Imperfections, impacts, and the singularity of Euler's disk

Abstract: The motion of a rigid, spinning disk on a flat surface ends with a dissipation-induced finite-time singularity. The problem of finding the dominant energy absorption mechanism during the last phase of the motion generated a lively debate during the past two decades. Various candidates including air drag and various types of friction have been considered, nevertheless impacts have not been examined until now. We investigate the effect of impacts caused by geometric imperfections of the disk and of the underlying flat surface, through analysing the dynamics of polygonal disks with unilateral point contacts. Similarly to earlier works, we determine the rate of energy absorption under the assumption of a regular pattern of motion analogous to precession-free motion of a rolling disk. In addition, we demonstrate that the asymptotic stability of this motion depends on parameters of the impact model. In the case of instability, the emerging irregular motion is investigated numerically. We conclude that there exists a range of model parameters (small radii of gyration or small restitution coefficients) in which absorption by impacts dominates all preiously investigated mechanisms during the last phase of motion. Nevertheless the parameter values associated with a homogenous disk on a hard surface are typically not in this range, hence the effect of impacts is in that case not dominant.