PSDF: Particle Stream Data Format for N-body simulations

We present a data format for the output of general N-body simulations, allowing the presence of individual time steps. By specifying a standard, different N-body integrators and different visualization and analysis programs can all share the simulation data, independent of the type of programs used to produce the data. Our Particle Stream Data Format, PSDF, is specified in YAML, based on the same approach as XML but with a simpler syntax. Together with a specification of PSDF, we provide background and motivation, as well as specific examples in a variety of computer languages. We also offer a web site from which these examples can be retrieved, in order to make it easy to augment existing codes in order to give them the option to produce PSDF output.     

On a property of zero-velocity curves in N-body ring-type systems

Zero-velocity curves are a useful tool in the investigation of various aspects of a dynamical system. These curves that distinguish the regions where the motion of a particle is permissible from the regions where this motion is not permitted, present some basic properties. In this paper, we prove that in symmetric ring-type systems where a small particle moves under the resultant gravitational field of N coplanar big bodies, of which ν=N−1 are arranged at equal distances among them on the periphery of a circle, a new property concerning these curves, exists. All the zero-velocity curves drawn in the space of the initial conditions (x₀,C) and concerning configurations with the same number of peripheral primaries but various mass parameters, pass through two different focal points, the position of which does not depend on the value of the mass parameter.     

Unexpected formation modes of the first hard binary in core collapse

The conventional wisdom for the formation of the first hard binary in core collapse is that three-body interactions of single stars form many soft binaries, most of which are quickly destroyed, but eventually one of them survives. We report on direct N-body simulations to test these ideas, for the first time. We find that the assumptions are incorrect in the majority of the cases: (1) quite a few three-body interactions produce a hard binary from scratch; (2) in many cases there are more than three bodies directly and simultaneously involved in the production of the first binary. The main reason for the discrepancies is that the core of a star cluster, at the first deep collapse, contains typically only five or so stars. Therefore, the homogeneous background assumption, which still would be reasonable for, say, 25 stars, utterly breaks down. There have been some speculations in this direction, but we demonstrate this result here explicitly, for the first time.