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If the mass and stiffness matrices commute with a permutation representation, each symmetry subspace is invariant under the generalized eigenvalue problem for small oscillations. On an irreducible subspace, Schur lemma forces a commuting operator to be scalar, producing a degenerate normal mode multiplet.

The kinetic energy of the three unit masses is $\frac{1}{2}{\sum }_i{\dot{x}}_i^2$. Expanding the potential givesThus the small-oscillation mass and stiffness matrices arewhere $J$ is the all-ones matrix.

The vector $(1,1,1{)}^T$ is an eigenvector of the stiffness matrix with eigenvalue $1$. Every vector orthogonal to it has coordinate sum zero and is an eigenvector with eigenvalue $4$. Since $T=I$, the generalized eigenvalue problem for small oscillations gives ${\omega }^2$ equal to these eigenvalues. One orthonormal choice of normal modes isThe last two may be replaced by any orthonormal basis of the sum-zero plane because the frequency is degenerate. Hence the normal frequencies are $\boxed{1,2,2}$.

The Euler--Lagrange equations for the quadratic Lagrangian areFor a normal mode $x(t)=a{e}^{i\omega t}$, they become the generalized eigenvalue problem for small oscillationsPut $\lambda =m{\omega }^2/k$. With the stated spring constants,The final matrix has characteristic polynomialso its eigenvalue are ${\nu }_{\pm }=\pm \sqrt{1+{\delta }^2}$. HenceThe two angular frequencies therefore satisfyThis is the spectrum recorded by normal modes of two equal masses between three springs.

Taking downward distance as positive, the Lagrangian is

At equilibrium the lower spring supports only the lower mass, while the upper spring supports both masses:Hence

Let $q_i=z_i-z_i^{(0)}$. The linear terms cancel by the equilibrium equations, and the quadratic Lagrangian iswith the small-oscillation mass and stiffness matrices

The generalized eigenvalue problem for small oscillations isIts characteristic equation issoCorresponding displacement eigenvectors are

They are not orthogonal in the ordinary Euclidean inner product. They are orthogonal in the kinetic-energy, or mass-matrix, inner product:This is mass-matrix orthogonality of normal modes.