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Central Configurations

This document discusses central configurations in the N-body problem. It provides the following key points: 1) A central configuration is an arrangement of masses whose configuration vector satisfies an equation relating the Newtonian potential gradient and the moment of inertia about the center of mass. 2) Central configurations include symmetric configurations like regular polygons in 2D and cubes in 3D with equal masses. 3) The equations of motion can be written in matrix notation, allowing the study of properties like translational equivalence between configurations. 4) A configuration is translationally equivalent to another if it differs by a constant translation vector; the center of mass can be used to define a unique representative of an equivalence class with the center

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Gerjan Wielink
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42 views20 pages

Central Configurations

This document discusses central configurations in the N-body problem. It provides the following key points: 1) A central configuration is an arrangement of masses whose configuration vector satisfies an equation relating the Newtonian potential gradient and the moment of inertia about the center of mass. 2) Central configurations include symmetric configurations like regular polygons in 2D and cubes in 3D with equal masses. 3) The equations of motion can be written in matrix notation, allowing the study of properties like translational equivalence between configurations. 4) A configuration is translationally equivalent to another if it differs by a constant translation vector; the center of mass can be used to define a unique representative of an equivalence class with the center

Uploaded by

Gerjan Wielink
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Central Configurations of the N-body problem

Gerjan Wielink

Groningen

25-05-2018
N-body problem

Consider N masses mi with positions xi ∈ Rd . Newton’s law of


motion is given
X mi mj (xi − xj )
mj ẍj = , 1 ≤ j ≤ n.
|xi − xj |3
i6=j

Newtonian potential is given


X mi mj
U(x) = .
|xi − xj |
i<j

Then
mj ẍ = ∇j U(x) 1 ≤ j ≤ n.
Mass matrix

Letting M = diag(m1 , . . . , mn ) gives

M ẍ = ∇U(x)

Letting vj = ẋj ∈ Rd and v = (v1 , . . . , vn ) ∈ Rdn gives the first


order system

ẋ = v
v̇ = M −1 ∇U(x).

x ∈R\∆
Hamiltonian

n
X
H = K (v ) − U(x), K= mj |vj |2 t
j=1
Momentum

Conservation of momentum:
X
p= mi vi , 1 ≤ i ≤ n.
i

Center of mass:
1 X X
c= mi xi , m0 = mi , 1 ≤ i ≤ n.
m0
i i
Center of mass

p
ċ = ,
m0
ṗ = 0.

So c(t) moves in a straight line with constant velocity.


Centered solutions

c(t) gives rise to centered solutions

yj (t) = xj (t) − c(t).

p = 0, center of mass at the origin. We write

x − c = (x1 − c, . . . , xn − c) ∈ Rdn
Inertia

For any configuaration x, the moment of inertia w.r.t. the center


of mass is given
X
I (x) = (x − c)T M(x − c) = mi |xi − c|2
i
Central Configurations

A central configuration (CC) is an arrangement of the masses


whose configuration vector satisfies

∇U(x) + λM(x − c) = 0.

Then
ẍj = −λ(xj − c).
Existence

Consider equal masses, we get symmetrical solutions such as


I Regular polygons in R2
I Regular cubes in R3
Homographic solutions

A solution to the n-body problem is called homographic if it


satisfies
x(t) − c(t) = r (t)Q(t)(x0 − c0 )
where r (t) > 0 is a scaling factor and Q(t) ∈ SO(d) is a rotation.
The special cases, namely the homothetic and rigid solutions
arise when Q(t) = I and r (t) = 1 respectively.
Matrix Notation

Let  
x11 . . . x1n
X = [x1 | . . . |xn ] =  ... .. . 
. .. 

xd1 . . . xdn
and  
v11 . . . v1n
V = [v1 | . . . |vn ] =  ... .. . 
. ..  .

vd1 . . . vdn
Matrix Notation

Rewrite Newton’s equations to


1
ẍj = ∇j U(x)
mj
X mi (xi − xj )
=
|xi − xj |3
i6=j
 
X mi (xi − xj ) X m i
= − xj  
|xi − xj |3 |xi − xj |3
i6=j i6=j
Matrix Notation

Newtons equations can then be written as

Ẍ = XA(X )

where
m1 m1
 
A11 |x1 −x−2|3
... |x1 −xn |3
m2 m2

 |x1 −x2 |3
A22 ... |x2 −xn |3


A(X ) =  .. .. .. .. 
. . . .
 
 
mn mn
|x1 −xn |3 |x2 −xn |3
... Ann
X mi
Ajj = −
|xi − xj |3
i6=j
Matrix Equations

First order system in matrix notation

Ẋ = V ,
V̇ = XA(X )
Translational equivalence

Let k ∈ Rd a d × 1 column vector. Then

xj → xj + k

adds ki L to the i-th row of X , with L = [1 . . . 1]. Can also be


written
X → X + kL.
Translational equivalence

We call two configuration matrices X , Y if Y = X + kL for some


k ∈ Rd . Equivalently X and Y take the same values when
restircted to the hyperplane

D∗ = L⊥ = {ξ ∈ Rn |Lξ = ξ1 + . . . + ξn = 0}.

e.g. X |D∗ = Y |D∗


Center of mass

The total mass then becomes

m0 = Lm.

The center of mass becomes


1
c= Xm
m0

with m = [m1 . . . mn ]T .
Center of mass

Given a d × n matrix X there is a unique matrix Y translation


equivalent to X with center of mass at the origin, namely

Y = X − C, C = cL
Central configurations in matrix notation

A configuration matrix X is called a central configuration if

XA(X ) + λ(X − C ) = 0

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