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 1.0.3). To be apprised of new HNBody releases, e-mail your request to rauch@astro.umd.edu or hamilton@astro.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). Be aware that links to distribution files and
directories will not function when reading the manual directly from
our website.
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 2004 AJ paper. 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: