The HNBody (Hierarchical N-Body) package integrates the motion of particles in self-gravitating systems where the total mass is dominated by a single object; it is based on symplectic integration techniques in which two-body Keplerian motion is integrated exactly. Options include choices of coordinate system, division of particles into classes based on mass scales, order of accuracy, and others.
Download HNBody (latest version is 1.0.10). To be apprised of new HNBody releases, e-mail your request to rauch@astro.umd.edu or dphamil@umd.edu.
An online reference manual and sample integration are also available.
Note that the manual is included in the download packages; it is also available
as a separate download
(ZIP archive format).
And check out Rogue Star, an interactive animation utilizing HNBody.
HNBody is freely available! If you use our code in your work, we simply ask that you clearly state this in your publication, and cite the Rauch & Hamilton 2002 DDA proceedings (a journal article is in progress). We would also appreciate it if you send us a reference to your paper.
HNBody References:
The symplectic algorithms that we employ are based on the following papers: