Velocity Syzygies and Bounding Syzygy Moments in the Planar Three-Body Problem

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 collision-free solution has an infinite number of velocity syz...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tsygvintsev, Alexei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Académie des sciences 2024-11-01
Series:Comptes Rendus. Mathématique
Subjects:
Online Access:https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/mathematique/articles/10.5802/crmath.683/
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Summary: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 collision-free solution has an infinite number of velocity syzygies. Specifically, the velocities of the three bodies become parallel within every interval of time containing three consecutive syzygies. Using comparison theory for matrix Riccati equations, we derive new upper and lower bounds on the moments when syzygies occur.
ISSN:1778-3569