Relativistic Precession of Elliptical Orbits of a Circumbinary Planet can be Cancelled

In publications presenting analytical results on the non-coplanar motion of a circumbinary planet it was shown that the unperturbed elliptical orbit of the planet undergoes simultaneously two kinds of the precession: the precession of the orbital plane and the precession of the orbit in its own plane. It is also well-known that there is also the relativistic precession of the planetary orbit in its own plane. In the present paper we study a combined effect of the all of the above precessions. For the general case, where the planetary orbit is not coplanar with the stars orbits, we analyzed the dependence of the critical inclination angle i_c, at which the precession of the planetary orbit in its own plane vanishes, on the angular momentum L of the planet. We showed that the larger the angular momentum, the smaller the critical inclination angle becomes. We presented the analytical result for i_c(L) and calculated the value of L, for which the critical inclination value becomes zero. For the particular case, where the planetary orbit is not coplanar with the stars orbits, we demonstrated analytically that at a certain value of the angular momentum of the planet, the elliptical orbit of the planet would become stationary: no precession. In other words, at this value of the angular momentum, the relativistic precession of the planetary orbit and its precession, caused by the fact that the planet revolves around a binary (rather than single) star, cancel each other out. This is a counterintuitive result.     

Long-Term Evolution of Orbits About A Precessing Oblate Planet: 1. The Case of Uniform Precession

It was believed until very recently that a near-equatorial satellite would always keep up with the planet’s equator (with oscillations in inclination, but without a secular drift). As explained in Efroimsky and Goldreich [Astronomy & Astrophysics (2004) Vol. 415, pp. 1187–1199], this misconception originated from a wrong interpretation of a (mathematically correct) result obtained in terms of non-osculating orbital elements. A similar analysis carried out in the language of osculating elements will endow the planetary equations with some extra terms caused by the planet’s obliquity change. Some of these terms will be non-trivial, in that they will not be amendments to the disturbing function. Due to the extra terms, the variations of a planet’s obliquity may cause a secular drift of its satellite orbit inclination. In this article we set out the analytical formalism for our study of this drift. We demonstrate that, in the case of uniform precession, the drift will be extremely slow, because the first-order terms responsible for the drift will be short-period and, thus, will have vanishing orbital averages (as anticipated 40 years ago by Peter Goldreich), while the secular terms will be of the second order only. However, it turns out that variations of the planetary precession make the first-order terms secular. For example, the planetary nutations will resonate with the satellite’s orbital frequency and, thereby, may instigate a secular drift. A detailed study of this process will be offered in a subsequent publication, while here we work out the required mathematical formalism and point out the key aspects of the dynamics. In this article, as well as in (Efroimsky 2004), we use the word ‘‘precession’’ in its most general sense which embraces the entire spectrum of changes of the spin-axis orientation -- from the long-term variations down to the Chandler Wobble down to nutations and to the polar wonder.     

Secular Effects on Orbits of Binary Stars Induced by Temporal Variation of Gravitational Constant (Case for Elliptical Orbit)

In this paper we investigate the influence of a varying gravitation constant on the orbits of celestial bodies. Regarding the eccentric anomaly as an independent variable, we find the solutions to the perturbed equations of motion. In the first order solutions, we find the secular and periodic variations in semi-major axis. For the other orbital elements only periodic variations exhibit. However in the second order solutions, the longitude of periastron and the mean longitude have secular terms. Applying the calculations to six selected binaries, we give the numerical estimations of the variations of orbits. These results are then carefully compared and discussed.     

Accurate Analytical Calculation of Effects of Rorations of the Central Planet on a Staellite's Orbit

Satellite orbital perturbations due to many rotations of the planet-fixed reference frame are calculated by a general analytical method. For the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) the effects of the Earth irregular rotation, precession, nutation, and polar motion are considered. Gravity coefficients of the Earth potential expansion are expressed in an inertial Celestial Reference Frame (CRF) as functions of the set of standard constant coefficients derived in the ITRF and of the rotation angles between the CRF and ITRF. The analytical motion theory uses time dependent gravity coefficients, and the Lagrange motion equations are integrated in the CRF, as it is done by numerical methods. Comparison of the proposed analytical method with a numerical one is presented. Motion of the ETALON-1 geodetic satellite perturbed by the geopotential (36*36) and by the full effects of the Earth irregular rotation, precession, nutation and polar motion is predicted. The r.m.s. difference between the satellite's coordinates calculated by both methods over a year interval is 2 cm. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Gravitational Radiation Damping and Evolution of the Orbit of Compact Binary Stars (Solution by the Second Perturbation Method)

The influence of the gravitational radiation damping on the evolution of the orbital elements of compact binary stars is examined by using the method of perturbation. The perturbation equations with the true anomaly as an independent variable are given. This effect results in both the secular and periodic variation of the semi-major axis, the eccentricity, the mean longitude at the epoch and the mean longitude. However, the longitude of periastron exhibits no secular variation, but only periodic variation. The effect of secular variation of the orbit would lead to collapse of the system of binary stars. The deduced formulae are applied to the calculation of secular variation of the orbital elements for three compact binary stars: PSR19 13 + 16, PSR J0737-3039 and M33X-7. The results obtained are discussed.     

引力常数随时间变化对双星(密近食双星)轨道演变的影响(圆形轨道情形)

研究了引力常数随时间变化对食双星轨道演变的影响。理论结果表明:轨道半径和轨道周期以线性形式随时间缩减,但无周期变化、圆形轨道的形状只有周期和混合长期项(Poisson项)。对5颗密近食双星的轨道半径和轨道周期的长期演变的上下限做了数值估计,并具体讨论了理论结果和其他效应的对比。     

Stable Orbits of Planets of a Binary Star System in the Three-Dimensional Restricted Problem

The present research was motivated by the recent discovery of planets around binary stars. Our initial intention was thus to investigate the 3-dimensional nearly circular periodic orbits of the circular restricted problem of three bodies; more precisely Stromgren's class L, (direct) and class m, (retrograde). We started by extending several of Hénon's vertical critical orbits of these 2 classes to three dimensions, looking especially for orbits which are near circular and have stable characteristic exponents.We discovered early on that the periodic orbits with the above two qualifications are fairly rare and we decided thus to undertake a systematic exploration, limiting ourselves to symmetric periodic orbits. However, we examined all 16 possible symmetry cases, trying 10000 sets of initial values for periodicity in each case, thus 160000 integrations, all with z _o or _o equal to 0.1 This gave us a preliminary collection of 171 periodic orbits, all fairly near the xy-plane, thus with rather low inclinations. Next, we integrated a second similar set of 160000 cases with z _o or _o equal to 0.5, in order to get a better representation of the large inclinations. This time, we found 167 periodic orbits, but it was later discovered that at least 152 of them belong to the same families as the first set with 0.1Our paper quickly describes the definition of the problem, with special emphasis on the symmetry properties, especially for the case of masses with equal primaries. We also allow a section to describe our approach to stability and characteristic exponents, following our paper on this subject, (Broucke, 1969). Then we describe our numerical results, as much as space permits in the present paper.We found basically only about a dozen families with sizeable segments of simple stable periodic orbits. Some of them are around one of the two stars only but we do not describe them here because of a lack of space. We extended about 170 periodic orbits to families of up to 500 members, (by steps of 0.005 in the parameter), although, in many cases, we do not know the real end of the families. We also give an overview of the different types of periodic orbits that are most often encountered. We describe some of the rather strange orbits, (some of which are actually stable).     

Orbital Decay of a Binary System Consisting of Spin-Down Neutron Stars

{W}e consider the gravitational radiation from two time variable mass stars, orbiting around each other under the influence of gravity. The total rates of the variation of the energy, angular momentum, semimajor axis, eccentricity and orbital period are obtained. The results could be important for the understanding of general relativistic effects in the case of the variation of the gravitational mass due to spinning down of the compact stars, which sensitively depends on the equations of state. The cases of the binary systems PSR 1913+16 and PSR 1534+12 are analyzed in detail, and, for different equations of state of nuclear matter, the corrections to the orbital decay due to gravitational radiation and to the spinning down of the pulsars are calculated. The results show that a future significant improvement in the observational techniques could lead to the observation of the specific general relativistic effect of mass variation of pulsars due to spinning down, via the study of orbital decay, even in slowly rotating binary systems.     

Quasi-Tangency Points on the Orbits of a Small Body and a Planet at the Low-Velocity Encounter

We propose a method for selecting a low-velocity encounter of a small body with a planet from the evolution of the orbital elements. Polar orbital coordinates of the quasi-tangency point on the orbit of a small body are determined. Rectangular heliocentric coordinates of the quasi-tangency point on the orbit of a planet are determined. An algorithm to search for low-velocity encounters in the evolution of the orbital elements of small bodies is described. The low-velocity encounter of comet 39P/Oterma with Jupiter is considered as an example.     

Exact Geodetic Precession of the Orbit of a Two-Body Gyroscope in Geodesic Motion About a Third Mass

The paper is devoted to calculation of the precessional effect of the orbit of a two-body system in its geodesic motion through the deformed spacetime of a third body assumed non-rotating. The obtained result is generic, in that no specific assumption on the orbit geometry is made     

判断分光双星自转同步性方法的理论改进

本文在前文[1]研究的基础上对判断分光双星自转的同步性在理论上做了进一步改进.对双谱分光双星用视向速度曲线的半振幅K_1和K_2代替质量比q.对单谱分光双星除前文给出一种判断同步性方法外又给出两种方法.另外,用改进的公式对6对分光双星的同步性做了计算和判断.最后对所得结果做了讨论并用结束语对此项研究工作做了回顾和展望.     

Apsidal Motion in Detached Binary Stars: Comparison of Theory and Observations

A list of 62 detached binaries having reliable data on the rotation of the line of apsides is considered. Theoretical estimates of the rate of apsidal motion are obtained. These estimates are compared with observational data. It is shown that cases in which the theoretical estimate exceeds the observed value are several times more frequent than cases in which the theoretical value is lower than the observed one. This discrepancy increases when systems with more reliable observational data are considered.     

A Possible Explanation of the O‘Connell Effect in Close Binary Stars

A theoretical model for explaining the O‘Connell effect of close binary stars is given based on the hypothesis that the circumstellar material of a binary system is captured by its components.The results inferred form the model suggest that late-type and /or short-period binaries can easily produce obvious O‘Connell effect and that the occurrence of O‘Connell effect has no relation with the type of binaries,These conclusions are in agreement with the observed results.The observed O‘Connell effects of six binary systems are examined by the model.For three W-subtype W UMa binaries(YY Eri,BX Per and SW Lac).the densities of the materials captured by the two components are assumed to be equal,and the calculated O‘Connell effect is found to be almost equal to the observed effect.For three A-subtype W UMa systems(CN And,FG Hya and AU Ser),the two densities are assumed to be different,and are calculated separately.The calculated O‘Connell effect turns out to agree better with the observed effect than that was formerly obtained.     

Detection of Collisional Asteroid Orbits Under Observable Nonlinearity in the Problem of Orbit Improvement

Solar System Research - A method has been developed for detecting collisional orbits of asteroids in the initial confidence region with a noticeable nonlinearity in the problem of improving their...     

Population Synthesis of Binary Be Stars with Degenerate Companions in the Galaxy

Using the numerical code (`Scenario Machine') we study of number and physical properties of binary Be stars. Evolutionary tracks leading to a formation of the observational binary systems are presented. We conclude that synchronization must be taken into account when calculating binary Be star evolution and calculate the minimal orbital period for Be/evolved companion binary. The obtained distributions over orbital parameters are in good agreement with the observational lack of short-period Be/X-ray binaries. According to our calculations 70% of all Be stars must have a white dwarf. The white dwarfs in these systems should be hot enough with the surface temperature distribution peaking at 10000–20000 K. Their detection is possible during the period of the lack of Be star envelope by the detection of white dwarf extremely UV and soft X-ray emission. This method of registration appears to be particularly promising for `single' early-type Be stars because in these systems the white dwarfs must have a very high surface temperature. However, the loss of the Be disc-like envelope does not often occur and it is a rather rare event for many Be stars. The best possibility of white dwarf detection is given by the study of helium spectral lines found in emission from several Be stars. The ultraviolet continuum energy of these Be stars is found to be not enough to produce the observed helium emission. Besides, we also discuss the orbital properties of binary Be star systems with other evolved companions such as helium stars and neutron stars and give a possible explanation for the lack of Be/black hole binaries. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Abundances from Disentangled Component Spectra of Close Binary Stars: An Observational Test of an Early Mixing in High-Mass Stars

Recent theoretical calculations of stellar evolutionary tracks for rotating high-mass stars suggests that the chemical composition of the surface layers changes even whilst the star is evolving on the Main Sequence. The abundance analysis of binary components with precisely known fundamental stellar quantities allows a powerful comparison with theory. The observed spectra of close binary stars can be separated into the individual spectra of the component stars using the method of spectral disentangling on a time-series of spectra taken over the orbital cycle. Recently, Pavlovski and Hensberge (2005, A&A, 439, 309) have shown that, even with moderately high line-broadening, metal abundances can be derived from disentangled spectra with a precision of 0.1 dex. In a continuation of this project we have undertaken a detailed abundance analysis of the components of another two high-mass binaries, V453 Cyg, and V380 Cyg. Both binaries are well-studied systems with modern solutions. The components are close to the TAMS and therefore very suitable for an observational test of early mixing in high-mass stars.     

On the Use of Roche Equipotentials in Analysing the Problems of Binary and Rotating Stars

Kopal (Adv. Astron. Astrophys., 9, 1, 1972) introduced the concept of Roche equipotentials to analyse the effects of rotational and tidal distortions in case of stars in binary systems. In this approach a mathematical expression for the potential of a star in a binary system is obtained by approximating its inner structure with Roche model. This expression for the potential has been used in subsequent analysis by various authors to analyse the problems of structures and oscillations of synchronous and nonsynchronus binary stars as well as single rotating stars. Occasionally, doubts have been expressed regarding the validity of the use of this approach for analysing nonsynchronous binaries and rotationally and tidally distorted single stars. In this paper we have tried to clarify these doubts.