N-body problem of first-order differential equations, with initial conditions as initial position coordinates and initial momentum values. Symmetries in the -body problem yield global integrals of motion that simplify the problem. Translational symmetry of the problem results in the center of mass moving with constant velocity, so that , where is the linear velocity and is the initial position. The constants of motion and represent six integrals of the motion. Rotational symmetry results in the total angular momentum being constant where × is the cross product. The three components of the total angular momentum yield three more constants of the motion. The
Velocity dispersion Velocity dispersion In astronomy, the velocity dispersion ("σ") is the statistical dispersion of velocities about the mean velocity for a group of objects, such as an open cluster, globular cluster, galaxy, galaxy cluster, or supercluster. By measuring the radial velocities of its members, the velocity dispersion of a cluster can be estimated and used to derive the cluster's mass from the virial theorem. Radial velocity is found by measuring the Doppler width of spectral lines of a collection of objects. The more radial velocities one measures, the more accurately one knows their dispersion. A central velocity dispersion refers to the