An Introduction to the Classical Three-Body Problem: From Periodic Solutions to Instabilities and Chaos

摘要

The classical three-body problem arose in an attempt to understandthe effect of the Sun on the Moona??s Keplerian orbitaround the Earth. It has attracted the attention of some of thebest physicists and mathematicians and led to the discoveryof a??chaosa??. We survey the three-body problem in its historicalcontext and use it to introduce several ideas and techniquesthat have been developed to understand classical mechanicalsystems.