Families of relative periodic orbits in the planar three-body problem via consecutive alignments

Abstract

Relative periodic orbits (RPOs) are solutions of the three-body problem that are periodic in a uniformly rotating reference frame and, in general, quasi-periodic in inertial coordinates. We present a numerical procedure for computing and continuing one-parameter families of RPOs of the planar Newtonian three-body problem. The method exploits consecutive syzygies, understood here as configurations in which the three bodies are aligned and their velocities satisfy the corresponding symmetry conditions. Matching the positions and momenta at two consecutive alignments reduces the computation of RPOs to a low-dimensional nonlinear problem. Its solutions are then numerically continued, and linear stability is determined from the nontrivial eigenvalues of the rotated monodromy matrix after removing the neutral directions associated with conserved quantities and continuous symmetries. The procedure is applied to several mass distributions and initial configurations, producing families of Poincaré, Hill, and binary-type solutions. These families exhibit transitions from nearly circular to highly eccentric motion, changes of stability near resonances and turning points, and absolute periodic solutions when the rotation angle is a rational multiple of 2π. In the Hill families, the continuation connects satellite configurations with circumstellar motion as the smallest body loses its gravitational binding to the intermediate body. Circumbinary and circumstellar configurations are also obtained in the binary regime. The results illustrate the dynamical diversity of RPOs and provide coherent three-body motions that can be used as prescribed trajectories in restricted four-body models.