Recently Discovered Periodic Solutions of the Three-Body Problem
Recently Discovered Periodic Solutions of the Three-Body Problem
The three-body problem seeks solutions for the orbits of three masses under the mutual influence of gravity. Periodic solutions are very hard to find [1]; one of these is shown in Figure 8. Recently 13 new solutions were found by a combination of numerical search and a topological method [2]. The solutions are presented in 2D and on a "shape sphere" using Jacobi three-body coordinates [3]. The red dots on the shape sphere are related to the three two-body collision points.