In this paper the non-canonical Hamiltonian dynamics of a gyrostat in the three body problem will be examined. By means of geometric-mechanics methods some relative equilibria of the dynamics of a gyrostat in Newtonian interaction with two rigid bodies will be studied. Taking advantage of the results obtained in previous papers, working on the reduced problem, the bifurcations of these relative equilibria will be studied. The instability of Eulerian relative equilibria if the gyrostat is close to a sphere is proven. Necessary and sufficient conditions will be provided for lineal stability of Lagrangian relative equilibria if the gyrostat is close to a sphere. The analysis is done in vectorial form avoiding the use of canonical variables and the tedious expressions associated with them. In this way, the classic results on equilibria of the three-body problem, many of them obtained by other authors who had used of more classic techniques, are generalized.
We prove that the fixed points of the curved 3-body problem and their associated relative equilibria are Lyapunov stable if the solutions are restricted to $\mathbb S^1$, but unstable if the bodies are considered in $\mathbb S^2$.
We consider the 3-dimensional gravitational $n$-body problem, $n\ge 2$, in spaces of constant Gaussian curvature $κ\ne 0$, i.e.\ on spheres ${\mathbb S}_κ^3$, for $κ>0$, and on hyperbolic manifolds ${\mathbb H}_κ^3$, for $κ<0$. Our goal is to define and study relative equilibria, which are orbits whose mutual distances remain constant in time. We also briefly discuss the issue of singularities in order to avoid impossible configurations. We derive the equations of motion and define six classes of relative equilibria, which follow naturally from the geometric properties of ${\mathbb S}_κ^3$ and…
In this paper, we consider the elliptic relative equilibria of the restricted $4$-body problems, where the three primaries form an Euler collinear configuration and the four bodies span $\mathbf{R}^2$. We obtain the symplectic reduction to the general restricted $N$-body problem. By analyzing the relationship between this restricted $4$-body problems and the elliptic Lagrangian solutions, we obtain the linear stability of the restricted $4$-body problem by the $ω$-Maslov index. Via numerical computations, we also obtain conditions of the stability on the mass parameters for the symmetric cases…
We consider the linear stabilities of the regular n-gon relative equilibria of the (1+n)-body problem. It is shown that there exist at most two kinds of infinitesimal bodies arranged alternatively at the vertices of a regular n-gon when n is even, and only one set of identical infinitesimal bodies when n is odd. In the case of n even, the regular n-gon relative equilibrium is shown to be linearly stable when n>=14. In each case of n=8,10,12, linear stability can also be preserved if the ratio of two kinds of masses belongs to an open interval. When n is odd, the related conclusion on the linea…
In this paper we find the families of relative equilibria for the three body problem in the plane, when the interaction between the bodies is given by a quasi-homogeneous potential, which is the sum of two homogeneous functions. The number of the relative equilibria depends of the values of the masses and of the size of the system, measured by the moment of inertia.
We consider the motion of point masses given by a natural extension of Newtonian gravitation to spaces of constant positive curvature. Our goal is to explore the spectral stability of tetrahedral orbits of the corresponding 4-body problem in the 2-dimensional case, a situation that can be reduced to studying the motion of the bodies on the unit sphere. We first perform some extensive and highly precise numerical experiments to find the likely regions of stability and instability, relative to the values of the masses and to the latitude of the position of three equal masses. Then we support the…
The paper deals with the study of a satellite attracted by n primary bodies, which form a relative equilibrium. We use orthogonal degree to prove global bifurcation of planar and spatial periodic solutions from the equilibria of the satellite. In particular, we analyze the restricted three body problem and the problem of a satellite attracted by the Maxwell's ring relative equilibrium.
The simplest non-collision solutions of the N-body problem are the "relative equilibria", in which each body follows a circular orbit around the centre of mass and the shape formed by the N bodies is constant. It is easy to see that the moment of inertia of such a solution is constant. In 1970, D. Saari conjectured that the converse is also true for the planar Newtonian N-body problem: relative equilibria are the only constant-inertia solutions. A computer-assisted proof for the 3-body case was recently given by R. Moeckel. We present a different kind of answer: proofs that several generalisat…
In this paper we present a summary of the last works of Jorge Ize regarding the global bifurcation of periodic solutions from the equilibria of a satellite attracted by n primary bodies. We present results on the global bifurcation of periodic solutions for the primary bodies from the Maxwell's ring, in the plane and in space, where n identical masses on a regular polygon and one central mass are turning in a plane at a constant speed. The symmetries of the problem are used in order to find the irreducible representations, and with the help of the orthogonal degree theory, all the symmetries o…
The circular restricted three body problem, which considers the dynamics of an infinitesimal particle in the presence of the gravitational interaction with two massive bodies moving on circular orbits about their common center of mass, is a very useful model for investigating the behavior of real astronomical objects in the Solar System. In such a system, there are five Lagrangian equilibrium points, and one important characteristic of the motion is the existence of linearly stable equilibria at the two equilibrium points that form equilateral triangles with the primaries, in the plane of the …
