Received: Added at production Revised: Added at production Accepted: Added at production

DOI: xxx/xxxx

Accepted Article
ARTICLE TYPE

Escaping orbits in the 𝑁-body ring problem

Juan F. Navarro* | M. C. Martínez–Belda

1 Department of Applied Mathematics,

University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
Correspondence
*Juan F. Navarro, Carretera San Vicente del
Raspeig s/n, 03690, Alicante. Email:
jf.navarro@ua.es
Present Address
Carretera San Vicente del Raspeig s/n,
03690, Alicante
Summary
The aim of this paper is to start a numerical exploration of the escape in the 𝑁-
body ring problem. When the energy of the orbits is larger than the escape energy,
test particles may escape through any of the 𝑁 openings of the potential well. We
have computed the “basins" of escape towards the different directions by means of
Poincaré sections. We have also analyzed the proportion of escaping orbits and the
direction of escape.

KEYWORDS:
𝑁-body ring problem, Escape, Celestial Mechanics

1 INTRODUCTION

The analysis of the behaviour of escaping particles from dynamical systems has attracted the interest of many scientists over
the years, and it is also a present active field of research. Likewise, the 𝑁-body problem is one of the most important issues
in Celestial Mechanics. This dynamical system describes the motion of a particle attracted by the gravitational field of 𝑁 + 1
bodies. The 𝑁-body ring problem is a simplification of the scenario, consisting of 𝑁 equidistant primaries of equal masses on
the periphery of a circle and a central primary of different mass. The primaries move around the centre of mass of the system
with constant angular velocity. The interest in this problem has increased during the last three decades, due to the discovery of
rings around all the gas giant planets in the Solar System. In addition, the existence of natural satellites orbiting some asteroids
and recent missions such as the one of The China National Space Administration, which is planning to launch a spacecraft to
explore one of Earth’s nearest non-moon neighbours, make this model a useful tool, since it can provide additional qualitative
information.
The ring configuration in the 𝑁-body problem was first introduced by Maxwell in his study of Saturn’s rings. 19 Maxwell
considered that the rings consist of a great number of small particles orbiting Saturn at a common radius and uniformly distributed
about a circle of this radius, and proved, among other things, that the relative equilibrium formed by an 𝑛-gon of small equal
masses in orbit around a single large mass is stable. In 1889, Tisserand 28 reformulated Maxwell’s analysis and presented a
relation between the mass of each ring particle and the number of them in order that the system be linearly stable. Willerding 29
continued Maxwell study, analyzing the behaviour of density waves appearing in narrow planetary rings in a general central
potential, and Salo and Yoder 23 examined the stability of a many-body system in an anular arrangement. Goudas 15 used the same
principle to explain the Saturn’s rings by means of its 𝑁-dipole system. In 1999, Kalvouridis derived the equations of motion
of a particle of negligible mass under the gravitatory influence of a planar configuration consisting of 𝑁 primaries arranged in
equal arcs on an ideal ring and a central body of different mass located at the centre of mass of the system. 16,17 Some years
later, Barrabés 4 and co-workers analyzed a limit case of this problem, when 𝑁 is taken very large and the mass of each of the
𝑁 primaries is very small.
The aim of this work is to start an investigation of the escape of a particle from the 𝑁-body ring configuration. The escapes
of a particle from a dynamical system is a subject that has attracted much interest in the last decades. 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,20,25,30,31
When the energy of a particle is larger than the energy of escape, the curve of zero velocity opens and many particles escape

This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting,
typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of
Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/cmm4.1067
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
 2 Juan F. Navarro ET AL

from the potential well. However, there are regions of orbits that never escape, or escape after a very long time. For each value

Accepted Article
of the energy larger than the energy of escape, there is a highly unstable periodic orbit that bridge the minimum openings of the
curve of zero velocity. The sets of escaping orbits are limited by the orbits asymptotic to the Lyapunov orbits.
The main objective of this paper is to perform a numerical exploration of the 𝑁-body ring problem in order to determine
which orbits escape and which remain trapped in the potential well, locating the basins of escape leading to different escape
channels, and trying to connect them with the corresponding escape times of the orbits.
The present article is organized as follows. In Section 2 we describe the properties of the potential of the 𝑁-body ring
problem. The numerical method used in order to determine the nature (trapped/escaping) of orbits is described in Section 3. In
the following Section, we conduct a thorough analysis of a set of initial conditions of orbits presenting in detail all the numerical
results of our computations. Our article ends with Section 5, where the conclusions and the discussion of this research are
presented.

2 EQUATIONS OF MOTION

The 𝑁-body ring problem consists of a central body, 𝑃0 , with mass 𝑚0 located at the center of mass of the system, and 𝑁 small
bodies of equal masses, 𝑚, arranged at equal distances among them on the periphery of a circle or, equivalently, at the vertices of
a regular polygon. 18 These 𝑁 bodies are rotating on its own plane around the mass center. We are interested in the motion of a
particle 𝑆 of negligible mass moving under the resultant gravitational action of this system. We will refer to the configuration’s
massive bodies as “primaries". 18
We assume that the peripheral primaries rotate at constant angular velocity, here taken as unity. One of the existing axes of
symmetry of the primaries’ configuration is taken as the 𝑥-axis of a synodic coordinate system 𝑂𝑥𝑦𝑧, that is, a reference frame
rigidly attached to the primaries, with origin 𝑂 at the center of mass of the system. After the transformation of the physical
quantities to dimensionless ones, and considering the side of the regular polygon as unity, the equations which describe the
planar motion of the small body 𝑆 are 16,17

(1)
𝜕𝑈 𝜕𝑈
𝑥̈ = 2𝑦̇ + , 𝑦̈ = −2𝑥̇ + .
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦
The Jacobian integral of motion is given by
𝐶 = 2𝑈 (𝑥, 𝑦) − (𝑥̇ 2 + 𝑦̇ 2 ) , (2)
where 𝐶 is the Jacobian constant, and
( )
𝛽 ∑ 1
𝑁
1 1
𝑈 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑥2 + 𝑦2 ) + + .
2 Δ 𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟𝜈
Here, 𝛽 = 𝑚0 ∕𝑚 is the ratio of the central mass to a peripheral one,
√
𝑟0 = 𝑥2 + 𝑦2
is the distance from the central body to the test particle, and
√
𝑟𝜈 = (𝑥 − 𝑥∗𝜈 )2 + (𝑦 − 𝑦∗𝜈 )2 ,
for 𝜈 = 1, 2, … , 𝑁, are the distances of the particle from the peripheral primaries. The quantities 𝑥∗𝜈 and 𝑦∗𝜈 are the coordinates
of the peripheral primaries,
1 1
𝑥∗𝜈 = cos(2(𝜈 − 1)𝜃) , 𝑦∗𝜈 = sin(2(𝜈 − 1)𝜃) ,
2 sin 𝜃 2 sin 𝜃
and Δ is given by
Δ = 𝑀(Λ + 𝛽𝑀 2 ) ,
where
∑
𝑁
sin2 𝜃 cos((𝑁∕2 + 1 − 𝜈)𝜃) ∑
𝑁
sin2 𝜃
Λ= = ,
𝜈=2 sin2 ((𝑁 + 1 − 𝜈)𝜃) 𝜈=2
sin((𝜈 − 1)𝜃)
and √
𝑀= 2(1 − cos 𝜓) = 2 sin 𝜃 .
In these formulas, 𝜓 is the angle between the central and two succesive peripheral primaries, and 𝜃 = 𝜓∕2 = 𝜋∕𝑁.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 3

The curves of zero velocity can be obtained through

Accepted Article 2
𝐶 = 2𝑈 (𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑥 + 𝑦 +

𝛽 = 2 and several values of the Jacobi constant 𝐶.

2
Δ
2
(
𝛽 ∑ 1
+
𝑁

𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟𝜈
)
.

These curves form the boundaries that the test particle can not cross. In Figure 1, we show the curves of zero velocity for 𝑁 = 5,
(3)

There is a critical value of the Jacobi constant, denoted by 𝐶𝑒 , such that, for smaller values of 𝐶, the potential well opens up to
infinity and test particles may escape. Due to the symmetries of the potential, the well opens up at 𝑁 places in the configuration
space (see Figure 2). For each value of 𝐶 smaller than 𝐶𝑒 , there is a highly unstable periodic orbit that bridges the minimum
openings of the curve of zero velocity, bouncing back and forth between the two walls of the pass. Such orbits are called
“Lyapunov orbits" and they are always unstable. Their most important property is that any orbit crossing them outwards moves
always outwards and escapes from the system. These orbits intersect perpendicularly the lines defined by
𝜋
𝑦 = tan(2(𝜈 − 1)𝜃)𝑥 , 𝜃 = ,
𝑁
for 𝜈 = 1, … , 𝑁. We have numbered the openings of the potential well, as well as the associated Lyapunov orbits (𝜙𝜈 , 𝜈 =
1, … , 5) as detailed in Figure 2. Inside the region defined by the Lyapunov orbits, there are sets of orbits that escape, and sets
of orbits which remain trapped.
The critical value 𝐶𝑒 of the Jacobi constant can be calculated by following the procedure described by Caranicolas. 9 To that
end, the equation of the curves of zero velocity is rearranged as
( )
2 𝛽 ∑ 1
𝑁
2 2
𝐹 (𝑥, 𝑦) = 𝑥 + 𝑦 + + − 𝐶 = 0. (4)
Δ 𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟𝜈
The points of the 𝑥 − 𝑦 plane where the curves of zero velocity open are the saddle points of (4). First, we solve the system
( )
∗
𝑥 ∑ 𝑥 − 𝑥𝜈
𝑁
𝜕𝐹 2
= 2𝑥 − 𝛽 3+ = 0,
𝜕𝑥 Δ 𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟3𝜈
( )
∗
𝑦 ∑ 𝑦 − 𝑦𝜈
𝑁
2
(5)
𝜕𝐹
= 2𝑦 − 𝛽 3+ = 0,
𝜕𝑦 Δ 𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟3𝜈
which provides the critical points of (4). These points are also the equilibria of the system.
In the present work, we have used the parameters 𝛽 = 2 and 𝑁 = 5. The equilibria of the system, which are found numerically,
are arranged in equal arcs on concentric circumferences centered at the origin. In Figure 3 we have depicted the curves that result,
in our particular case, for the partial derivatives, 𝐹𝑥 and 𝐹𝑦 , as well as the circumferences containing the equilibria. According
to Kalvoridius 16 , we have only three different zones if 𝑁 ≤ 6, which we denote as 𝐴1 , 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 , with 𝑁 equilibria in each
one. All points that belong to a particular zone are characterized by the same Jacobi constant. We shall refer to as 𝐶𝐴1 , 𝐶𝐶1 and
𝐶𝐶2 . Zone 𝐴1 consists of the equilibria which lie on the lines connecting the central body with a peripheral primary and they are
located between them. Zone 𝐶2 consists of the equilibria which lie on the same lines as those of the zone 𝐴1 but they are outside
the peripheral primaries. Finally, zone 𝐶2 consists of the equilibria which lie in the regions between the central body and two
successive peripheral primaries, but outside the peripheral primaries. The values of the Jacobi constants are 𝐶𝐴1 = 4.176823126,
𝐶𝐶2 = 3.642984268 and 𝐶𝐶1 = 3.971595480, and the radii of the circumferences are 𝑟𝐴1 = 0.4880617835, 𝑟𝐶2 = 1.062230640
and 𝑟𝐶1 = 1.312776448, respectively.
The saddle points of (4) are those of the critical points satisfying the condition
( 2 ) ( 2 ) ( 2 )2
𝜕 𝐹 𝜕 𝐹 𝜕 𝐹
𝑆= 2 2
− < 0,
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥𝜕𝑦
and correspond to the critical energy values 𝐶𝐴1 and 𝐶𝐶1 . The other 5 critical points are relative extrema and lead to the value
𝐶𝐶2 . For every value of the energy 𝐶 smaller than 𝐶𝐶1 the potential well opens up to infinity and, therefore, we can conclude that
𝐶𝑒 = 𝐶𝐶1 . In our computations, we have taken 𝐶 = 3.96, a value of the Jacobi constant slightly smaller than the critical one.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 4 Juan F. Navarro ET AL

Accepted Article

FIGURE 1 Curves of zero velocity for 𝑁 = 5, 𝛽 = 2 and 𝐶 = 4.2 (upper-left panel), 𝐶 = 4 (upper-right panel), 𝐶 = 3.96
(lower-left panel) and 𝐶 = 3.9 (lower-right panel). We show in gray the regions where the particle motion is impossible to
happen.

3 INTEGRATION OF THE EQUATIONS OF MOTION

The study of the escape of a particle from the potential well of the 𝑁-body ring problem requires the integration of the equations
of motion of the problem over long spans of time. Thus, an accurate integration of these equations is needed in order to explore
the long-term behavior of the solutions of the problem. Navarro 21 adapted the ideas of Deprit and Price 14 and Steffensen 27 to
the equations of motion of the 𝑁-body ring problem. The fourth-order system of differential equations was replaced there by a
system of 6 + 2𝑁 first-order differential equations. Navarro proved that the system is integrable by means of recurrent power

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 5

Accepted Article

FIGURE 2 Curves of zero velocity for 𝑁 = 5, 𝛽 = 2 and 𝐶 = 3.96 (left). There is a highly unstable periodic orbit (right)
bridging the minimum openings of the curve of zero velocity.

series (RPS), and also that these series are convergent for any set of initial conditions, excluding those corresponding to binary
collisions. He also checked the benefits of the integration by RPS over short spans of time, against more classical methods, like
the Runge–Kutta of order 4 (RK4), the Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg method (RKF) (with constant and variable step size) and the
Dormand–Prince (DOPRI5) (with constant and variable step size). Navarro and Vargas 22 analyzed the integration by RPS over
long spans of time for large values of 𝑁 and compared the results against some other methods. They showed that if the initial
conditions of the problem lead to a regular orbit, the long term numerical solution is reliable.
We have performed the integration of the equations of motion of the 𝑁-body problem by means of the RPS method, as this
method is much more accurate than RK4, RKF and DOPRI5. 21 Moreover, RPS achieves the smallest computational time, com-
pared with the other three methods. The Jacobi constant associated with the RPS solution of the equations of motion remained
the same to 17 significant figures. Only RKF and DOPRI5 with variable step sizes achieve a similar accuracy in the Jacobi
constant, but RPS performs the numerical integration 100 and 1000 times faster than DOPRI5 and RKF, respectively.
The equations of motion described by equation (1) are given by
𝑥̇ = 𝑞 ,
𝑦̇ = 𝑝 ,
𝜕𝑈
𝑥̈ = 𝑞̇ = 2𝑝 + ,
𝜕𝑥
(6)
𝜕𝑈
𝑦̈ = 𝑝̇ = −2𝑞 + ,
𝜕𝑦
that is,
𝑥̇ = 𝑞 ,
𝑦̇ = 𝑝 ,
( )
∗
𝑥 ∑ 𝑥 − 𝑥𝜈
𝑁
1
𝑞̇ = 2𝑝 + 𝑥 − 𝛽 3+ ,
Δ 𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟3𝜈
( )
∗
𝑦 ∑ 𝑦 − 𝑦𝜈
𝑁
1
𝑝̇ = −2𝑞 + 𝑦 − 𝛽 3+ . (7)
Δ 𝑟0 𝜈=1 𝑟3𝜈

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 6 Juan F. Navarro ET AL

Accepted Article
1.8

y
1.2

0.6

-0 .6

-1.2

x
-1.8
-1.8 -1.2 -0 .6 0 0 .6 1.2 1.8

FIGURE 3 Partial derivatives, 𝐹𝑥 and 𝐹𝑦 , for 𝛽 = 2 and 𝑁 = 5. The critical points are arranged in equal arcs on concentric
circumferences centered at the origin.

With the introduction of the quantities

1 1
𝑅0 = 𝛽
3
, 𝑅𝜈 = 3 , (8)
𝑟0 𝑟𝜈
for 𝜈 = 1, … , 𝑁, the derivatives of 𝑅0 and 𝑅𝜈 are obtained through
𝑟0 𝑅̇ 0 = −3𝑅0 𝑟̇ 0 , 𝑟𝜈 𝑅̇ 𝜈 = −3𝑅𝜈 𝑟̇ 𝜈 , (9)
with 𝜈 = 1, … , 𝑁.
Hence, the equations (7) may be replaced by a system of 6 + 2𝑁 differential equations,
𝑥̇ = 𝑞 ,
𝑦̇ = 𝑝 ,
𝑟0 𝑟̇ 0 = 𝑥𝑥̇ + 𝑦𝑦̇ ,
𝑟𝜈 𝑟̇ 𝜈 = (𝑥 − 𝑥∗𝜈 )𝑥̇ + (𝑦 − 𝑦∗𝜈 )𝑦̇ ,
𝑟0 𝑅̇ 0 = −3𝑅0 𝑟̇ 0 ,
𝑟𝜈 𝑅̇ 𝜈 = −3𝑅𝜈 𝑟̇ 𝜈 ,
( )
1 ∑𝑁
𝑞̇ = 2𝑝 + 𝑥 − 𝑥𝑅0 + (𝑥 − 𝑥∗𝜈 )𝑅𝜈 ,
Δ 𝜈=1
( )
1 ∑𝑁
𝑝̇ = −2𝑞 + 𝑦 − 𝑦𝑅0 + ∗
(𝑦 − 𝑦𝜈 )𝑅𝜈 , (10)
Δ 𝜈=1

where 𝜈 = 1, … , 𝑁. Equations (10) lend themselves to an integration by recurrent power series (RPS).
The RPS method allows us to determine an optimum value of the integration step to secure the desired accuracy of the
numerical solution. 21 The precision of the method has been fixed to 𝜖 = 10−23 , and the number of term series to 26.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 7

Accepted Article
.
x

FIGURE 4 Region of allowed initial conditions in the phase (𝑥, 𝑥),

̇ for 𝑁 = 5 and 𝐶 = 3.96.

4 ANALYSIS OF THE NUMERICAL RESULTS

In order to explore the escape dynamics of a test particle in the 𝑁-body ring problem, we need to define samples of initial
conditions of orbits. To this end, we have defined a grid of initial conditions regularly distributed in the area allowed by the
value of the energy. Our investigation is focused on the (𝑥, 𝑥)̇ space, taking as surface of section the hyperplane 𝑦 = 0. The step
size of the initial conditions along the 𝑥 and 𝑥̇ axes has been fixed to 0.0025, that is, we have created a grid dense enough of
equally spaced initial conditions of orbits to analyze the system. Therefore, we consider orbits with initial conditions (𝑥0 , 𝑥̇ 0 )
with 𝑦0 = 0, while the initial value of 𝑦̇ 0 is obtained through the equation
√
𝑦̇ 0 = + 2𝑈 (𝑥0 , 0) − 𝐶 − 𝑥̇ 20 .
Thus, the initial conditions must be taken in the domain 𝐷 defined by the equation
𝐷 = {(𝑥0 , 𝑥̇ 0 ) ∈ ℝ2 ∶ 𝑈 (𝑥0 , 0) − 𝑥̇ 20 ≥ 𝐶} .
In Figure 4, we represent (in grey) this domain.
We have performed the numerical integration over 𝑇 = 102 , 103 and 104 time units as a maximum time of numerical inte-
gration, to analyze the distribution of times of escape of the test particle. The escape time 𝑡esc is defined as the time a particle
needs to cross one of the Lyapunov orbits with velocity pointing outwards.
We should clarify at this point that orbits that do not escape after a numerical integration of 104 time units are considered as
non-escaping or trapped orbits. Our numerical calculations indicate that the percentage of escaping orbits do not vary signifi-
cantly by considering a maximum time of integration 𝑇 of 103 or 104 . Whereas for a maximum integration time of 102 units
only 21.3% of orbits escape from the potential well, for 𝑇 = 103 and 104 , the percentages of escaping orbits are 52.03% and
52.75%, respectively. Thus, we conclude that considering 𝑇 = 103 is enough to study the escape in this configuration of the
𝑁-body ring problem. Besides, focusing on this value of 𝑇 , we observe that more than 21% of orbits escape from the well in a
maximum time of 100 units, and 50% of the orbits escape in a time lower than 660 units. Indeed, nearly 41% of the total number
of escaping orbits need 100 units of time or less to find one of the 𝑁 openings in the curves of zero velocity, and considering
a maximum time of 660 units, the vast majority of them (95%) escape. Figure 5 shows a pair of escaping orbits with different
times of escape (𝑡esc = 8 (orbit in left panel) and 𝑡esc = 94 (orbit in right panel)).

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 8 Juan F. Navarro ET AL

Accepted Article

FIGURE 5 Characteristic examples of escaping orbits in the 𝑁-body ring problem for 𝑁 = 5, 𝐶 = 3.96 presenting different
times of escape: 𝑡esc = 8 (left) and 𝑡esc = 94 (right).

FIGURE 6 Evolution of 100 𝑝(𝑡𝑛−1 , 𝑡𝑛 ), percentage of escaping orbits between 𝑡𝑛−1 = 10(𝑛 − 1) and 𝑡𝑛 = 10𝑛 (left panel), and
100 𝑃 (𝑡𝑛 ), percentage of escaping orbits before 𝑡𝑛 = 10𝑛 (right panel), for 𝑛 = 1, 2, … , 10.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 9

Accepted Article

FIGURE 7 Evolution of 100 𝑝(𝑡𝑛−1 , 𝑡𝑛 ), percentage of escaping orbits between 𝑡𝑛−1 = 10(𝑛 − 1) and 𝑡𝑛 = 10𝑛 (left panel), and
100 𝑃 (𝑡𝑛 ), percentage of escaping orbits before 𝑡𝑛 = 10𝑛 (right panel), for 𝑛 = 1, 2, … , 100.

FIGURE 8 Evolution of 100 𝑝(𝑡𝑛−1 , 𝑡𝑛 ), percentage of escaping orbits between 𝑡𝑛−1 = 10(𝑛 − 1) and 𝑡𝑛 = 10𝑛 (left panel), and
100 𝑃 (𝑡𝑛 ), percentage of escaping orbits before 𝑡𝑛 = 10𝑛 (right panel), for 𝑛 = 1, 2, … , 1000.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 1012 Juan ET
Juan F. Navarro F. Navarro
AL ET AL

Accepted Article

FIGURE
FIGURE 9 9 S Structure
t ruc t ure of oft h the
e p h phase
as e (𝑥,(𝑥, f ̇or for
̇ 𝑥)
𝑥) 𝑁= 𝑁5,=𝐶5,=𝐶3.96 and aand
= 3.96 m ax ai m maximum
um t i m e oftime
i nt e gofratintegration 102𝑇. = 102 .
i on of 𝑇 = of

Sit probability
26. The arski G . R e c of
urreescape
nt p ow between
e r s e ri e s i times
nt e g rat𝑡 i on of t h e e q uat i ons of c om e t ’ s m ot i on. Acta Astronomica. 1 9 7 9 ; 2 9 : 4 0 1 – 4 1 1 .
1 and 𝑡2 , can be defined by
27. S t e ff e ns e n JF. O n t h e re s t ri c t e d p rob l e m of t h re e b od i e s . Kgl Danske
𝑁escVidenskab Selskab, Mat Fys Medd. 1 9 5 6 ; 3 0 ( 1 8 ) : 1 7 .
𝑝(𝑡1 , 𝑡2 ) = ,
𝑁𝑇
28. Ti s s e rand F. Traité de Mechanique Céleste, Tome II. P ari s : G aut h i e r– V i l l ars 1 8 8 9 .
where 𝑁esc is the number of particles escaping between 𝑡1 and 𝑡2 , out of a total number of particles 𝑁𝑇 . As commented at the
29. W i l l e rdofi ngthis
beginning E. Th
section, e ory of the d e nsinitial i t y w ave s i n narrowof p the
conditions l ane 𝑁 t ary𝑇 particles
ri ng s . Astron are Astrophys. 1 9 8 6 ; 1 6 1 : 4 0 in
regularly distributed 3 – the
4 0 7 .region of the (𝑥, 𝑥) ̇ space
allowed by the value of the energy. We can also define the quantity (𝑡)
30. Z ot os EE. Trap p e d and e s c ap i ng orb i t s i n an ax i al l y s y m m e t ri c g al ac t i c – t y p e p ot e nt i al . PASA. 2 0 1 2 ; 2 9 : 1 6 1 – 1 7 3 .
𝑃 = 𝑝(0, 𝑡) as the probability of escape before time
𝑡. In Figures 6, 7 and 8, we show the quantities 100 𝑝(𝑡𝑛−1 , 𝑡𝑛 ) and 100 𝑃 (𝑡𝑛 ) for a set of times given by 𝑡𝑛 = 10 𝑛, for any
𝑛31. = 1,Z ot2,os…EE. Es c ap and
, 𝑇 ∕10, e d y fornam ai c maximum
s i n a H am i time l t oni an
of s integration
y s t e m w i t h fof our𝑇 e = x i t 10
c h 2anne
, 103l s and
. Nonlinear
104 . Studies. 2 0 1 5 ; 2 2 ( 3 ) : 1 – 2 0 .
The initial conditions on the surface of section (𝑥, 𝑥) ̇ that lead to escapes through the various Lyapunov orbits form the
corresponding “basins of escape". In Figures 9 and 10, we show the basins of escape considering a maximum time of numerical
integration of 𝑇 = 102 , 103 and 104 respectively, for the value of the Jacobi constant 𝐶 = 3.96. We have used different colors
A U T H O R B IO G R A P H Y
in order to distinguish between the five channels of escape, and initial conditions leading to collisions (black). Initial conditions
colored in green correspond Juan F . N a to v a orbits
r r o com leavingple ted the his PhD potentialdeg re well e f rom through
t h e U ni the ve rs opening
i t y of Al i 1. Initial
c ant e , Al i conditions
c ant e , S p ai n,ini nlight2 0 0 2blue,
. H e idark s blue,
dark red and yellow correspond to orbits escaping through channels 2, 3, 4 and
a re c i p i e nt of t h e Ex t raord i nary Aw ard of t h e U ni ve rs i t y of Al i c ant e f or h i s m as t e r t h e s i s on t h e rot at i on of 5, respectively. We observe large connected
domains, that leadt h toe rithe g i d sameEart h kind . Th i s ofw ork escape, t ook p butart also
i n t h e somep roj e c regions
t Pinpoint where the different
positioning basinsw orld
in a w obbly are intricately
aw ard e d w i tmixed. h t h e These
regions have fractal Descar structure. tes P ri z There e i n 2 0 are0 3 , also an annualthree awmain ard i domains
n s c i e nc e in g i vewhite
n b y t corresponding
h e Europ e an U nitooninitial t o out s conditions
t and i ng s c i e whichnt i fi c remain
trapped in the potential ac h i e well.ve m e ntIns Figure re s ul t i ng11, f romwe Europ
show e two an c examples
ol l ab orat i veofreorbits s e arc h with
. H e initial
i s c urre conditions
nt l y P rof e s s in ortheat t hmain
e D e p domains
art m e nt ofof trapped
orbits. Applied Mat hematics, U ni ve rs i t y of Al i c ant e , m e m b e r of t h e S c i e nt i fi c G roup on S p ac e G e od e s y and S p ac e
In the connectedDyndomains amics of t h e U niaround
located ve rs i t y values of Al i c of ant𝑥e , inandthem interval
e m b e r of (0, t h e 0.3),
I nt e rnat
we cani onaldistinguish
As t ronom i c two al U main
ni on. Hstructures:
i s s c i e nt i fi ac primary
structure colored in dark blue, and a secondary structure colored in light blue and infinitely spiraling around the first one. These
two structures correspond to initial conditions of orbits that escape through the exit windows guarded by the Lyapunov periodic
orbits 𝜙3 and 𝜙2 , respectively. We also distinguish in this region some other tertiary and quaternary connected structures colored

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 13
Juan F. F.
Juan Navarro
Navarro
ETET
ALAL 13
11

Accepted Article

1010 10S S t ruc tStructure

t ure ofofof
ruc t ure t h t h ethe
e p p h phase
h asas e e (𝑥, for𝑁
̇ f f or
or and aa m maximum
3.96 and ax i m um t time
i m e ofof integration
i nt e g g rat on of
rat i i on ofof 𝑇𝑇𝑇 = 1033(left)
(lef (lef t t) ) and
and
and
3
FIGURE IGUREF FIGURE (𝑥,𝑥)
(𝑥, ̇𝑥)
̇𝑥) 𝑁 ==5,5,5,𝐶
𝑁= == 3.96
𝐶𝐶 = 3.96 == 10
10
4( ri( rig (right).
g h h t ) t .) .
=10410 4
𝑇𝑇=𝑇=10

interinter e s e t s s t s i nci ncl udl ud e e d d i ff i ff e e re re ntnt p p robrob l e l e m m s s i ni nC C e e l le e s s t t i i alal M M e e c c h h ani

ani c c s s , , s s ucuc h h asas t h e s t ud y of t h e rot at i onal m otot i i on
on ofof t t h h e e Eart
Eart h h , , t t h h e e e e s s c c apap e e
ofof p artp arti c i lc e l se s f rom
1.8 f rom g g alalacac t i t c i c p p otote e ntnti ali als s , , and and t th h e e num num e e riri c c alal e e x x p p l l orat
orat i i on on of t h e 𝑁-body
1.8 ri ng p rob l e m ..
y y
M M . . C C . . M M a a r r t tí n í n e e z z – – B B e e l ld d a a cocom m ple ple ted ted his his PhD PhD deg deg re e f rom t h e U ni ve rs i t y of Al i c ant ant e e , , Al
Al i i c c ant
ant e e , , S S p p aiai n,n, i i nn2 2 0 0 1 1 2 2 . .
1.2
She She i s i s c c urre urre ntntl y l y P P rof rof e e s s s s or
or atat t t h h e e D D e e p p art
art m m e e ntnt ofof 1.2 Ap p l i e d M at h e m at i c s , U ni ve rsrs i i t t y y ofof Al Al i i c c ant
ant e e , , m m e e m m b b e e rr ofof
tt h h e e S S c c i e i e ntnti fi i fi c c G G roup
roup on on S S p p acac e e G G e e odod e e s s y y and and S S p ac e D y nam i c s of t h e U ni ve rs i i t t y y ofof Al Al i c ant e e .. H H e e rr s s c c i ie e ntnti ifi fi c c
i c ant
ininter ter e e s st s t s i nci nc l udl ud e e d d i ffi ff e e rere ntnt p p rob
rob l l e e m m s s i i nn C C e e l l e e s s t t i i alal M e c h ani c s , s uc h as t h e s t ud y ofof t t h h e e rot rot atat i i onal
onal m m otot i i on onofof t th h e e
Earth h orort h t h e e num
Eart num e e riric c alal e e x x p p l l orat
orat i i on on ofof t t h h e e 𝑁- 𝑁-bobody dy ri ng p rob l e m ,, and
and t t h h e e i i m m p p rove
rove m m e e ntnt ofof t t h h e e s s t t abab i i l l i i t t y y ofof t ti im m e e
0.6 0.6

andand f ref re q q ueue ncnc y y t rans t rans f fe e rrw w i i t t h h G G NSNS S S ..

0 0

-0 .6 -0 .6

-1.2 -1.2

x x
-1.8 -1.8
-1.8 -1.2 -0 .6 0 0 .6 1.2 1.8 -1.8 -1.2 -0 .6 0 0 .6 1.2 1.8

FIGURE 11 Two examples of orbits with initial conditions in the main domains of trapped orbits.

in dark red, yellow and green, but with smaller area. These smaller domains correspond to initial conditions of orbits that escape
through the exit windows guarded by 𝜙4 , 𝜙5 and 𝜙1 , respectively.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 12 Juan F. Navarro ET AL

Accepted Article

FIGURE 12 Characteristic examples of orbits in the 𝑁-body right problem, for 𝑁 = 5, 𝐶 = 3.96. First row (left): orbit escaping
through opening 1, first row (right): orbit escaping through opening 2, second row (left): orbit escaping through opening 3,
second row (right): orbit escaping through opening 4, third row (left): orbit escaping through opening 5, third row (right): orbit
remaining inside the potential well.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 13

We can also observe three connected domains located at values of 𝑥 in the interval (0.9, 1.3): green, dark red and yellow,

Accepted Article
which are also interrelated, and correspond to initial conditions of orbits leaving the potential well through the exit windows
guarded by the Lyapunov orbits 𝜙1 , 𝜙4 and 𝜙5 , respectively. In this region, we can observe that orbits with initial conditions
defined by 𝑥̇ > 0 (and 𝑦̇ > 0) escape mainly through the exit window guarded by the Lyapunov orbit 𝜙1 . In a lower proportion,
there are connected domains of orbits that escape through windows guarded by 𝜙5 and 𝜙4 . Orbits with initial conditions defined
by 𝑥̇ < 0 (and 𝑦̇ > 0) escape mainly through the exit window guarded by the Lyapunov orbit 𝜙5 , but also by 𝜙4 and through the
exit channel that corresponds to the Lyapunov orbit 𝜙3 . This means that orbits with initial conditions in the region defined for
values of 𝑥 in the interval (0.9, 1.3) and 𝑦 = 0 escape mainly through the windows guarded by the Lyapunov orbits 𝜙1 , 𝜙4 and
𝜙5 . It is evident that orbits with initial conditions inside the exit basins escape from the system very quickly, or in other words,
they possess extremely small escape periods. On the contrary, orbits with initial conditions located in the fractal parts of the
phase plane need considerable amount of time in order to escape.
In Figure 12, we observe five orbits escaping through openings 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, and one trapped orbit. The initial conditions
of the escaping orbits have been taken from the corresponding basins of escape. We observe that they present different times of
escape, probably due to the way we have defined the surface of section, which does not fit the circular symmetry of the problem.

5 CONCLUSIONS

In this paper, we have started a numerical exploration of the escape of a particle from the 𝑁-body ring configuration, focusing
on the case with 𝑁 = 5 small bodies rotating around a central mass. When the energy of the system is smaller than a critical
value, the curve of zero velocity is open and exhibits 𝑁 channels of escape. We have studied the escape of particles starting
inside the potential well for three maximum integration times (𝑇 = 102 , 103 and 104 ), in order to locate the basins of escape and
to connect them with the escape times of the orbits. To this end, we have defined a grid dense enough in the (𝑥, 𝑥) ̇ phase space.
Our results show that a maximum time of 103 is sufficient to determine the percentage of orbits that escape from the potential
well, as well as to analyze the structure of the basins of escape. Indeed, we have seen that 95% of the escaping orbits need less
than 660 units of time to escape. In addition, we have shown that there are several large domains in the phase space with the
same kind of escape, as well as regions where the different types of escape are intricately mixed. These regions seem to exhibit
fractal structure, so a more detailed analysis of the phase space must be carried out, testing other surface sections with a better
fitting of the symmetry of the problem.

Conflict of interest
The authors declare no potential conflict of interests.

References

1. Aguirre J, Vallejo JC, Sanjuan MAF. Wada basins and chaotic invariant sets in the Hénon–Heiles system. Phys Rev E.
2001;64:066208.

2. Aguirre J, Sanjuan MAF. Limit of small exits in open Hamiltonian systems. Phys Rev E. 2003;67:056201.

3. Aguirre J, Viana RL, Sanjuan MAF. Fractal structures in nonlinear dynamics. Rev Mod Phys. 2009;81:333–386.

4. Barrabés E, Cors JM, Hall GR. Numerical exploration of the limit ring problem. Qual Theory Dyn Syst. 2013;12:25–52.

5. Barbanis B. Escape regions of a quartic potential. Celest Mech Dyn Astron. 1990;48(1):57–77.

6. Barrio R, Blesa F, Serrano S. Fractal structures in the Hénon–Heiles Hamiltonian. Europhys Lett. 2008;82:10003.

7. Barrio R, Blesa F, Serrano S. Bifurcations and safe regions in open Hamiltonians. New Journal of Physics. 2009;11:053004.

8. Barrio R, Blesa F, Serrano S. Bifurcations and chaos in Hamiltonian systems. Int J Bifurcat Chaos. 2010;20(5):1293–1319.

9. Caranicolas ND, Vozikis ChL. Order and chaos in galactic maps. Astron Astrophys. 1999;349:70.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 14 Juan F. Navarro ET AL

10. Contopoulos G. Asymptotic curves and escapes in Hamiltonian systems. Astron Astrophys. 1990;231(1):41–45.

Accepted Article
11. Contopoulos G, Kaufmann D. Types of escapes in a simple Hamiltonian system. Astron Astrophys. 1992;253(2):379–388.

12. De Moura APS, Letelier PS. Fractal basins in Henon-Heiles and other polynomial potentials. Phys Lett A. 1999;256:362–
368.

13. Deprit A, Price JF. The Computation of characteristics exponents in the planar restricted problem of three bodies. The Astr
Journal. 1965;70(10):836–846.

14. Deprit A, Price JF. Numerical integration by recurrent power series. Astron Astrophys. 1969;1:427.

15. Goudas C. The N-dipole problem and the rings of Saturn. Predictability, Stability and Chaos in N-body Dynamical Systems.
NATO ASI series B: Phys. 1991;272:371–385.

16. Kalvouridis TJ. A planar case of the 𝑛+1 body problem: the ‘ring’ problem. Astrophysics and Space Science. 1999;260:309–
325.

17. Kalvouridis TJ. Periodic solutions in the ring problem. Astrophysics and Space Science. 1999;266:467–494.

18. Kalvouridis TJ. On a property of zero–velocity curves in 𝑁–body ring–type systems. Planetary and Space Science.
2004;52:909–914.

19. Maxwell JC. On the stability of motions of Saturn’s rings. Cambridge: Macmillan and Company 1859.

20. Navarro JF, Henrard J. Spiral windows for escaping stars, Astron Astrophys. 2001;369:1112–1121.

21. Navarro JF. Numerical integration of the 𝑁-body ring problem by recurrent power series. Celest Mech Dyn Astr.
2018;130(2):16.

22. Navarro JF, Vargas J. On the long term numerical integration of a planetary ring. J Comput Appl Math. 2019;354:390–401.

23. Salo H, Yoder CF. The dynamics of co–orbital satellite systems. Astron Astrophys. 1988;205:309–327.

24. Scheeres DJ. On symmetric central configurations with application to satellite motion about rings. Ph.D. Thesis. 1992,
University of Michigan.

25. Siopsis C, Kandrup HE, Contopoulos G, Dvorak R. Universal properties of escape in dynamical systems. Celest Mech Dyn
Astron. 1996;65(1–2):57–68.

26. Sitarski G. Recurrent power series integration of the equations of comet’s motion. Acta Astronomica. 1979;29:401–411.

27. Steffensen JF. On the restricted problem of three bodies. Kgl Danske Videnskab Selskab, Mat Fys Medd. 1956;30(18):17.

28. Tisserand F. Traité de Mechanique Céleste, Tome II. Paris: Gauthier–Villars 1889.

29. Willerding E. Theory of density waves in narrow planetary rings. Astron Astrophys. 1986;161:403–407.

30. Zotos EE. Trapped and escaping orbits in an axially symmetric galactic–type potential. PASA. 2012;29:161–173.

31. Zotos EE. Escape dynamics in a Hamiltonian system with four exit channels. Nonlinear Studies. 2015;22(3):1–20.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

 Juan F. Navarro ET AL 15

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Accepted Article Juan F. Navarro completed his PhD degree from the University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain, in 2002. He is
a recipient of the Extraordinary Award of the University of Alicante for his master thesis on the rotation of
the rigid Earth. This work took part in the project Pinpoint positioning in a wobbly world awarded with the
Descartes Prize in 2003, an annual award in science given by the European Union to outstanding scientific
achievements resulting from European collaborative research. He is currently Professor at the Department of
Applied Mathematics, University of Alicante, member of the Scientific Group on Space Geodesy and Space
Dynamics of the University of Alicante, and member of the International Astronomical Union. His scientific
interests include different problems in Celestial Mechanics, such as the study of the rotational motion of the Earth, the escape
of particles from galactic potentials, and the numerical exploration of the 𝑁-body ring problem.

M. C. Martínez–Belda completed his PhD degree from the University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain, in 2012.
She is currently Professor at the Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Alicante, member of
the Scientific Group on Space Geodesy and Space Dynamics of the University of Alicante. Her scientific
interests include different problems in Celestial Mechanics, such as the study of the rotational motion of the
Earth or the numerical exploration of the 𝑁-body ring problem, and the improvement of the stability of time
and frequency transfer with GNSS.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.