INTERPLAY AND ESCAPE IN 3-BODY SCATTERING

The problem of three gravitationally interacting bodies, with total en ergy less than zero, is investigated numerically. After introducing th e concepts of 'periastron graphs' and 'composite binaries', time-of-es cape and interplay are precisely defined. These definitions are useful in characterizing the complete scattering process: escape to t = -inf inity, interplay, and escape to t = +infinity. These definitions are a lso useful for the efficient and automatic termination of a numerical simulation of interplay.