Classical Mechanics – Clarification on Bertrand’s Theorem in Central Force Motion

celestial-mechanicsclassical-mechanicsorbital-motion

Wikipedia on Bertrand's theorem, when discussing the deviations from a circular orbit says:

…The next step is to consider the equation for $u$ under small perturbations ${\displaystyle \eta \equiv u-u_{0}}$ from perfectly circular orbits.

(Here $u$ is related to the radial distance as $u=1/r$ and $u_0$ corresponds to the radius of a circular orbit ) …

The deviations are as

The solutions are
${\displaystyle \eta (\theta )=h_{1}\cos(\beta \theta ),}$

For the orbits to be closed, $β$ must be a rational number. What's more, it must be the same rational number for all radii, since β cannot change continuously; the rational numbers are totally disconnected from one another

Why does $\beta$ have to be the same rational number for all radii at which a circular orbit is possible?

I understand why it should be rational, but why the same number for all radii?

Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertrand%27s_theorem

Best Answer

The variable $\beta$ must vary continuously with the radius because it is defined in terms of another function $J$ that varies continuously with the radius. Now, suppose there are radii $r_1$ and $r_2$ such that $\beta(r_1)=3$ and $\beta(r_2)=3.2$. Because $\beta$ is continuous, there must be a radius $r_3$ between $r_1$ and $r_2$ such that $\beta(r_3)=\pi$. This cannot happen because $\beta$ must be rational, and there is no such thing as varying continuously over the rational numbers. So, $\beta$ cannot vary and must be constant.

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