Journalartikel

Morse Theory for S-balanced Configurations in the Newtonian n-body Problem


AutorenlisteAsselle, Luca; Portaluri, Alessandro

Jahr der Veröffentlichung2023

Seiten907-946

ZeitschriftJournal of Dynamics and Differential Equations

Bandnummer35

Heftnummer1

ISSN1040-7294

eISSN1572-9222

Open Access StatusHybrid

DOI Linkhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s10884-021-10036-y

VerlagSpringer


Abstract
For the Newtonian (gravitational) n-body problem in the Euclidean d-dimensional space, the simplest possible solutions are provided by those rigid motions (homographic solutions) in which each body moves along a Keplerian orbit and the configuration of the n-body is a (constant up to rotations and scalings) central configuration. For d <= 3, the only possible homographic motions are those given by central configurations. For d >= 4 instead, new possibilities arise due to the higher complexity of the orthogonal group O(d), as observed by Albouy and Chenciner (Invent Math 131(1):151-184, 1998). For instance, in R-4 it is possible to rotate in two mutually orthogonal planes with different angular velocities. This produces a new balance between gravitational forces and centrifugal forces providing new periodic and quasi-periodic motions. So, for d >= 4 there is a wider class of S-balanced configurations (containing the central ones) providing simple solutions of the n-body problem, which can be characterized as well through critical point theory. In this paper, we first provide a lower bound on the number of balanced (non-central) configurations in R-d, for arbitrary d >= 4, and establish a version of the 45 circle-theorem for balanced configurations, thus answering some of the questions raised in Moeckel (Central configurations, 2014). Also, a careful study of the asymptotics of the coefficients of the Poincare polynomial of the collision free configuration sphere will enable us to derive some rather unexpected qualitative consequences on the count of S-balanced configurations. In the last part of the paper, we focus on the case d = 4 and provide a lower bound on the number of periodic and quasi-periodic motions of the gravitational n-body problem which improves a previous celebrated result of McCord (Ergodic Theory Dyn Syst 16:1059-1070, 1996).


Zitierstile

Harvard-ZitierstilAsselle, L. and Portaluri, A. (2023) Morse Theory for S-balanced Configurations in the Newtonian n-body Problem, Journal of Dynamics and Differential Equations, 35(1), pp. 907-946. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10884-021-10036-y

APA-ZitierstilAsselle, L., & Portaluri, A. (2023). Morse Theory for S-balanced Configurations in the Newtonian n-body Problem. Journal of Dynamics and Differential Equations. 35(1), 907-946. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10884-021-10036-y



Schlagwörter


45 circle-TheoremBalanced configurationsCentral configurationsn-body problem


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Zuletzt aktualisiert 2025-10-06 um 11:28