The dynamics of N point vortices in a fluid is described by the Helmholtz-Kirchhoff (HK) equations which lead to a completely integrable Hamiltonian system for N=2 or 3 but chaotic dynamics for N>3. Here we consider a generalization of the HK equatio
ns to describe the dynamics of magnetic vortices within a collective-coordinate approximation. In particular, we analyze in detail the dynamics of a system of three magnetic vortices by a suitable generalization of the solution for three point vortices in an ordinary fluid obtained by Groebli more than a century ago. The significance of our results for the dynamics of ferromagnetic elements is briefly discussed.
