KAM theory and the stability of the solar system (Q2878172)

This pedagogical but nevertheless non-trivial paper deals with the question why the planets of our solar system have such stable nearly elliptic orbits in spite of the fact that besides the solar attraction, a large number of perturbations (namely the interaction with the other planets) should destroy this regularity from the first glance.NEWLINENEWLINEThe core of the answer uses the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser (KAM)-theory of dynamical systems, and in details, the three-body problem is discussed.NEWLINENEWLINEThe original title of the paper in Dutch reads: KAM-theorie an de stabiliteit van het zonnestelsel.