Related papers: Generic uniqueness of the minimal Moulton central …
Planar central configurations can be seen as critical points of the reduced potential or solutions of a system of equations. By the homogeneity and invariance of the potential with respect to SO(2), it is possible to see that the…
We consider the $N$-body problem of celestial mechanics in spaces of nonzero constant curvature. Using the concept of locked inertia tensor, we compute the moment of inertia for systems moving on spheres and hyperbolic spheres and show that…
We consider $n$-body problems given by potentials of the form ${\alpha\over r^a}+{\beta\over r^b}$ with $a,b,\alpha,\beta$ constants, $0\le a<b$. To analyze the dynamics of the problem, we first prove some properties related to central…
Central configurations give rise to self-similar solutions to the Newtonian $N$-body problem, and play important roles in understanding its complicated dynamics. Even the simple question of whether or not there are finitely many planar…
For the curved n-body problem, we show that the set of ordinary central configurations is away from most singular configurations in H^3, and away from a subset of singular configurations in S^3. We also show that each of the n!/2 geodesic…
The Newtonian n-Body Problem is modified assuming positive inertial masses but different sign for the interacting force which is assumed with the possibility of two different signs for the gravitational masses, according to the prescription…
For the power-law potential $n$-body problem, we study a special kind of central configurations where all the masses lie on a circle and the center of mass coincides with the center of the circle. It is also called the centered co-circular…
In this paper we find a class of new degenerate central configurations and bifurcations in the Newtonian $n$-body problem. In particular we analyze the Rosette central configurations, namely a coplanar configuration where $n$ particles of…
We give a computer assisted proof of the full listing of central configuration for $n$-body problem for Newtonian potential on the plane for $n=5,6,7$ with equal masses. We show all these central configurations have a reflective symmetry…
In this paper, we consider the elliptic relative equilibria of the restricted $N$-body problems, where the $N-1$ primaries form an Euler-Moulton collinear central configuration or a $(1+n)$-gon central configuration. We obtain the…
We study central configurations of the Newtonian four-body problem that form a trapezoid. Using a topological argument we prove that there is at most one trapezoidal central configuration for each cyclic ordering of the masses.
We study central configurations lying on a common circle in the Newtonian four-body problem. Using a topological argument we prove that there is at most one co-circular central configuration for each cyclic ordering of the masses on the…
We show that there exist an upper bound and a lower bound for the number of non-degenerate central configurations of the n-body problem in the plane with a homogeneous potential. In particular, both bounds are independent of the homogeneous…
Using geometric mechanics methods, we examine aspects of the dynamics of n mass points in $\mathbb{R}^4$ with a general pairwise potential. We investigate the central force problem, set up the n-body problem and discuss certain properties…
In this article, I discuss the motion of $N$ point masses in non-relativistic mechanics, when the interaction between them is purely the Newtonian gravitational interaction, with $N$ greater than or equal to 2. The dynamical equations of…
In 1970 Don Saari conjectured that the only solutions of the Newtonian $n$-body problem that have constant moment of inertia are the relative equilibria. We prove this conjecture in the collinear case for any potential that involves only…
We consider the finiteness problem for central configurations of the $n-$body problem. We prove that, for $n\geq4$, there exists a (Zariski) closed subset $B$ in the mass space $\mathbb{R}^{n}$, such that if $(m_1,...,m_n) \in…
We compute the fixed point index of non-degenerate central configurations for the $n$-body problem in the euclidean space of dimension $d$, relating it to the Morse index of the gravitational potential function $\bar U$ induced on the…
In the Newtonian $n$-body problem for solutions with arbitrary energy, which start and end either at a total collision or a parabolic/hyperbolic infinity, we prove some basic results about their Morse and Maslov indices. Moreover for…
We study a singular Hamiltonian system with an $\al$-homogeneous potential that contains, as a particular case, the classical $N$--body problem. We introduce a variational Morse--like index for a class of collision solutions and, using the…