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Falling coupled oscillators and trigonometric sums

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Abstract

A method for evaluating finite trigonometric summations is applied to a system of N coupled oscillators under acceleration. Initial motion of the nth particle is shown to be of the order \(T^{2{n}+2}\) for small time T, and the end particle in the continuum limit is shown to initially remain stationary for the time it takes a wavefront to reach it. The average velocities of particles at the ends of the system are shown to take discrete values in a step-like manner.

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Correspondence to S. R. Holcombe.

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Holcombe, S.R. Falling coupled oscillators and trigonometric sums. Z. Angew. Math. Phys. 69, 19 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00033-018-0911-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00033-018-0911-3

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