An Overview of the Two-Body Problem

Abstract

In this paper we provide an overview of the two-body problem, a foundational part of classical mechanics. We outline the intuition and derivation of the differential equations that describe the problem and numerically solve them for specific examples of systems. The results are visualized to show the effects of adjusting eccentricity and the mass-ratio between the two bodies. Finally, we briefly discuss applications of the two-body problem and the challenges encountered when studying higher order n-body problems.

Co-authored with Julian Frank.