Mass-Weighted Symplectic Forms for the N-Body Problem

Mass-weighted symplectic forms provide a unified framework for the treatment of both finite and vanishingly small masses in the N-body problem. These forms are introduced, compared to previous approaches, and their properties are discussed. Applications to symplectic mappings, the definition of action-angle variables for the Kepler problem, and Hamiltonian perturbation theory are outlined This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Simple derivation of Symplectic Integrators with First Order Correctors

In this paper we consider almost integrable systems for which we show that there is a direct connection between symplectic methods and conventional numerical integration schemes. This enables us to construct several symplectic schemes of varying order. We further show that the symplectic correctors, which formally remove all errors of first order in the perturbation, are directly related to the Euler—McLaurin summation formula. Thus we can construct correctors for these higher order symplectic schemes. Using this formalism we derive the Wisdom—Holman midpoint scheme with corrector and correctors for higher order schemes. We then show that for the same amount of computation we can devise a scheme which is of order O(h ⁶)+(² h ²), where is the order of perturbation and h the stepsize. Inclusion of a modified potential further reduces the error to O(h ⁶)+(² h ⁴).This revised version was published online in October 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Regularizing Time Transformations in Symplectic and Composite Integration

We consider numerical integration of nearly integrable Hamiltonian systems. The emphasis is on perturbed Keplerian motion, such as certain cases of the problem of two fixed centres and the restricted three-body problem. We show that the presently known methods have useful generalizations which are explicit and have a variable physical timestep which adjusts to both the central and perturbing potentials. These methods make it possible to compute accurately fairly close encounters. In some cases we suggest the use of composite (instead of symplectic) alternatives which typically seem to have equally good energy conservation properties.This revised version was published online in October 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Non-Existence of the Modified First Integral by Symplectic Integration Methods II: Kepler Problem

Symplectic integration methods conserve the Hamiltonian quite well because of the existence of the modified Hamiltonian as a formal conserved quantity. For a first integral of a given Hamiltonian system, the modified first integral is defined to be a formal first integral for the modified Hamiltonian. It is shown that the Runge-Lenz vector of the Kepler problem is not well conserved by symplectic methods, and that the corresponding modified first integral does not exist. This conclusion is given for a one-parameter family of symplectic methods including the symplectic Euler method and the Störmer/Verlet method.     

Forward Symplectic Integrators for Solving Gravitational Few-Body Problems

We introduce a class of fourth order symplectic algorithms that are ideal for doing long time integration of gravitational few-body problems. These algorithms have only positive time steps, but require computing the force gradient in addition to the force. We demonstrate the efficiency of these Forward Symplectic Integrators by solving the circular restricted three-body problem in the space-fixed frame where the force on the third body is explicitly time-dependent. These algorithms can achieve accuracy of Runge–Kutta, conventional negative time step symplectic and corrector symplectic algorithms at step sizes five to ten times as large.     

Symplectic Mapping for Trojan-Type Motion in the Elliptic Restricted Three-Body Problem

A symplectic mapping for Trojan-type motion has been developed in the secularly changing elliptic restricted three-body problem. The mapping describes well the characteristics of Trojan-type dynamics at small eccentricities. By using this mapping the boundary of the stability region has been studied for different values of the initial eccentricities of hypothetical Jupiter's Trojans. It has been found that in the secularly changing elliptic case the chaotic diffusion at the border of the stability region is stronger than simply in the elliptic case. An explanation of this observation might be the destruction of the chain of islands of the 13:1 secondary resonance between the short and long period component of the Trojan-like motion, caused possibly by the indirect perturbations of Saturn.     

Efficient Symplectic Integration of Satellite Orbits

The use of the extended phase space and time transformations for constructing efficient symplectic methods for computing the long term behavior of perturbed two‐body systems are discussed. Main applications are for artificial satellite orbits. The methods suggested here are efficient also for large eccentricities. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An Explicit Symplectic Integrator for Cometary Orbits

A new symplectic algorithm is developed for cometary orbit integrations. The integrator can handle both high-eccentricity orbits and close encounters with planets. The method is based on time transformations for Hamiltonians separated into Keplerian and perturbation parts. The adaptive time-step of this algorithm depends on the distance from a centre and the magnitude of perturbations. The explicit leapfrog technique is simple and efficient.     

Symplectic Tangent map for Planetary Motions

Equations are presented for the computation of tangent maps for use in nearly Keplerian motion, approximated by use of a symplectic leapfrog map. The resulting algorithms constitute more accurate and efficient methods to obtain the Liapunov exponents and the state transition matrix, and can be used to study chaos in planetary motions, as well as in orbit determination procedures from observations. Applications include planetary systems, satellite motions and hierarchical, nearly Keplerian systems in general. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Processing Symplectic Methods for Near-Integrable Hamiltonian Systems

Processing techniques are used to approximate the exact flow of near-integrable Hamiltonian systems depending on a small perturbation parameter. We study the reduction of the number of conditions for the kernel for this type of Hamiltonians and we build third, fourth and fifth order methods which are shown to be more efficient than previous algorithms for the same class of problems. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

辛方法的校正公式

1996年Wisdom等提出了对辛方法进行校正的概念和实践，现在继续对辛校正进行详尽讨论和数值比较，尤其对哈密顿函数可分解为一个主要部分和多个次要部分的一般情形，用Lie级数推导任意阶的各种辛算法的一次和二次辛校正公式并对一些算法给出具体的辛校正公式。又以日、木、土三体问题为模型进行数值实验，结果表明一次辛校正能提高精度，改善数值稳定性。计算效率也比较高，因而值得推荐使用，辛方法通常用大步长数值积分，这时二次辛校正并没有显著提高结果的精度，却大大增加了计算时间，不应予以推荐。     

一个膺三阶辛积分器

在太阳系动力学中,辛积分器已成为研究哈密顿系统的长期定性演化的最佳工具.对于可积分离的哈密顿系统H=H0+∑i=1N∈iHi(∈≤1),构造了一个膺三阶辛积分器.它大约相当于Wisdom-Holman二阶辛积分器的一次校正或Forest-Ruth四阶辛算法的精度.此外,含力梯度的辛算法也适合处理哈密顿系统H=Ho(q,P)+∈H1(q),其精度好于原辛积分器,但不优越于相应膺高阶辛积分器.     

Symplectic Mappings of Co-orbital Motion in the Restricted Problem of Three Bodies

The dynamics of co-orbital motion in the restricted three-body problem are investigated by symplectic mappings. Analytical and semi-numerical mappings have been developed and studied in detail. The mappings have been tested by numerical integration of the equations of motion. These mappings have been proved to be useful for a quick determination of the phase space structure reflecting the main characteristics of the dynamics of the co-orbital problem.     

Improved Leap—Frog Symplectic Integrators for Orbits of Small Eccentricity in the Perturbed Kepler Problem

I have improved the precision of the leap–frog symplectic integrators for perturbed Kepler problems at small eccentricities, without significant loss of CPU time. The integration scheme proposed is competitive, in some situations, with the so-called mixed variable integrators.     

几类辛方法的数值稳定性研究

主要对一阶隐式Euler辛方法M1、二阶隐式Euler中点辛方法M2、一阶显辛Euler方法M3和二阶leapfrog显辛积分器M4共4种辛方法及一些组合算法进行了通常意义下的线性稳定性分析．针对线性哈密顿系统,理论上找到每个数值方法的稳定区,然后用数值方法检验其正确性．对于哈密顿函数为实对称二次型的情况,为了理论推导便利,特推荐采用相似变换将二次型的矩阵对角化来研究辛方法的线性稳定性．当哈密顿分解为一个主要部分和一个小摄动次要部分且二者皆可积时,无论是线性系统还是非线性系统,这种主次分解与哈密顿具有动势能分解相比,明显扩大了辛方法的稳定步长范围．     

Explicit Symplectic Integrator for Rotating Satellites

An explicit symplectic integrator is constructed for the problem of a rotating planetary satellite on a Keplerian orbit. The spin vector is fixed perpendicularly to the orbital plane. The integrator is constructed according to the Wisdom-Holman approach: the Hamiltonian is separated in two parts so that one of them is multiplied by a small parameter. The parameter depends on the satellite’s shape or the eccentricity of its orbit. The leading part of the Hamiltonian for small eccentricity orbits is similar to the simple pendulum and hence integrable; the perturbation does not depend on angular momentum which implies a trivial ‘kick’ solution. In spite of the necessity to evaluate elliptic function at each step, the explicit symplectic integrator proves to be quite efficient. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A computer aided analysis of the Sitnikov Problem

We deal with the problem of a zero mass body oscillating perpendicular to a plane in which two heavy bodies of equal mass orbit each other on Keplerian ellipses. The zero mass body intersects the primaries plane at the systems barycenter. This problem is commonly known as theSitnikov Problem. In this work we are looking for a first integral related to the oscillatory motion of the zero mass body. This is done by first expressing the equation of motion by a second order polynomial differential equation using a Chebyshev approximation techniques. Next we search for an autonomous mapping of the canonical variables over one period of the primaries. For that we discretize the time dependent coefficient functions in a certain number of Dirac Delta Functions and we concatenate the elementary mappings related to the single Delta Function Pulses. Finally for the so obtained polynomial mapping we look for an integral also in polynomial form. The invariant curves in the two dimensional phase space of the canonical variables are investigated as function of the primaries eccentricity and their initial phase. In addition we present a detailed analysis of the linearized Sitnikov Problem which is valid for infinitesimally small oscillation amplitudes of the zero mass body. All computations are performed automatically by the FORTRAN program SALOME which has been designed for stability considerations in high energy particle accelerators.     

Explicit Symplectic Integrator for Highly Eccentric Orbits

An explicit symplectic integrator is constructed for perturbed elliptic orbits of an arbitrary eccentricity. The perturbation should be Hamiltonian, but it may depend on time explicitly. The main feature of the integrator is the use of KS variables in the ten-dimensional extended phase space. As an example of its application the motion of an Earth satellite under the action of the planet's oblateness and of lunar perturbations is studied. The results confirm the superiority of the method over a classical Wisdom–Holman algorithm in both accuracy and computation time. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A slow-down treatment for close binaries

We present a new method for fast numerical integration of close binaries inN-body systems. The basic idea is to slow down the motion of the binary artificially, which makes a faster numerical integration possible but still maintains correct treatment of secular and long-period effects on the motion. We discuss the general principle, with application to close binaries inN-body codes and in the chain regularization.     

Symplectic integrator for general near-integrable Hamiltonian system

In this paper, following the idea of constructing the mixed symplectic integrator (MSI) for a separable Hamiltonian system, we give a low order mixed symplectic integrator for an inseparable, but nearly integrable, Hamiltonian system, Although the difference schemes of the integrators are implicit, they not only have a small truncation error but, due to near integrability, also a faster convergence rate of iterative solution than ordinary implicit integrators, Moreover, these second order integrators are time-reversible.