On the uniqueness of trapezoidal four-body central configurations
Manuele Santoprete
Abstract
Abstract We study central configurations of the Newtonian four-body problem that form a trapezoid. Using a topological argument we prove that there is at most one trapezoidal central configuration for each cyclic ordering of the masses.
Topics & Concepts
UniquenessArgument (complex analysis)MathematicsTopology (electrical circuits)Newtonian fluidMathematical analysisPure mathematicsPhysicsClassical mechanicsCombinatoricsBiochemistryChemistrySpacecraft Dynamics and ControlStellar, planetary, and galactic studiesAdvanced Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems