Skip to main content
Log in

On Centered Co-circular Central Configurations of the n-Body Problem

  • Published:
Journal of Dynamics and Differential Equations Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We study the co-circular central configurations of the n-body problem for which the center of mass and the center of the common circle coincide. In particular, we prove that there are no central configurations of this type with all the masses equal except one. This provides more evidences for the veracity of the conjecture that the regular n-gon with equal masses is the unique co-circular central configuration of the n-body problem whose center of mass is the center of the circle. Our result remains valid if we consider power-law potentials.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Albouy, A.: The symmetric central configurations of four equal masses. Contemp. Math. 198, 131–135 (1996)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  2. Albouy, A., Cabral, H.E., Santos, A.A.: Some problems on the classical \(n\)-body problem. Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 113, 369–375 (2012)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  3. Arenstorf, R.F.: Central configurations of four bodies with one inferior mass. Cell Mech. 28, 9–15 (1982)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. Albouy, A., Kaloshin, V.: Finiteness of central configurations of five bodies in the plane. Ann. Math. 176, 535588 (2012)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  5. Chenciner, A.: Collisions totales, mouvements complètement paraboliques et réduction des homothéthies dans le problème des \(n\) corps. Regul. Chaot. Dyn. 3, 93–106 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  6. Checiner, A., Gerver, J., Montgomery, R., Simo, C.: Simple choreographies of N bodies: a preliminary study. In: Newton, P., Holmes, P., Weinstein, A. (eds.) Geometry, Mechanics and Dynamics, pp. 287–308. Springer, New York (2002)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  7. Chenciner, A.: Are there perverse choreographies. New Advances in Celestial Mechanics and Hamiltonian Systems, pp. 63–76. Kluwer, New York (2004)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  8. Corbera, M., Cors, J.M., Llibre, J., Moeckel, R.: Bifurcation of relative equilibria of the \((1+3)\)-body problem. SIAM J. Math. Anal 47, 1377–1404 (2015)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  9. Corbera, M., Llibre, J., Pérez-Chavela, E.: Spatial bi-stacked central configurations formed by two dual reauglar polyhedra. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 413, 648–659 (2014)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  10. Cors, J.M., Roberts, G.E.: Four-body co-circular central configurations. Nonlinearity 25, 343–370 (2012)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. Cors, J.M., Hall, G.R., Roberts, G.E.: Uniqueness results for co-circular central configurations for power-law potentials. Phys. D Nonlinear Phenom. 280(281), 44–47 (2014)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  12. Euler, L.: De moto rectilineo trium corporum se mutuo attahentium. Novi Comment Acad. Sci. Imp. Petropolitanae 11, 144–151 (1767)

    Google Scholar 

  13. Ferrario, D.L., Terracini, S.: On the existence of collisionless equivariant minimizers for the classical n-body problem. Invent. Math. 155, 305–362 (2004)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  14. Hagihara, Y.: Celestial Mechanics, Chap. 3, vol. 1. The MIT Press, Cambridge (1970)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  15. Hampton, M.: Co-circular central configurations in the four-body problem. EQUADIFF 2003 (Conference Proceedings), pp. 993–998. World Scientific Publishing, Hackensack (2005)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  16. Hampton, M.: Stacked central configurations: new examples in the planar five-body problem. Nonlinearity 18, 2299–2304 (2005)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  17. Hampton, M.: Splendid isolation: local uniqueness of centered co-circular relative equilibria in the \(N\)-body problem. Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 124, 145–153 (2016)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  18. Hampton, H., Moeckel, R.: Finiteness of relative equilibria of the four-body problem. Invent. Math. 163, 289–312 (2006)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  19. Lagrange, J.L.: Essai sur le problème de trois corps. Prix de l’Académie Royale des Sciences de Paris, tome IX, in Oeuvres, vol. 6, pp. 229–331 (1772)

  20. Lee, T.L., Santoprete, M.: Central configurations of the five-body problem with equal masses. Celest. Mech. Dyn. Astron. 104, 369–381 (2009)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  21. Llibre, J., Valls, C.: The co-circular central configurations of the \(5\)-body problem. J. Dyn. Differ. Equ. 27, 55–67 (2015)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  22. Moeckel, R.: On central configurations. Mah. Z. 205, 499–517 (1990)

    MathSciNet  MATH  Google Scholar 

  23. Moeckel, R.: Central configurations. In: Central Configurations Periodic Orbits, and Hamiltonian Systems, Advanced courses in Mathematics - CRM Barcelona, Birkhuser, pp. 105–168. Springer, Basel (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Moulton, F.R.: The straight line solutions of \(n\) bodies. Ann. Math. 12, 1–17 (1910)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  25. Ouyang, T., Xie, Z.: Star pentagon and many stable choreographic solutions of the Newtonian 4-body problem. Phys. D Nonlinear Phenom. 307, 61–76 (2015)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  26. Palmore, J.: Classifying relative equilibria. Bull. Am. Math. Soc. 79, 904–907 (1973)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  27. Pérez-Chavela, E., Santoprete, M.: Convex four-body central configurations with some equal masses. Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 185, 481–494 (2007)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  28. Saari, D.: On the role and properties of central configurations. Celest. Mech. 21, 9–20 (1980)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  29. Saari, D., Hulkower, N.D.: On the manifolds of total collapse orbits and of completely parabolic orbits for the n-body problem. J. Differ. Equ. 41, 27–43 (1981)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  30. Smale, S.: Topology and mechanics II: the planar \(n\)-body problem. Invent. Math. 11, 45–64 (1970)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  31. Smale, S.: Mathematical problems for the next century. Math. Intell. 20, 7–15 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  32. Wintner, A.: The Analytical Foundations of Celestial Mechanics. Princeton University Press, New Jersey (1941)

    MATH  Google Scholar 

  33. Xia, Z.: Central configurations with many small masses. J. Differ. Equ. 91, 168–179 (1991)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Montserrat Corbera.

Additional information

Montserrat Corbera is supported by the MINECO-FEDER Grant MTM2016-77278-P. Claudia Valls is supported by FCT/Portugal through UID/MAT/04459/2013.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Corbera, M., Valls, C. On Centered Co-circular Central Configurations of the n-Body Problem. J Dyn Diff Equat 31, 2053–2060 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10884-018-9699-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10884-018-9699-2

Keywords

Mathematics Subject Classification

Navigation