Related papers: Infinitely Many Eclipses
Solutions to the collinear three-body problem which do not end in triple collision pass through an infinite number of binary collisions. Given three masses, we show that four geometric quantities generate a finite description of itineraries…
The free fall of three particles under Newtonian attraction allows to illustrate some of the complexities of the general three body problem. The total collapse or singularity that occurs when starting from one of the five central…
The three-body problem is reexamined in the framework of general relativity. The Newtonian three-body problem admits Euler's collinear solution, where three bodies move around the common center of mass with the same orbital period and…
Consider the spatial Newtonian three body problem at fixed negative energy and fixed angular momentum. The moment of inertia $I$ provides a measure of the overall size of a three-body system. We will prove that there is a positive number…
In this paper we characterize all the solutions of the three body problem on which one body with mass $m_1$ remains in a fixed line and the other two bodies have the same mass $m_2$. We show that all the solutions with negative total energy…
The configuration space of the planar three-body problem when collisions are excluded has a rich topology which supports a large set of free homotopy classes. Most classes survive modding out by rotations. Those that survive are called the…
Consider the planar three-body problem with masses positive $m_1,m_2,m_3$ position vector $q(t) = (q_1(t),q_2(t),q_3(t))\in\mathbb{R}^6$. Let $$U(q) = \frac{m_1m_2}{r_{12}}+\frac{m_1m_3}{r_{13}}+\frac{m_2m_3}{r_{23}}$$ where…
In the helium case of the classical Coulomb three-body problem in two dimensions with zero angular momentum, we develop a procedure to find periodic orbits applying two symbolic dynamics for one-dimensional and planar problems. A sequence…
Some properties of the periodic solution of the three-body problem where three particles of equal mass follow the same trajectory are discussed. This trajectory has the shape of a figure-8. The three particles have a constant separation in…
We look for particular solutions to the restricted three-body problem where the bodies are allowed to either lose or gain mass to or from a static atmosphere. In the case that all the masses are proportional to the same function of time,we…
We consider the Newtonian planar three-body problem, defining a syzygy (velocity syzygy) as a configuration where the positions (velocities) of the three bodies become collinear. We demonstrate that if the total energy is negative, every…
The three-body problem, which describes three masses interacting through Newtonian gravity without any restrictions imposed on the initial positions and velocities of these masses, has attracted the attention of many scientists for more…
Geometrical properties of three-body orbits with zero angular momentum are investigated. If the moment of inertia is also constant along the orbit, the triangle whose vertexes are the positions of the bodies, and the triangle whose…
For the Newtonian 4-body problem in space we prove that any zero angular momentum bounded solution suffers infinitely many coplanar instants, that is, times at which all 4 bodies lie in the same plane. This result generalizes a known result…
In this paper, we further investigate the planar Newtonian three-body problem with a focus on collinear configurations, where either the three bodies or their velocities are aligned. We provide an independent proof of Montgomery's result,…
Using a variational method, we exhibit a surprisingly simple periodic orbit for the newtonian problem of three equal masses in the plane. The orbit has zero angular momentum and a very rich symmetry pattern. Its most surprising feature is…
In the Newtonian 3-body problem, for any choice of the three masses, there are exactly three Euler configurations (also known as the three Euler points). In Helmholtz' problem of 3 point vortices in the plane, there are at most three…
A syzygy in the three-body problem is a collinear instant. We prove that with the exception of Lagrange's solution every solution to the zero angular momentum Newtonian three-body problem suffers syzygies. The proof works for all mass…
This paper presents a study of the isosceles problem resulting by a perturbation of Euler's collinear solution under Newtonian gravitational attraction of three bodies in space. After the Hamiltonian was obtained, a circumference of…
Several N-body problems in ordinary (3-dimensional) space are introduced which are characterized by Newtonian equations of motion (``acceleration equal force;'' in most cases, the forces are velocity-dependent) and are amenable to exact…