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Choreography SC.314

From Simó (2001)

Choreography SC.314 is a periodic orbit of the planar three-body problem: three equal masses that return to their starting positions and velocities every 16.508 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 89294), so a small nudge makes it unravel over a few periods. The bodies pass within 0.0753 of each other at a top speed of 4.26, line up 78 times a period, and the computed loop closes to 9.5×10⁻²⁹.

Measured over one period

Period: 16.50816390
Masses: 1 : 1 : 1
Energy: -4.50000
Angular momentum: 1.1145
Closest approach: 0.07534
Top speed: 4.260
Path length: 80.428
Alignments per period: 78
Topology: aaaaaaaaaaaabAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbABBBBBBBBBBBB (free-group class, read from the drawing)
Stability: unstable (|λ|max 8.9×10¹²)
Loop closure: 9.5×10⁻²⁹

Neighbours on the map

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