An Introduction to Common Numerical Integration Codes Used in Dynamical Astronomy

Author(s)
Siegfried Eggl, Rudolf Dvorak
Abstract

As the tree of numerical methods used to solve ordinary differential equations develops more and more branches, it may, despite great literature, become hard to find out which properties should be aimed for, given certain problems in celestial mechanics. With this chapter the authors intend to give an introduction to common, symplectic, and non-symplectic algorithms used to numerically solve the basic Newtonian gravitational N-body problem in dynamical astronomy. Six methods are being presented, including a Cash–Karp Runge–Kutta, Radau15, Lie Series, Bulirsch-Stoer, Candy, and a symplectic Hybrid integrator of Mon. Not.R. Astro. Soc. 304: 793–799,?]. Their main properties, as for example, the handling of conserved quantities, will be discussed on the basis of the Kepler problem.

Organisation(s)
Department of Astrophysics
Pages
431-480
No. of pages
50
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-04458-8_9
Publication date
2010
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103003 Astronomy
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/95863df9-0d6a-4e84-983c-98a6df03cfa8