The effect of radiation pressure on the particle dynamics in ring-type N-body configurations

The paper deals with a simple photo-gravitational model of N+1 bodies. The motion of a small particle which subjects both the gravitational attraction and the radiation pressure is studied in a regular polygon configuration of N bodies. The dynamical features of this model are investigated for a wide range of values of the radiation parameters by mapping its equilibrium points and periodic orbits. The results show that for these values, radiation merely affects quantitatively the characteristics of the system, while it leaves unaffected the stability of the particle periodic motions and equilibria.