Bifurcations and equilibria in the extended N-body ring problem

We consider the motion of an infinitesimal particle under the gravitational field of (n+1) bodies in ring configuration, that consist of n primaries of equal mass m placed at the vertices of a regular polygon, plus another primary of mass m₀=βm located at the geometric center of the polygon. We analyze the phase flow, determine the equilibria of the system, their linear stability and the bifurcations depending on the mass of the central primary (parameter β).This study is extended to the case when the central body is an ellipsoid or a radiation source. In this case, the topology of the problem is modified.