15 ms·
It's an already solved problem given you set the initial conditions.
by cyberpsybin 5y ago
It's an already solved problem given you set the initial conditions.
- forgotpwd16 5y agoI guess this is downvoted because the initial conditions allude to numerical integration which isn't considered a proper "solution". Nevertheless, indeed the three-body (as well the n-body albeit with restrictions) has an analytic solution in form of power series. When people say it doesn't have one they mean in a closed-form. The research here isn't a solution (it doesn't allow one to find the exact state of the bodies at some specific later time) but rather a stochastic predictor of the behavior of the system.
- tgv 5y agoBut a power series is not what I'd call effective, which is what the headline stresses. It's also another type of solution (a probabilistic one).