Exact solution of the planar motion of three arbitrary point vortices

Abstract

We give an exact quantitative solution for the motion of three vortices of any strength, which Poincaré showed to be integrable. The absolute motion of one vortex is generally biperiodic: in uniformly rotating axes, the motion is periodic. There are two kinds of relative equilibrium configuration: two equilateral triangles and one or three colinear configurations, their stability conditions split the strengths space into three domains in which the sets of trajectories are topologically distinct. According to the values of the strengths and the initial positions, all the possible motions are classified. Two sets of strengths lead to generic motions other than biperiodic. First, when the angular momentum vanishes, besides the biperiodic regime there exists an expansion spiral motion and even a triple collision in a finite time, but the latter motion is nongeneric. Second, when two strengths are opposite, the system also exhibits the elastic diffusion of a vortex doublet by the third vortex. For given values of the invariants, the volume of the phase space of this Hamiltonian system is proportional to the period of the reduced motion, a well known result of the theory of adiabatic invariants. We then formally examine the behaviour of the quantities that Onsager defined only for a large number of interacting vortices.