Revisiting the Dynamics of Two-Body Problem in the Framework of the Continued Fraction Potential

Abstract

In this analytical study, a novel solving method for determining the precise coordinates of a mass point in orbit around a significantly more massive primary body, operating within the confines of the restricted two-body problem (R2BP), has been introduced. Such an approach entails the utilization of a continued fraction potential diverging from the conventional potential function used in Kepler’s formulation of the R2BP. Furthermore, a system of equations of motion has been successfully explored to identify an analytical means of representing the solution in polar coordinates. An analytical approach for obtaining the function t = t(r), incorporating an elliptic integral, is developed. Additionally, by establishing the inverse function r = r(t), further solutions can be extrapolated through quasi-periodic cycles. Consequently, the previously elusive restricted two-body problem (R2BP) with a continued fraction potential stands fully and analytically solved.

Keywords

• dynamics of a mass point
• restricted two-body problem (R2BP)
• continued fraction potential
• Kepler’s formulation of R2BP