On the existence of minimal expansive solutions to the $N$-body problem

Abstract We deal, for the classical $N$ <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> <mml:mi>N</mml:mi> </mml:math> -body problem, with the existence of action minimizing half entire expansive solutions with prescribed asymptotic direction and initial configuration of the bodies. We tackle the cases of hyperbolic, hyperbolic-parabolic and parabolic arcs in a unified manner. Our approach is based on the minimization of a renormalized Lagrangian action on a suitable functional space. With this new strategy, we are able to confirm the already-known results of the existence of both hyperbolic and parabolic solutions, and we prove for the first time the existence of hyperbolic-parabolic solutions for any prescribed asymptotic expansion in a suitable class. Associated with each element of this class we find a viscosity solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation as a linear correction of the value function. Besides, we also manage to give a precise description of the growth of parabolic and hyperbolic-parabolic solutions.