Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2024/iii/paper-316/3/ii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2024 iii Paper 316 3 ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-09-25
At a Lagrange point, the test particle is stationary in the rotating reference frame, so . On the axis, makes automatically. The singularities at the two masses split the axis into three intervals, and the balance between gravity and centrifugal acceleration gives one root of in each interval. These are the three Collinear Lagrange points .
For an off-axis equilibrium, . Put . ThenwhileHence and therefore . The two intersections of unit circles centered at and form equilateral triangles with the binary, giving the Triangular Lagrange pointsTogether with the three collinear points, these are the five equilibria of the circular restricted three-body problem.
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