Once you've created a simulation object, you can add particles to it. REBOUND supports several different ways to do that. Also check out the discussion on particle operators.

One way to add a particle to a simulation is to first manually create a particle object, then calling a function to add the particle to the simulation. Because the function will make a copy of the particle, you can safely delete the original particle object after you've added it to a simulation. The following code shows an example on how to add particles this way:

struct reb_simulation* r = reb_create_simulation();
struct reb_particle p = {0};
p.m = 1.;
p.x = 1.;


Important

The = {0} syntax above ensures that the struct is initialized with zeros. Otherwise, you need to set every member of the struct to ensure that there are no uninitialized values.

sim = rebound.Simulation()
p = rebound.Particle()
p.m = 1.
p.x = 1.


You can also use orbital parameters to initialize the particle object.

In C, this is done by calling the reb_tools_orbit_to_particle function. Its arguments are gravitational constant, primary object, mass, semi-major axis, eccentricity, inclination, longitude of ascending node, argument of pericenter, and true anomaly. It returns an initialized particle object which you can then add to the simulation.

struct reb_simulation* r = reb_create_simulation();
struct reb_particle primary = {0};
primary.m = 1;
struct reb_particle planet = reb_tools_orbit_to_particle(r->G, primary, 1e-3, 1., 0., 0., 0., 0., 0.);


You can also the coordinates described by Pal 2009 to initialize orbits using the following function:

struct reb_particle reb_tools_pal_to_particle(double G, struct reb_particle primary, double m, double a, double lambda, double k, double h, double ix, double iy);

Here, lambda is the longitude, h is $$e\cos(\omega)$$, k is $$e\sin(\omega)$$, ix and iy are the x and y components of the inclination respectively.

In python, you can create and initialize particles using the constructor of the Particle class.

sim = rebound.Simulation()
primary = rebound.Particle(m=1., x=1.)

If you want to use orbital parameters, you need to pass the primary and the gravitational constant to the constructor:
planet = rebound.Particle(G=sim.G, primary=primary, m=1e-3, a=1., e=0.1)

You can use any combination of orbital parameters that makes physically sense. See the discussion on orbital elements for more details.

Note

In most cases you can simply use the convience function described below. This way you don't have to create a particle object just to add it to the simulation.

## Convenience functions

By far the easiest way to add particles to REBOUND is to use a convenience function.

In C, the function is called reb_add_fmt and has the following syntax:

void reb_add_fmt(struct reb_simulation* r, const char* fmt, ...);

This is a variadic function which takes a variable number of arguments similar to the printf function. The following code shows how this function is used.
struct reb_simulation* r = reb_create_simulation();
reb_add_fmt(r, "m", 1.0);                // star at origin with mass 1
reb_add_fmt(r, "m a", 1e-3, 1.0);        // planet with mass 1e-3 and semi-major axis 1
reb_add_fmt(r, "m a e", 1e-3, 2.0, 0.1); // planet with mass 1e-3, semi-major axis 2, and eccentricity 0.1
reb_add_fmt(r, "m x vy", 1e-6, 1., 1.);  // planet with mass 1e-6, cartesian coordinates


The first argument is the simulation to which you want to add the particle. The second argument is a format string and it determines how many other arguments the function expects.

Danger

You need to pass exactly the right number of arguments to reb_add_fmt as indicated by your format string. Each argument also has to be the right type (mostly double floating point numbers). The latter is particularly important. If you call the function like this:

reb_add_fmt(r, "m a", 1, 1);

then the arguments are integers, not doubles. This can lead to unexpected behaviour that is very difficult to debug. The correct way to call the function is by making sure the arguments are doubles (by adding a .):
reb_add_fmt(r, "m a", 1.0, 1.0);


The following parameters are supported:

Parameter Description
m mass (default: 0)
x, y, z positions in Cartesian coordinates (default: 0)
vx, vy, vz velocities in Cartesian coordinates (default: 0)
primary primary body for converting orbital elements to cartesian (default: center of mass of the particles in the passed simulation, i.e., this will yield Jacobi coordinates as one progressively adds particles)
a semi-major axis (a or P required if passing orbital elements)
P orbital period (a or P required if passing orbital elements)
e eccentricity (default: 0)
inc inclination (default: 0)
Omega longitude of ascending node (default: 0)
omega argument of pericenter (default: 0)
pomega longitude of pericenter (default: 0)
f true anomaly (default: 0)
M mean anomaly (default: 0)
E eccentric anomaly (default: 0)
l mean longitude (default: 0)
theta true longitude (default: 0)
T time of pericenter passage
h, k, ix, iy See Pal 2009 for a definition (default: 0)
r physical particle radius

You can use any combination of these parameters at the same time. If a combination is unphysical, no particle will be added and an error will be outputted. For example, you can only specify one longitude or anomaly.

sim = rebound.Simulation()
sim.add(m=1)                 # star at origin with mass 1
sim.add(m=1e-3, a=1.)        # planet with mass 1e-3 and semi-major axis 1
sim.add(m=1e-3, a=2., e=0.1) # planet with mass 1e-3, semi-major axis 2, and eccentricity 0.1
sim.add(m=1e-6, x=1., vy=1.) # planet with mass 1e-6, cartesian coordinates


See the discussion on orbital elements for more details.

## Solar System planets

If you want to quickly try something out, you can use a set of initial conditions for the Solar System that come with REBOUND:

sim = rebound.Simulation()


and similarly for the outer Solar System:

sim = rebound.Simulation()


This is currently only supported in python.

Note

These initial conditions are intended for testing integration methods. They might not be very accurate and should not be used for detailed dynamical studies of the Solar System.