Chaos in the Three-Body Problem
Channel: Institut Henri Poincaré
Date: 2013-05-28

By Rick Moeckel
Abstract: One of Poincaré's most important contributions to dynamical systems theory was his discovery of chaotic behavior in the three-body problem. Specifically, he famously described but refused to draw the complicated tangle of stable and unstable manifolds which occurs when transverse homoclinic orbits exist. In the century since his death, other kinds of chaotic motions of the three-body problem have been found. I will show some of the ways chaos can arise in celestial mechanics. With the help of the computer, I will present some pictures that Poincaré surely would have appreciated.
Note(s) Biographique(s)
Rick Moeckel was born in 1955 in the United States. In 1980, he got his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison (thesis advisor:Charles C. Conley). He is currently a professor in the School of Mathematics at the University of Minnesota. His research area is dynamical systems theory, especially Hamiltonian and celestial mechanics.
Réalisation : Quentin Lazzarotto
Date : 19/11/2012
Lieu : Institut Henri Poincaré