Continuation of relative equilibria in the $n$--body problem to spaces of constant curvature

Abstract

We prove that all non-degenerate relative equilibria of the planar Newtonian $n$--body problem can be continued to spaces of constant curvature $\kappa$, positive or negative, for small enough values of this parameter. We also compute the extension of some classical relative equilibria to curved spaces using numerical continuation. In particular, we extend Lagrange's triangle configuration with different masses to both positive and negative curvature spaces.