title: Stability and bifurcations of the figure-8 solution of the three-body problem.
abstract: The stability properties of a recently discovered solution of the general three-body problem with equal masses and the shape of a figure 8 are analyzed as the masses are varied. It is shown by numerical continuation and the evaluation of the characteristic multipliers that the solution is stable only in a narrow mass interval. Other less symmetrical and unstable solutions with equal masses in the same homotopy class as the figure-8 orbit have been found. The branching behavior is also analyzed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Matemática Aplicada II, Escuela Superior de Ingenieros, University of Seville, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain. jgv@ma2.us.es
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galán
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Muñoz-Almaraz
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Doedel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vanderbauwhede