 Consider a particle of mass m, tethered symmetrically by
b
two identical springs, that can oscillate along the x axis, as
transforms Eq. 共8兲 into shown in Fig. 1. Each spring has a constant k and a relaxed

T⫽ 冉 冊冉冊 冕
8 m
n 2E
1/2
E
b
1/n

0
␲ /2
sin2/n ⫺1 ␪ d ␪ . 共10兲
共or unstretched兲 length l 0 . The gravitational force is either
absent or balanced by some other forces, so that the springs
are the only sources of force on the particle.
We evaluate the integral in Eq. 共10兲 and simplify the result to When the particle is at position x, the potential energy of
obtain10 the system is

493 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 72, No. 4, April 2004 Pirooz Mohazzabi 493
 Fig. 2. A spring connected to a collar of mass m that slides without friction
on a horizontal rod.

spring is relaxed at length l 0 . It is straightforward to show

that the period of oscillations of this system is & times
Fig. 1. A mass tethered symmetrically by two identical springs with no other greater than that of the previous system.
forces acting on it.

B. Oscillating charged particles in electric fields

V 共 x 兲 ⫽k 共 l⫺l 0 兲 2 ⫽kl 20 冋冑 冉 冊 册
1⫹
x
l0
2 2
⫺1 . 共14兲 Consider two thin concentric circular rings of radii R and
␣ R, with ␣ ⬎1, in the xy plane, as shown in Fig. 3. Electric
If we expand the right-hand side of Eq. 共14兲, we obtain charges Q and ⫺ ␤ Q, respectively, with ␤ ⬎0, are uniformly

冋冉冊 冉冊 册 4 6 distributed over the two rings. A particle of mass m and

1 x 1 x
V 共 x 兲 ⫽kl 20 ⫺ ⫹¯ . 共15兲 charge q is placed on the z axis near the center of the rings
4 l0 8 l0 (zⰆR) and released. It is left to the reader as a suggested
In the limit of small oscillations, xⰆl 0 , only the leading problem to show that if ␤ ⫽ ␣ 3 , and if Q and q have the
term is important and we can write same sign, then the particle oscillates about the center of the

冉 冊
rings in an intrinsically nonlinear fashion, with a potential
k energy function that is given by
V共 x 兲⫽ x 4. 共16兲

冉 冊
4l 20
3Qq 1
Because in the small-amplitude limit the potential energy V共 z 兲⫽ 1⫺ 2 z 4 , 共19兲
32␲ ⑀ 0 R 5 ␣
function is fourth-order, the system is intrinsically nonlinear.
The period of oscillations can be obtained from Eq. 共13兲 by and a period of
setting n⫽4 and b⫽k/4l 20 . The result is

T⫽
⌫ 2 共 41 兲 l 0
冑␲ A
冑 m
k
, 共17兲

where we have used the identity11

␲
⌫ 共 z 兲 ⌫ 共 1⫺z 兲 ⫽ . 共18兲
sin ␲ z
Because ⌫(1/4)⫽3.625 610, the numerical constant in Eq.
共17兲 has a value of 7.4163.
The force exerted on an arrow by an archer’s bow can be
modeled as a mass tethered by two springs, as described
above. However, it has been assumed that this force is
linear.13 It should be pointed out that the merit of the validity
of this assumption lies within the fact that the string of the
bow is stretched even when the arrow is in its equilibrium
position. If the string were relaxed and not under tension at
that point, the force would not be linear.7
Another system closely related to the one described above
is shown in Fig. 2, in which a collar of mass m slides on a
horizontal frictionless rod.14 The collar is attached to a spring Fig. 3. A charged particle oscillating in the electric field of two uniformly
of constant k, which is connected to a rigid support. The charged rings.

494 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 72, No. 4, April 2004 Pirooz Mohazzabi 494
 T⫽2⌫ 2 冉冊 冑
1 R2
4 A
2 ⑀ 0 mR
3Qq 共 1⫺1/␣ 2 兲
. 共20兲

For a numerical example, let ␣ ⫽2, that is, let the radius of
the outer ring be twice that of the inner ring, R⫽0.1 m, Q
⫽10⫺6 C, and let the particle be an electron oscillating with
an amplitude A⫽0.001 m. Then the period of oscillations
will be 5.5614⫻10⫺7 s.
An oscillating electric charge, because of its acceleration,
continuously radiates and dissipates energy. It is instructive
to see how this would affect the total energy of the nonlinear
oscillator under consideration. The instantaneous power ra-
diated by a nonrelativistic accelerating point charge q is
given by Larmor’s equation,15,16
q 2a 2
P⫽ , 共21兲
6 ␲ ⑀ 0c 3
where a is the magnitude of the acceleration vector of the
particle. The motion of this particle is rectilinear and its ac-
celeration monotonically increases over a distance A during
a time interval T/4. Therefore, we can calculate the average Fig. 4. A particle of mass m oscillating in a tunnel along the axis of a
acceleration using the equation for constant acceleration mo- radially symmetric mass distribution.
tion, ā⫽2z/t 2 ⫽32A/T 2 , and use it in Eq. 共21兲 to obtain the
average power P̄. The fractional change of the total energy

冉冊
in one cycle is then obtained from ⌬E/E⫽⫺ P̄T/E, where
r s
E⫽bA 4 , with b the coefficient of z 4 in Eq. 共19兲. ␳⫽␳0 , 共24兲
The reader can verify that the fractional change of the total R
energy per oscillation due to radiation is negligibly small.
where ␳ 0 and s are constants, with ␳ 0 ⬎0 and s⬎⫺2 共not
Indeed, for our numerical example this quantity has a value
necessarily an integer兲.
of ⫺8.4⫻10⫺16, which is negligible. As a suggested problem, the reader can show that for a
A conceptually similar but dynamically different problem
particle of mass m, located at a distance r⭐R from the cen-
consists of an infinite sheet of electric charge, with a uniform
ter of the mass distribution, the gravitational potential energy
charge density ␴, and a small hole in the middle. A particle
of the system is given by
with an electric charge q, opposite to the sheet, oscillates
through the hole. For such a system, the potential energy is
given by V共 r 兲⫽
GM m r
冉冊
共 s⫹2 兲 R R
s⫹2
共 r⭐R 兲 , 共25兲
␴q
V共 x 兲⫽ 兩x兩, 共22兲 where the constant term has been suppressed by appropri-
2⑀0 ately shifting the reference of the potential energy 共which
where the x axis is chosen to be perpendicular to the sheet of depends on the value of s). M is the total mass of the sphere,
charge with its origin at the center of the hole. The potential which is related to the other parameters by M
energy function is V-shaped but continuous, with a stable ⫽(4 ␲␳ 0 R 3 )/(s⫹3). Finally, if we choose the x axis so that
equilibrium point at x⫽0. However, it cannot be expanded in it passes through the center of the mass distribution with its
a Taylor series about x⫽0 because its first derivative is dis- origin at that point, as shown in Fig. 4, then along this axis
continuous there. The oscillation is intrinsically nonlinear, r⫽ 兩 x 兩 , and we can write Eq. 共25兲 as

冉 冊
with an amplitude-dependent period that can be obtained ei-
ther from Eq. 共13兲 or from the equation of motion of a par- GM m 兩 x 兩 s⫹2
V共 x 兲⫽ 共 兩 x 兩 ⭐R 兲 . 共26兲
ticle moving with a constant acceleration, 共 s⫹2 兲R R

T⫽8 冑⑀ 0 mA
␴q
. 共23兲
Now suppose we dig a narrow tunnel along the x axis and
release the particle from rest somewhere on the x axis in this
tunnel. Because the potential energy function has a minimum
Again, the radiative losses are negligible. Note that this at the origin, the particle oscillates on the x axis about the
system is dynamically identical to a particle oscillating in the origin. According to Eq. 共26兲, simple harmonic oscillation is
gravitational field of an infinitely wide uniform sheet of mass
possible only if s⫽0, that is, when the mass distribution is
with a hole in the middle.
uniform. In this case the potential energy reduces to

C. Oscillating particles in gravitational fields

Consider a sphere of radius R with a nonuniform, but ra-
V共 x 兲⫽ 冉 冊
GM m 2
2R 3
x , 共27兲

dially symmetric, mass distribution given by the density and from Eq. 共13兲 with n⫽2, the period of oscillations is
function found to be

495 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 72, No. 4, April 2004 Pirooz Mohazzabi 495
 T⫽2 ␲ 冑 R3
GM
. 共28兲

This situation has been discussed in the literature in the con-

text of a particle dropped into a hypothetical narrow tunnel
dug through the Earth along a diameter, neglecting rotational
effects.17,18 In this problem, sometimes referred to as the
Pole to Pole problem,19 the density of the Earth is assumed
to be a constant. Therefore, the particle executes simple har-
monic motion with a period given by Eq. 共28兲 in which R
and M are the radius and the mass of the Earth, respectively.
In this case, it is straightforward to show that the period can
also be written as

T⫽2 ␲ 冑 R
g
, 共29兲
Fig. 5. A bead sliding without friction on a wire in a vertical plane.
where g is the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of
the Earth. The period of this oscillation, which is the same as
the period of a satellite orbiting the Earth just above its sur- y⫽c 兩 s 兩 n . 共31兲
face, is about 84 min. Therefore, the gravitational potential energy of the particle
When s⫽0 in Eq. 共26兲, the oscillation of the particle is 共relative to the minimum of the curve兲, V(y)⫽mgy, can be
intrinsically nonlinear. For s⫽2, the potential energy func- written as
tion starts with a fourth-order term and the oscillation is
similar to those described in the earlier sections. A special V 共 s 兲 ⫽mgc 兩 s 兩 n , 共32兲
interesting case, however, arises when s⫽⫺1. In this case, and the total energy of the particle is
after dropping the constant term, Eq. 共26兲 reduces to 1
2 mṡ 2 ⫹V 共 s 兲 ⫽E. 共33兲
GM m
V共 x 兲⫽ 兩x兩. 共30兲 Equations 共32兲 and 共33兲 have the same functional forms as
R2 Eqs. 共5兲 and 共6兲, respectively. Therefore, all the results ob-
In this case the particle is always attracted toward the center tained based on Eqs. 共5兲 and 共6兲 are applicable.
of the mass distribution with a constant force, a situation For n⫽2, the oscillation is harmonic with an amplitude-
dynamically identical to that of an infinite uniform plane of independent period which can be obtained from Eq. 共13兲,

冑
mass described at the beginning of this section, but with a
totally different mass distribution. 2
T⫽ ␲ . 共34兲
One-dimensional potential energy functions of the form cg
V(x)⫽b 兩 x 兩 共or constant restoring force兲 have been used to It should be pointed out that the correspondence between y
investigate isolated self-gravitating systems consisting of ⫽c 兩 x 兩 n and y⫽c 兩 s 兩 n is valid as long as 兩 x 兩 is very small. For
plane parallel sheets with uniform mass density.20 This
larger values of 兩 x 兩 the correspondence breaks down. Thus,
model has direct astronomical relevance to problems involv-
ing highly flattened galaxies in which stars are stratified into the oscillation of a bead on a parabolic wire is harmonic only
plane-parallel layers. in the small amplitude approximation. The only curve for
Obviously, the analysis described in this section can which the relationship y⫽c 兩 s 兩 2 remains valid even for large
equally be applied to the oscillation of a charged particle in amplitudes is the cycloid.21,22 A particle oscillating on a cy-
the electric field of a nonuniform but radially symmetric cloidal wire always executes simple harmonic motion, re-
charge distribution of opposite sign. gardless of its amplitude.
For n⫽2, the oscillation of the particle is intrinsically non-
linear, with an amplitude-dependent period that can be ob-
D. Beads sliding on wires tained from Eq. 共13兲 as before.
Consider a particle 共or bead兲 of mass m sliding without
friction on a curve 共or wire兲 in a vertical plane 共the xy E. The dynamically shifted oscillator
plane兲, with a minimum at x⫽0 共see Fig. 5兲. The curve can A particle oscillating under the influence of a net force that
have any profile y⫽ f (x), because a wire can be arbitrarily includes both a linear and a nonlinear restoring force, which
bent into any shape. However, we shall limit ourselves to depends only on the sign of the displacement, is called a
those curves described by the equation y⫽c 兩 x 兩 n , where c is dynamically shifted oscillator.23,24 The potential energy func-
a positive constant and n⬎1 to avoid a sharp bend in the tion of the oscillator is given by

再
curve at its minimum. The arc length of the curve between 1
k 共 x⫹x 0 兲 2 共 x⭓0 兲
the origin and the position of the particle is denoted by s, 2
V共 x 兲⫽ 共35兲
which is taken to be positive to the right and negative to the 1
k 共 x⫺x 0 兲 2 共 x⬍0 兲 ,
2
left.
If we limit ourselves to small oscillations of the particle on where x 0 is the dynamic shift. If x 0 ⫽0, we have a simple
this curve, then using the differential relation ds 2 ⫽dx 2 harmonic motion with force constant k. If x 0 ⬎0, the poten-
⫹dy 2 , the reader can verify that along the curve tial energy function still has a minimum at x⫽0, but is some-

496 Am. J. Phys., Vol. 72, No. 4, April 2004 Pirooz Mohazzabi 496
 Fig. 8. The potential energy function of an elastically bouncing ball.

Fig. 6. The potential energy function of a dynamically shifted oscillator with

a positive dynamic shift, x 0 ⬎0. an elastic ball bouncing freely up and down over a horizontal
surface. The repeated motion of this ball can be viewed as an
oscillation in the vertical direction, with a potential energy
what V-shaped and becomes more so as the magnitude of x 0 function given by

再
increases. If x 0 ⬍0, the potential energy function becomes
bimodal with two local minima, one at x⫽x 0 and the other at
mgx 共 x⭓0 兲
V共 x 兲⫽ 共37兲
x⫽⫺x 0 , with a ⌳-shaped maximum between them at x ⬁ 共 x⬍0 兲 ,
⫽0. These features are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. We are only where the x axis is chosen positive upward. As can be seen in
interested in positive values of the dynamic shift where the Fig. 8, this half-V shaped potential energy function has a
potential energy function has a minimum at the origin. minimum and hence a stable equilibrium point at x⫽0, but
If we ignore the constant term without loss of generality,
cannot be expanded in a Taylor series about this point due to
the potential energy function of the dynamically shifted os-
the discontinuity of its slope. The oscillation of the ball is,
cillator can be written as
therefore, intrinsically nonlinear with an amplitude-
V 共 x 兲 ⫽ 12 kx 2 ⫹kx 0 兩 x 兩 , 共36兲 dependent period that can be obtained either from Eq. 共13兲
with n⫽1, or simply by doubling the free-fall time of the
which clearly shows that for small amplitudes, the potential ball from an initial height A 共the amplitude兲,
energy function reduces to V(x)⫽kx 0 兩 x 兩 . Consequently, the
oscillator is intrinsically nonlinear. A comparison between
the oscillations of a harmonic and a dynamically shifted os- T⫽2 冑 2A
g
. 共38兲
cillator is given by Gatland.25
It should be pointed out that if Eq. 共13兲 is used, the result
should be divided by two, because the period of the oscilla-
F. The elastically bouncing ball tions in this case is half of that corresponding to the potential
As our last example, we discuss one of the simplest yet V(x)⫽b 兩 x 兩 .
intrinsically nonlinear problems in physics, namely, that of
V. SUMMARY
When the potential energy function of an oscillating sys-
tem is expandable in a Taylor series about the equilibrium
configuration of the system, and when the coefficient of the
second order term does not vanish, small oscillations of the
system can be approximated by a simple harmonic motion.
On the other hand, if these conditions are not satisfied, the
system does not lend itself to such an approximation in the
small amplitude limit, and the oscillation becomes intrinsi-
cally nonlinear. Nonetheless, several authors have incorrectly
stated, either explicitly3 or implicitly,26 –28 that small oscilla-
tions in any system can be approximately treated in terms of
simple harmonic motion. We have discussed the theory of
intrinsically nonlinear oscillators, and have shown that in
principle there are infinitely many physical systems that be-
long to this class of oscillators.
a兲
Electronic mail: pirooz.mohazzabi@uwp.edu
Fig. 7. The potential energy function of a dynamically shifted oscillator with 1
L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Mechanics 共Pergamon, Oxford, 1976兲,
a negative dynamic shift, x 0 ⬍0. 3rd ed., pp. 58 – 60.

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