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Choreography SC.306

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.306 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 16.438 time units, published by Simó (2001). Carles Simó’s catalogue of three-body choreographies with nonzero angular momentum, the curves that made choreographies famous. All unstable except the figure-eight. It is unstable (largest Floquet multiplier 41324), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0653 of each other at a top speed of 3.83, line up 60 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 5.4×10⁻⁷.

Measured over one period

Period: 16.43814275
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 1.0781
Closest approach: 0.06533
Top speed: 3.826
Path length: 80.067
Alignments per period: 60
Topology: (aaabAbAbABBB)² (free-group class, read from the drawing)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 4.1×10²⁰)
Loop closure: 5.4×10⁻⁷

Neighbours on the map

All Simó’s choreographies, the families of periodic three-body orbits, or the atlas map.