Existence of a lower bound for the distance between point masses of relative equilibria in spaces of constant curvature (Q402970)

The author discusses the title problem via a series of lemmas and theorems and a proof by contradiction. This is an \(n\)-body problem in a curved space -- an extension of the classical Newtonian \(n\)-body problem in the Euclidean space. He shows through a somewhat detailed analysis that for a dynamic equilibrium in the curved space, the bodies (modeled as particles) must have a finite separation. The paper is very specialized, relying on results in the references. Nevertheless, it should be of interest and use to physicists and applied mathematicians working in gravitational stability analyses.