EQUILIBRIUM-CONFIGURATIONS FOR A SYSTEM OF N PARTICLES IN THE PLANE

We bring together work on central configurations of the classical N-bo dy problem and on asymptotic properties of a system of repelling parti cles. By introducing a parameter beta, we consider configurations that occur in these problems to be special cases of a more general system. We describe an asymmetric configuration obtained in the eight-particl e system and investigate a bifurcation occurring in the four-particle system. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.