Exact Solution of the Two-Body Problem

1 Differential Equations of Motion

Newton solved the problem of two bodies by means of the law of general gravitation. In this
solution, the action of the third body is not taken into account. With this approximation, this
problem is called a two-body problem. From the law of general gravitation, Kepler's three laws
for the motion of the planets around the Sun are derived. The first law is obtained in a general
form, which means that it describes the motion not only of the planets, but also of other bodies in
the Solar System (comets). The second law and the third law are obtained as correct for the
motion of the planets around the Sun and the satellites around the planets. In the third law the
mass ratio of the planets appears, which is an important factor in the case of the large planets
Jupiter and Saturn. The departure from the third law was noticed by Kepler himself in the case of
Jupiter and Saturn, but he could not explain it.
We will study the relative motion of the planet around the Sun, which means that the Sun is
assumed to be at rest. According to the law of general gravitation, the force with which the Sun
acts on the planet is:

where m is the mass of the planet, M is the mass of the Sun (central body), r is the distance
between the planet and the Sun and k is the constant of proportionality. According to Newton's
second law, the Sun gives the planet the acceleration:

The minus sign is taken according to the convention that the acceleration has the direction from
the planet to the Sun (because, as we assumed, the Sun is at the origin). The acceleration which
the planet gives to the Sun is:

Assuming the Sun as stationary, the resultant acceleration of the planet relative to the Sun will
be:

which has planet-Sun direction.

Denoting:

for the acceleration of the planet to the Sun in vector form, we have:
We set the Oxyz orthogonal coordinate system with the origin at the Sun. The acceleration
components, projected onto the coordinate axes are:

(1)
where:

To find the trajectory of the planet around the Sun, we must integrate the system of differential
equations (1). We multiply the third equation of (1) by y and the second equation by z and
subtract them. We multiply the first equation by z and the third equation by x and subtract them.
We multiply the second equation by x and the first equation by z and subtract them. We obtain:

(2)
We express these equations in the form:

Integrating these equations, we have

(3)
Relations (3) are called integrals of the areas.
Multiplying the first equation of (3) by x, the second by y, the third by z and adding them, we
obtain
This is the algebraic equation of the plane. This means that the motion of the planet is carried out
in a plane which passes through the center of the coordinate system, i.e. through the center of the
Sun.
To simplify the problem, we take , which means that the plane of motion of the planet
lies on the coordinate plane Oxy. Then, from the system of differential equations (1) two
equations remain, while from the system of differential equations (3) only one equation remains:

(4)
We switch to polar coordinates (more suitable for the nature of the problem):

First time derivatives of the polar coordinates are:

We replace these derivatives in the third equation of the system (4):

obtaining:

(5)
This equation represent the second Kepler’s law – the law of areas, which can be written in the
form:

2 Determination of the Orbit

To find the shape of the orbit, we multiply the first two equations of the system (1) by and ,
respectively, and adding them we have:

Performing some mathematical operations, we obtain:

Integrating, we have:

(6)

This equation is called the integral of kinetic energy. The constant is determined by the
initial conditions. Assume that at the time of observation, the planet had the speed and is
located at the distance from the Sun. From equation (6) we have:

(7)
Expressing the square of the velocity in polar coordinates, we have:

(8)
By the equation (5), we have:

Replacing this into the equation (8), we have:

(9)

For we replace the relation (6), obtaining:

From this:
Integrating yields:

From this, we find for r:

Denoting:

we obtain:

We see that the orbit of the planet is one of the conic sections: hyperbola, parabola or ellipse.
The shape of the orbit depends on the eccentricity of the conic section in the following manner:

If , then : Ellipse.
 If , then : Parabola.

If , then : Hyperbola.

From equation (7), we find that the orbit is:

An ellipse, when

A parabola, when

A hyperbola, when

Problem. Calculate the elliptical velocity, the parabolic velocity and the hyperbolic velocity for
a body in the Solar System, with a mass much smaller than the mass of the Sun, located at the
average distance of the Earth from the Sun (near the Earth).

According to the above analysis for the planets of the Solar System, the velocity is always
elliptical and they revolve around the Sun in elliptical orbits, as predicted by Kepler. Some
comets in the Solar System have hyperbolic and parabolic velocities. Kepler could not discover
this fact because he derived his laws only from observations of the motion of the planets.
Finally, let's derive the Kepler's third law. We know that for one complete revolution of the
planet around the Sun, we have:

On the other hand, we have the relationship of the constant with the ellipse parameter:

From geometry we know that:

Therefore:
yielding:

(10)