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J. Chambers (Carnegie Institution of Washington)
Symplectic integrators have become a favourite tool for calculating the evolution of N-body systems. These integrators are highly competitive with other methods for perturbation problems, such as the Solar System, where there is a single dominant mass. In the last decade, symplectic integrators have also been successfully adapted for use in planetary accretion calculations where interactions between particles become strong during close encounters. However, planetary orbits in binary star systems cannot be integrated using traditional symplectic methods since they involve two dominant masses rather than one. Here I will describe the theory of symplectic integrators and show how the standard algorithms can be modified for use in binary systems.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 37 #4
© 2005. The American Astronomical Soceity.