Super central configurations of the n -body problem

Zhifu Xie

Citation: Journal of Mathematical Physics 51, 042902 (2010); doi: 10.1063/1.3345125

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 JOURNAL OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS 51, 042902 共2010兲

Super central configurations of the n-body problem

Zhifu Xiea兲
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Virginia State University, Petersburg,
Virginia 23806, USA
共Received 11 August 2009; accepted 8 February 2010; published online 27 April 2010兲

In this paper, we consider the inverse problem of central configurations of the

n-body problem. For a given q = 共q1 , q2 , . . . , qn兲 苸 共Rd兲n, let S共q兲 be the admissible
set of masses by S共q兲 = 兵m = 共m1 , . . . , mn兲 兩 mi 苸 R+ , q is a central configuration
for m其. For a given m 苸 S共q兲, let Sm共q兲 be the permutational admissible set
about m = 共m1 , m2 , . . . , mn兲 by Sm共q兲 = 兵m⬘ 兩 m⬘ 苸 S共q兲 , m⬘ ⫽ m and m⬘ is a
permutation of m其. Here, q is called a super central configuration if there exists m
such that Sm共q兲 is nonempty. For any q in the planar four-body problem, q is not a
super central configuration as an immediate consequence of a theorem proved by
MacMillan and Bartky 关“Permanent configurations in the problem of four bodies,”
Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 34, 838 共1932兲兴. The main discovery in this paper is the
existence of super central configurations in the collinear three-body problem. We
proved that for any q in the collinear three-body problem and any m 苸 S共q兲, Sm共q兲
has at most one element and the detailed classification of Sm共q兲 is provided.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics. 关doi:10.1063/1.3345125兴

I. INTRODUCTION
The classical n-body problem consists of the study of the dynamics of n point masses inter-
acting according to Newtonian gravity. We consider n particles at qi 苸 Rd 共usually with d = 1, d
= 2, or d = 3兲 with masses mi 苸 R+, i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n and

m im j
miq̈i = − 兺 共qi − q j兲. 共1.1兲
i⫽j 兩qi − q j兩3

When we study homographic solutions of the n-body problem, the motion at any fixed time must
satisfy the following nonlinear algebraic equation system:

n
m j共qi − q j兲
␭共qi − c兲 − 兺
j=1,j⫽i 兩qi − q j兩3
= 0, 1ⱕiⱕn 共1.2兲

for a constant ␭, where c = 共兺miqi兲 / M is the center of mass and M = m1 + m2 + ¯ +mn is the total
mass. By the homogeneity of U共q兲 of degree ⫺1, we have ␭ = U / 2I ⬎ 0, where U is the Newtonian
potential function

mm
U= 兺
1ⱕi⬍jⱕn 兩q
i j

i q j兩
−

and I is the moment of inertial of the system, i.e., I = 21 兺i=1

n
mi兩qi兩2. Because the potential is singular
when two particles have the same position, it is natural to assume that the configuration avoids the
collision set, which is defined by

a兲
Electronic mail: zxie@vsu.edu.

0022-2488/2010/51共4兲/042902/7/$30.00 51, 042902-1 © 2010 American Institute of Physics

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 042902-2 Zhifu Xie J. Math. Phys. 51, 042902 共2010兲

⌬ = 艛 兵q = 共q1,q2, . . . ,qn兲 苸 共Rd兲n兩qi = q j for some i ⫽ j其. 共1.3兲

Definition 1.1: A configuration q = 共q1 , q2 , . . . , qn兲 苸 共Rd兲n \ ⌬ is a central configuration 共CC for
short兲 for m = 共m1 , m2 , . . . , mn兲 苸 共R+兲n if q is a solution of the system 共1.2兲 for some constant ␭
苸 R.
The allowed system of masses which make a configuration central is called admissible. Given
a configuration q = 共q1 , q2 , . . . , qn兲 苸 共Rd兲n \ ⌬, denote by S共q兲 the admissible set of masses by

S共q兲 = 兵m = 共m1,m2, . . . ,mn兲兩mi 苸 R+, q is a central configuration for m其. 共1.4兲

For a given m 苸 S共q兲, let Sm共q兲 be the permutational admissible set about m, denoted by

Sm共q兲 = 兵m⬘ 苸 S共q兲兩m⬘ ⫽ m and m⬘ is a permutation of m其. 共1.5兲

The requirements that m⬘ ⫽ m and m⬘ is a permutation of m in Sm共q兲 are necessary to exclude
some trivial cases. For example, if q is a CC for m = 共m1 , m2 , m3 , . . . , mn兲 with m1 = m2, then q is
also a CC for m⬘ = 共m2 , m1 , m3 , . . . , mn兲 but m⬘ 苸 Sm共q兲. Sm共q兲 is a finite set and has at most n !
−1 elements in Sm共q兲.
Definition 1.2: Configuration q is called a super central configuration 共SCC for short兲 if there
exists positive mass m such that Sm共q兲 is nonempty.
Two configurations q and p 苸 共R3兲n \ ⌬ are equivalent, denoted by q ⬃ p, if and only if q and
p differ by an SO共3兲 rotation, followed by a scalar multiplication. This defines an equivalent
relation among elements in CCs for m. Each planar CC gives rise to a family of orbits in which
each particle travels on a conic with a focus at the center of mass. There has been steady progress
in understanding CCs and their dynamics. The question on the number of CCs for a given mass
vector m = 共m1 , m2 , . . . , mn兲 is still a challenge problem for the 21st century’s mathematicians 共see
Ref. 22兲. The finiteness was proved for n = 4 by Hampton and Moeckel,13 and it is still open for
general n. Some partial results of CCs are given in Refs. 6–8, 14, 15, 20, 21, 25, and 27 for the
four-body problem with some equal masses, in Refs. 2, 18, and 23 for the five-body problem, in
Refs. 3, 17, and 28–30 for the regular polygon or regular polyhedra configurations, and in Refs. 4
and 24 for general homogeneous or quasihomogeneous potentials. The existence of different types
of CCs can be found in Refs. 16, 18, and 31 and references therein. For the importance and
additional properties of CCs and related topics, we refer to the works of Moeckel,11 Saari,19 and
the books.9,10
It is natural to consider the inverse problem: given a configuration, find mass vectors, if any,
for which it is a CC. Moulton12 considered the inverse problem for collinear n-body problem. His
results depend on whether n is even or odd. Alouby and Moeckel1 also considered the set S共q兲 for
q is a collinear n-body configuration. They proved that a given configuration determines a two-
parameter family of masses, making it central when the center of mass is not fixed in advance.
Ouyang and Xie14 found the region for collinear four-body configurations for which there exists a
positive mass vector making it central.
The motivation to study the set Sm共q兲 emanates from the example of the equilateral triangle
configuration5 in the planar three-body problem. If q is the equilateral triangle configuration and
m = 共m1 , m2 , m3兲, then q is also a CC for each permutation of m. Therefore, for three distinct
masses, the set Sm共q兲, which has five elements, consists of all the permutations of 共m1 , m2 , m3兲.
The main result of this paper is the existence of SCC in the collinear three-body problem. We
consider the collinear three-body configuration q = 共q1 , q2 , q3兲. Because CC is invariant up to
translation and scaling, we can choose the coordinate system so that all the three bodies are on the
x-axis with positions q1 = 0, q2 = 1, and q3 = 1 + r, where r ⬎ 0. This is a general form of collinear
three-body configuration. Denote the following positive functions in 共rគ , r̄兲 by

f 1共r兲 = 1 + 4r + 6r2 + 3r3 − 3r4 − 3r5 − r6 ,

f 2共r兲 = r6 + 4r5 + 6r4 + 3r3 − 3r2 − 3r − 1,

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 042902-3 Super central configurations J. Math. Phys. 51, 042902 共2010兲

f 3共r兲 = 1 + 2r + r2 − r3 + r4 + 2r5 + r6 ,

g共r兲 = 共1 + 2r + r2 + 2r3 + r4兲共r2 + r + 1兲, 共1.6兲

where rគ is the unique positive root of f 2共r兲 = 0 and r̄ = 1 / rគ . Numerically, rគ = 0.787 516 154 2 and
r̄ = 1.269 815 222.
Theorem 1.3: Let r ⬎ 0 and q = 共0 , 1 , 1 + r兲.
(1) For any m = 共m1 , m2 , m3兲 苸 S共q兲, either #Sm共q兲 = 0 or #Sm共q兲 = 1.
(2) #
Sm共q兲 = 1 only in the following four cases:
(i) If m2 ⬍ m3 ⬍ m1, then rគ ⬍ r ⬍ 1, m1 = M f 1共r兲 / g共r兲, m2 = M f 2共r兲 / g共r兲, m3 = M f 3共r兲 / g共r兲,
and Sm共q兲 = 兵共m3 , m1 , m2兲其.
(ii) If m1 ⬍ m3 ⬍ m2, then 1 ⬍ r ⬍ r̄, m1 = M f 1共r兲 / g共r兲, m2 = M f 2共r兲 / g共r兲, m3 = M f 3共r兲 / g共r兲,
and Sm共q兲 = 兵共m3 , m1 , m2兲其.
(iii) If m3 ⬍ m1 ⬍ m2, then rគ ⬍ r ⬍ 1, m1 = M f 3共r兲 / g共r兲, m2 = M f 1共r兲 / g共r兲, m3 = M f 2共r兲 / g共r兲,
and Sm共q兲 = 兵共m2 , m3 , m1兲其.
(iv) If m3 ⬍ m1 ⬍ m2, then 1 ⬍ r ⬍ r̄, m1 = M f 3共r兲 / g共r兲, m2 = M f 1共r兲 / g共r兲, m3 = M f 2共r兲 / g共r兲,
and Sm共q兲 = 兵共m2 , m3 , m1兲其.

Example 1.4: Let r = 0.8 and M = 1. Then m1 = 0.622 788 063 8, m2 = 0.021 612 854 37, and
m3 = 0.355 599 081 9. It is easy to check that q = 共0 , 1 , 1 + r兲 is a CC for m = 共m1 , m2 , m3兲 with ␭
= 0.198 530 155 8 and the center of mass c = 0.661 691 201 6 from Eq. 共1.2兲. q = 共0 , 1 , 1 + r兲 is also
a CC for m = 共m3 , m1 , m2兲 with ␭ = 0.951 287 694 8 and the same center of mass c
= 0.661 691 201 6 from Eq. 共1.2兲. So 共m3 , m1 , m2兲 苸 S共m1,m2,m3兲共q兲.
It is not known so far whether there exist some q in other n-body problems such that Sm共q兲 is
nonempty except the equilateral triangle configuration. In fact, Sm共q兲 is empty for any m 苸 S共q兲 if
q is a configuration in planar four-body problem. This is an immediate consequence from the
following result.
Lemma 1.5: (Reference 8, p. 872) Associated with each admissible quadrilateral there is one
and only one set of mass ratios, with the single exception of three equal masses at the vertices of
an equilateral triangle and a fourth arbitrary mass at the center of gravity of the other three.
Remark 1.6: We are working on the existence and classifications of the SCCs in the collinear
four-body problem and other n-body problems.27,26 Some surprising phenomena occur. The golden
ratio, called the mathematical beauty, has some connections with SCCs of the n-body problem.

II. Sm„q… IN THE COLLINEAR THREE-BODY PROBLEM

To give the proof of Theorem 1.3, we need the following notations. For any n 苸 N 共the set of
integers兲, we denote by P共n兲 the set of all permutations of 兵1 , 2 , . . . , n其. For any element ␶
苸 P共n兲, we use ␶ = 共␶共1兲 , ␶共2兲 , . . . , ␶共n兲兲 to denote the permutation ␶. We also denote a permutation
of 共m1 , m2 , . . . , mn兲 by m共␶兲 = 共m␶共1兲 , m␶共2兲 , . . . , m␶共n兲兲 for ␶ 苸 P共n兲. We define the converse permu-
tation of ␶ by con共␶兲 = 共␶共n兲 , . . . , ␶共1兲兲.
Proof of Theorem 1.3: Fix r ⬎ 0 and the general form of the collinear three-body configuration
q = 共0 , 1 , 1 + r兲. To get all the three-body collinear CCs, we use 共1.2兲 and choose m = 共m1 , m2 , m3兲
with mi attached to qi for i = 1 , 2 , 3. Substitute the center of mass c = 共m2 + m3共1 + r兲兲 / M into 共1.2兲,
where M is the total mass which is chosen as a parameter. Then 共1.2兲 is equivalent to

冉
m2 − 1 +
␭
M
冊 冉
+ m3 − 共1 + r兲−2 +
␭共1 + r兲
M
= 0, 冊 共2.1兲

m1 +
m 2␭
M
冉
+ m3 − r−2 +
␭共1 + r兲
M
冊
= ␭, 共2.2兲

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 042902-4 Zhifu Xie J. Math. Phys. 51, 042902 共2010兲

m1
共1 + r兲
冉 −2
2 + m2 r +
␭
M
+ 冊
m3␭共1 + r兲
M
= ␭共1 + r兲. 共2.3兲

By the method of Gaussian elimination, we can find solutions of Eqs. 共2.1兲–共2.3兲 with parameters
共r , M , ␭兲,

m1 = 共1 + r兲2共M − ␭r3兲/d共r兲,

m2 = r2共− M + ␭共1 + r兲3兲/d共r兲,

m3 = r2共1 + r兲2共M − ␭兲/d共r兲. 共2.4兲

4 3 2
where d共r兲 = r + 2r + r + 2r + 1. Remarkably, the center c of mass only depends on r

c = r3共3 + 3r + r2兲/d共r兲. 共2.5兲

Albouy and Moeckel had the above solutions in Ref. 1. When

max共1,r3兲 ⬍ M/␭ ⬍ 共1 + r兲3 ,

all three masses m1, m2, and m3 are positive. So we can choose appropriate M and ␭ in an open
interval such that m 苸 S共q兲. Now we turn to study the set of Sm共q兲 for a given m = 共m1 , m2 , m3兲
苸 S共q兲. Because Sm共q兲 is a subset of 兵m共␶兲 兩 ␶ 苸 P共3兲其 and m 苸 Sm共q兲, we only need to check
whether other five permutations of mass m are also in S共q兲. Because q = 共0 , 1 , 1 + r兲 is fixed, when
we say m共␶兲 ⬅ 共m␶共1兲 , m␶共2兲 , m␶共3兲兲 苸 S共q兲 with some ␶ 苸 P共3兲, we always mean that m␶共i兲 is attached
to qi for all i = 1 , 2 , 3.
Claim 1: If r = 1, i.e., q = 共0 , 1 , 2兲, Sm共q兲 is an empty set for any m 苸 S共q兲.
In fact, if r = 1, then m1 = 4共M − ␭兲 / 7, m2 = 共8␭ − M兲 / 7, and m3 = 4共M − ␭兲 / 7 from Eq. 共2.4兲. So
m1 must be equal to m3. Therefore 共m1 , m3 , m2兲 is not in Sm共q兲, otherwise m1 = m2. Similarly
共m2 , m1 , m3兲 苸 Sm共q兲. This proves the claim.
Because of Claim 1 and the uniqueness of CC for given order of mass m, Sm共q兲 is an empty
set if m1, m2, and m3 are not mutually distinct.
Let r ⫽ 1 and m1, m2, and m3 are mutually distinct. Suppose m = 共m1 , m2 , m3兲 苸 S共q兲. Denote
the six permutations in P共3兲 by

␶1 = 共1,2,3兲, ␶2 = 共3,1,2兲, ␶3 = 共2,3,1兲,

␶4 = 共1,3,2兲, ␶5 = 共2,1,3兲, ␶6 = 共3,2,1兲.

Claim 2: m共␶4兲, m共␶5兲, and m共␶6兲 are not in Sm共q兲.
Note that the center of mass c is fixed for a given r by 共2.5兲. The center of mass is 共m2
+ m3共1 + r兲兲 / M for m共␶1兲 and the center of mass is 共m3 + m2共1 + r兲兲 / M for m共␶4兲. If m共␶4兲
苸 Sm共q兲, we have m2 + m3共1 + r兲 = m3 + m2共1 + r兲, which implies that m2 = m3. This contradiction
proves that m共␶4兲 is not in Sm共q兲. Similar arguments prove that m共␶5兲 and m共␶6兲 are not in Sm共q兲.
Claim 3: m共␶2兲 and m共␶3兲 cannot be in Sm共q兲 simultaneously.
If not, the center of mass m, the center of mass m共␶2兲, and the center of mass m共␶3兲 should be
same, i.e.,

m2 + m3共1 + r兲 = m1 + m2共1 + r兲 = m3 + m1共1 + r兲,

which implies that m1 = m2. This contradiction proves the claim.
The three claims prove that Sm共q兲 = 0 or Sm共q兲 = 1 for any m 苸 S共q兲 and any q = 共0 , 1 , 1 + r兲.
Now we study the case of m共␶2兲 苸 Sm共q兲. Because m共␶2兲 is a permutation of m, M = m1 + m2
+ m3 = m␶2共1兲 + m␶2共2兲 + m␶2共3兲 is a constant. If m共␶2兲 is in Sm共q兲, then m共␶2兲 should be given by Eq.
共2.4兲 with different ␭, say ␭2, i.e.,

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 042902-5 Super central configurations J. Math. Phys. 51, 042902 共2010兲

m␶2共1兲 = 共1 + r兲2共M − ␭2r3兲/d共r兲,

m␶2共2兲 = r2共− M + ␭2共1 + r兲3兲/d共r兲,

m␶2共3兲 = r2共1 + r兲2共M − ␭2兲/d共r兲. 共2.6兲

By setting m1 = m␶2共2兲 and m2 = m␶2共3兲, we solve for ␭ and ␭2,

M共r5 + 3r4 + 4r3 − 2r − 1兲

␭= ,
r2共1 + 3r + 4r2 + 3r3 + r4兲

M共r5 + 2r4 − 4r2 − 3r − 1兲

␭2 = − . 共2.7兲
r2共1 + 3r + 4r2 + 3r3 + r4兲
When we substitute ␭ and ␭2 into m3 and m␶2共1兲, we have m3 = m␶2共1兲, which implies that m共␶2兲 is
a permutation of m for the above ␭ and ␭2. Substituting ␭ into 共2.4兲, we have

m1 = M f 1共r兲/g共r兲, m2 = M f 2共r兲/g共r兲, m3 = M f 3共r兲/g共r兲,

where

f 1共r兲 = 1 + 4r + 6r2 + 3r3 − 3r4 − 3r5 − r6 ,

f 2共r兲 = − 1 − 3r − 3r2 + 3r3 + 6r4 + 4r5 + r6 ,

f 3共r兲 = 1 + 2r + r2 − r3 + r4 + 2r5 + r6 ,

g共r兲 = 共1 + 2r + r2 + 2r3 + r4兲共r2 + r + 1兲. 共2.8兲

We need f i共r兲 ⬎ 0 in order to have mi ⬎ 0. Note that f 3共r兲 ⬎ 0 for all r ⬎ 0. By Descartes’ rule and
intermediate theorem, f 1共r兲 = 0 has the unique positive root r̄ and r̄ is greater than 1 because
f 1共1兲 = 7 and f 1共⬁兲 = −⬁. Similarly, f 2共r兲 = 0 has the unique positive root rគ and rគ is less than 1
because f 2共0兲 = −1 and f 2共1兲 = 7. Note that f 1共r兲 = −r6 f 2共1 / r兲, we have r̄ = 1 / rគ . Numerically, rគ
= 0.787 516 154 2 and r̄ = 1.269 815 222. So m1, m2, and m3 are positive for any r 苸 共rគ , r̄兲. By
direct computation, we have

m1 − m3 = 共1 − r兲共2r4 + 7r3 + 11r2 + 7r + 2兲rM/g共r兲,

m3 − m2 = 共1 − r兲共2r4 + 7r3 + 11r2 + 7r + 2兲M/g共r兲.

So when rគ ⬍ r ⬍ 1, we have 共a兲 m2 ⬍ m3 ⬍ m1, 共b兲 m 苸 S共q兲, 共c兲 #Sm共q兲 = 1, and

Sm共q兲 = 兵m共␶2兲 = 共m3,m1,m2兲其.

When 1 ⬍ r ⬍ r̄, we have 共a兲 m1 ⬍ m3 ⬍ m2, 共b兲 m 苸 S共q兲, 共c兲 #Sm共q兲 = 1, and

Sm共q兲 = 兵m共␶2兲 = 共m3,m1,m2兲其.

The proof for m共␶3兲 = 共m2 , m3 , m1兲 苸 Sm共q兲 is very similar to the proof for m共␶2兲 苸 Sm共q兲, and thus
the proof is omitted. We only give the results.
If m共␶3兲 苸 Sm共q兲, then r ⫽ 1 should be in 共rគ , r̄兲 and

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 042902-6 Zhifu Xie J. Math. Phys. 51, 042902 共2010兲

M共r5 + 2r4 − 4r2 − 3r − 1兲 M共r5 + 3r4 + 4r3 − 2r − 1兲

␭=− , ␭3 = ,
r2共1 + 3r + 4r2 + 3r3 + r4兲 r2共1 + 3r + 4r2 + 3r3 + r4兲

m1 = M f 3共r兲/g共r兲, m2 = M f 1共r兲/g共r兲, m3 = M f 2共r兲/g共r兲.

And when rគ ⬍ r ⬍ 1, we have 共a兲 m3 ⬍ m1 ⬍ m2, 共b兲 m 苸 S共q兲, 共c兲 #Sm共q兲 = 1, and

Sm共q兲 = 兵m共␶3兲 = 共m2,m3,m1兲其.

When 1 ⬍ r ⬍ r̄, we have 共a兲 m2 ⬍ m1 ⬍ m3, 共b兲 m 苸 S共q兲, 共c兲 #Sm共q兲 = 1, and

Sm共q兲 = 兵m共␶3兲 = 共m2,m3,m1兲其.

This completes the proof of Theorem 1.3. 䊐

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was partially supported by RIG Grant 共No. 2137, 2008-2009兲 from Virginia State
University.
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