Frozen orbits for satellites close to an Earth-like planet

We say that a planet is Earth-like if the coefficient of the second order zonal harmonic dominates all other coefficients in the gravity field. This paper concerns the zonal problem for satellites around an Earth-like planet, all other perturbations excluded. The potential contains all zonal coefficientsJ ₂ throughJ ₉. The model problem is averaged over the mean anomaly by a Lie transformation to the second order; we produce the resulting Hamiltonian as a Fourier series in the argument of perigee whose coefficients are algebraic functions of the eccentricity — not truncated power series. We then proceed to a global exploration of the equilibria in the averaged problem. These singularities which aerospace engineers know by the name of frozen orbits are located by solving the equilibria equations in two ways, (1) analytically in the neighborhood of either the zero eccentricity or the critical inclination, and (2) numerically by a Newton-Raphson iteration applied to an approximate position read from the color map of the phase flow. The analytical solutions we supply in full to assist space engineers in designing survey missions. We pay special attention to the manner in which additional zonal coefficients affect the evolution of bifurcations we had traced earlier in the main problem (J ₂ only). In particular, we examine the manner in which the odd zonalJ ₃ breaks the discrete symmetry inherent to the even zonal problem. In the even case, we find that Vinti's problem (J ₄+J ₂ ² =0) presents a degeneracy in the form of non-isolated equilibria; we surmise that the degeneracy is a reflection of the fact that Vinti's problem is separable. By numerical continuation we have discovered three families of frozen orbits in the full zonal problem under consideration; (1) a family of stable equilibria starting from the equatorial plane and tending to the critical inclination; (2) an unstable family arising from the bifurcation at the critical inclination; (3) a stable family also arising from that bifurcation and terminating with a polar orbit. Except in the neighborhood of the critical inclination, orbits in the stable families have very small eccentricities, and are thus well suited for survey missions.     

Stability of fictitious Trojan planets in extrasolar systems

Our work deals with the dynamical possibility that in extrasolar planetary systems a terrestrial planet may have stable orbits in a 1:1 mean motion resonance with a Jovian like planet. We studied the motion of fictitious Trojans around the Lagrangian points L₄/L₅ and checked the stability and/or chaoticity of their motion with the aid of the Lyapunov Indicators and the maximum eccentricity. The computations were carried out using the dynamical model of the elliptic restricted three‐body problem that consists of a central star, a gas giant moving in the habitable zone, and a massless terrestrial planet. We found 3 new systems where the gas giant lies in the habitable zone, namely HD99109, HD101930, and HD33564. Additionally we investigated all known extrasolar planetary systems where the giant planet lies partly or fully in the habitable zone. The results show that the orbits around the Lagrangian points L₄/L₅ of all investigated systems are stable for long times (10⁷ revolutions). (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The dynamics of the elliptic Hill problem: periodic orbits and stability regions

The motion of a satellite around a planet can be studied by the Hill model, which is a modification of the restricted three body problem pertaining to motion of a satellite around a planet. Although the dynamics of the circular Hill model has been extensively studied in the literature, only few results about the dynamics of the elliptic model were known up to now, namely the equations of motion and few unstable families of periodic orbits. In the present study we extend these results by computing a large set of families of periodic orbits and their linear stability and classify them according to their resonance condition. Although most of them are unstable, we were able to find a considerable number of stable ones. By computing appropriate maps of dynamical stability, we study the effect of the planetary eccentricity on the stability of satellite orbits. We see that, even for large values of the planetary eccentricity, regular orbits can be found in the vicinity of stable periodic orbits. The majority of irregular orbits are escape orbits.     

Stability of a planet in the HD 41004 binary system

The Hill stability criterion is applied to analyse the stability of a planet in the binary star system of HD 41004 AB, with the primary and secondary separated by 22 AU, and masses of 0.7 M_⊙ and 0.4 M_⊙, respectively. The primary hosts one planet in an S‐type orbit, and the secondary hosts a brown dwarf (18.64 M_J) on a relatively close orbit, 0.0177 AU, thereby forming another binary pair within this binary system. This star‐brown dwarf pair (HD 41004 B+Bb) is considered a single body during our numerical calculations, while the dynamics of the planet around the primary, HD 41004 Ab, is studied in different phase‐spaces. HD 41004 Ab is a 2.6 M_J planet orbiting at the distance of 1.7 AU with orbital eccentricity 0.39. For the purpose of this study, the system is reduced to a three‐body problem and is solved numerically as the elliptic restricted three‐body problem (ERTBP). The Hill stability function is used as a chaos indicator to configure and analyse the orbital stability of the planet, HD 41004 Ab. The indicator has been effective in measuring the planet's orbital perturbation due to the secondary star during its periastron passage. The calculated Hill stability time series of the planet for the coplanar case shows the stable and quasi‐periodic orbits for at least ten million years. For the reduced ERTBP the stability of the system is also studied for different values of planet's orbital inclination with the binary plane. Also, by recording the planet's ejection time from the system or collision time with a star during the integration period, stability of the system is analysed in a bigger phase‐space of the planet's orbital inclination, ≤ 90°, and its semimajor axis, 1.65–1.75 AU. Based on our analysis it is found that the system can maintain a stable configuration for the planet's orbital inclination as high as 65° relative to the binary plane. The results from the Hill stability criterion and the planet's dynamical lifetime map are found to be consistent with each other. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The 3:2 spin-orbit resonant motion of Mercury

Our purpose is to build a model of rotation for a rigid Mercury, involving the planetary perturbations and the non-spherical shape of the planet. The approach is purely analytical, based on Hamiltonian formalism; we start with a first-order basic averaged resonant potential (including J ₂ and C ₂₂, and the first powers of the eccentricity and the inclination of Mercury). With this kernel model, we identify the present equilibrium of Mercury; we introduce local canonical variables, describing the motion around this 3:2 resonance. We perform a canonical untangling transformation, to generate three sets of action-angle variables, and identify the three basic frequencies associated to this motion. We show how to reintroduce the short-periodic terms, lost in the averaging process, thanks to the Lie generator; we also comment about the damping effects and the planetary perturbations. At any point of the development, we use the model SONYR to compare and check our calculations.     

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.     

The 1/1 resonance in extrasolar planetary systems

We study orbits of planetary systems with two planets, for planar motion, at the 1/1 resonance. This means that the semimajor axes of the two planets are almost equal, but the eccentricities and the position of each planet on its orbit, at a certain epoch, take different values. We consider the general case of different planetary masses and, as a special case, we consider equal planetary masses. We start with the exact resonance, which we define as the 1/1 resonant periodic motion, in a rotating frame, and study the topology of the phase space and the long term evolution of the system in the vicinity of the exact resonance, by rotating the orbit of the outer planet, which implies that the resonance and the eccentricities are not affected, but the symmetry is destroyed. There exist, for each mass ratio of the planets, two families of symmetric periodic orbits, which differ in phase only. One is stable and the other is unstable. In the stable family the planetary orbits are in antialignment and in the unstable family the planetary orbits are in alignment. Along the stable resonant family there is a smooth transition from planetary orbits of the two planets, revolving around the Sun in eccentric orbits, to a close binary of the two planets, whose center of mass revolves around the Sun. Along the unstable family we start with a collinear Euler–Moulton central configuration solution and end to a planetary system where one planet has a circular orbit and the other a Keplerian rectilinear orbit, with unit eccentricity. It is conjectured that due to a migration process it could be possible to start with a 1/1 resonant periodic orbit of the planetary type and end up to a satellite-type orbit, or vice versa, moving along the stable family of periodic orbits.     

Resonant Periodic Motion and the Stability of Extrasolar Planetary Systems

Families of nearly circular periodic orbits of the planetary type are studied, close to the 3/1 mean motion resonance of the two planets, considered both with finite masses. Large regions of instability appear, depending on the total mass of the planets and on the ratio of their masses.Also, families of resonant periodic orbits at the 2/1 resonance have been studied, for a planetary system where the total mass of the planets is the 4% of the mass of the sun. In particular, the effect of the ratio of the masses on the stability is studied. It is found that a planetary system at this resonance is unstable if the mass of the outer planet is smaller than the mass of the inner planet.Finally, an application has been made for the stability of the observed extrasolar planetary systems HD82943 and Gliese 876, trapped at the 2/1 resonance.     

GJ 581 update: Additional evidence for a Super‐Earth in the habitable zone

We present an analysis of the significantly expanded HARPS 2011 radial velocity data set for GJ 581 that was presented by Forveille et al. (2011). Our analysis reaches substantially different conclusions regarding the evidence for a Super‐Earth‐mass planet in the star's Habitable Zone. We were able to reproduce their reported χ²_ν and RMS values only after removing some outliers from their models and refitting the trimmed down RV set. A suite of 4000 N‐body simulations of their Keplerian model all resulted in unstable systems and revealed that their reported 3.6σ detection of e = 0.32 for the eccentricity of GJ 581e is manifestly incompatible with the system's dynamical stability. Furthermore, their Keplerian model, when integrated only over the time baseline of the observations, significantly increases the χ²_ν and demonstrates the need for including non‐Keplerian orbital precession when modeling this system. We find that a four‐planet model with all of the planets on circular or nearly circular orbits provides both an excellent self‐consistent fit to their RV data and also results in a very stable configuration. The periodogram of the residuals to a 4‐planet all‐circular‐orbit model reveals significant peaks that suggest one or more additional planets in this system. We conclude that the present 240‐point HARPS data set, when analyzed in its entirety, and modeled with fully self‐consistent stable orbits, by and of itself does offer significant support for a fifth signal in the data with a period near 32 days. This signal has a false alarm probability of <4% and is consistent with a planet of minimum mass 2.2 M_⊕, orbiting squarely in the star's habitable zone at 0.13 AU, where liquid water on planetary surfaces is a distinct possibility (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Stability of relative equilibria in arbitrary axisymmetric gravitational and magnetic fields

Relative equilibria occur in a wide variety of physical applications, including celestial mechanics, particle accelerators, plasma physics, and atomic physics. We derive sufficient conditions for Lyapunov stability of circular orbits in arbitrary axisymmetric gravitational (electrostatic) and magnetic fields, including the effects of local mass (charge) and current density. Particularly simple stability conditions are derived for source‐free regions, where the gravitational field is harmonic (∇²U = 0) or the magnetic field irrotational (∇ × B = 0). In either case the resulting stability conditions can be expressed geometrically (coordinate‐free) in terms of dimensionless stability indices. Stability bounds are calculated for several examples, including the problem of two fixed centers, the J₂ planetary model, galactic disks, and a toroidal quadrupole magnetic field. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Close encounters of a rotating star with planets in parabolic orbits of varying inclination and the formation of hot Jupiters

In this paper we extend the theory of close encounters of a giant planet on a parabolic orbit with a central star developed in our previous work (Ivanov and Papaloizou in MNRAS 347:437, 2004; MNRAS 376:682, 2007) to include the effects of tides induced on the central star. Stellar rotation and orbits with arbitrary inclination to the stellar rotation axis are considered. We obtain results both from an analytic treatment that incorporates first order corrections to normal mode frequencies arising from stellar rotation and numerical treatments that are in satisfactory agreement over the parameter space of interest. These results are applied to the initial phase of the tidal circularisation problem. We find that both tides induced in the star and planet can lead to a significant decrease of the orbital semi-major axis for orbits having periastron distances smaller than 5?C6 stellar radii with tides in the star being much stronger for retrograde orbits compared to prograde orbits. Assuming that combined action of dynamic and quasi-static tides could lead to the total circularisation of orbits this corresponds to observed periods up to 4?C5 days. We use the simple Skumanich law to characterise the rotational history of the star supposing that the star has its rotational period equal to one month at the age of 5 Gyr. The strength of tidal interactions is characterised by circularisation time scale, t _ev , which is defined as a typical time scale of evolution of the planet??s semi-major axis due to tides. This is considered as a function of orbital period P _obs , which the planet obtains after the process of tidal circularisation has been completed. We find that the ratio of the initial circularisation time scales corresponding to prograde and retrograde orbits, respectively, is of order 1.5?C2 for a planet of one Jupiter mass having P _obs ~ 4 days. The ratio grows with the mass of the planet, being of order five for a five Jupiter mass planet with the same P _orb . Note, however, this result might change for more realistic stellar rotation histories. Thus, the effect of stellar rotation may provide a bias in the formation of planetary systems having planets on close orbits around their host stars, as a consequence of planet?Cplanet scattering, which favours systems with retrograde orbits. The results reported in the paper may also be applied to the problem of tidal capture of stars in young stellar clusters.     

Stability of the classical type of relative equilibria of a rigid body in the J 2 problem

The motion of a point mass in the J ₂ problem is generalized to that of a rigid body in a J ₂ gravity field. The linear and nonlinear stability of the classical type of relative equilibria of the rigid body, which have been obtained in our previous paper, are studied in the framework of geometric mechanics with the second-order gravitational potential. Non-canonical Hamiltonian structure of the problem, i.e., Poisson tensor, Casimir functions and equations of motion, are obtained through a Poisson reduction process by means of the symmetry of the problem. The linear system matrix at the relative equilibria is given through the multiplication of the Poisson tensor and Hessian matrix of the variational Lagrangian. Based on the characteristic equation of the linear system matrix, the conditions of linear stability of the relative equilibria are obtained. The conditions of nonlinear stability of the relative equilibria are derived with the energy-Casimir method through the projected Hessian matrix of the variational Lagrangian. With the stability conditions obtained, both the linear and nonlinear stability of the relative equilibria are investigated in details in a wide range of the parameters of the gravity field and the rigid body. We find that both the zonal harmonic J ₂ and the characteristic dimension of the rigid body have significant effects on the linear and nonlinear stability. Similar to the classical attitude stability in a central gravity field, the linear stability region is also consisted of two regions that are analogues of the Lagrange region and the DeBra-Delp region respectively. The nonlinear stability region is the subset of the linear stability region in the first quadrant that is the analogue of the Lagrange region. Our results are very useful for the studies on the motion of natural satellites in our solar system.     

On the existence of the relative equilibria of a rigid body in the J 2 problem

The motion of a point mass in the J ₂ problem has been generalized to that of a rigid body in a J ₂ gravity field for new high-precision applications in the celestial mechanics and astrodynamics. Unlike the original J ₂ problem, the gravitational orbit-rotation coupling of the rigid body is considered in the generalized problem. The existence and properties of both the classical and non-classical relative equilibria of the rigid body are investigated in more details in the present paper based on our previous results. We nondimensionalize the system by the characteristic time and length to make the study more general. Through the study, it is found that the classical relative equilibria can always exist in the real physical situation. Numerical results suggest that the non-classical relative equilibria only can exist in the case of a negative J ₂, i.e., the central body is elongated; they cannot exist in the case of a positive J ₂ when the central body is oblate. In the case of a negative J ₂, the effect of the orbit-rotation coupling of the rigid body on the existence of the non-classical relative equilibria can be positive or negative, which depends on the values of J ₂ and the angular velocity Ω _e . The bifurcation from the classical relative equilibria, at which the non-classical relative equilibria appear, has been shown with different parameters of the system. Our results here have given more details of the relative equilibria than our previous paper, in which the existence conditions of the relative equilibria are derived and primarily studied. Our results have also extended the previous results on the relative equilibria of a rigid body in a central gravity field by taking into account the oblateness of the central body.     

The first high-precision radial velocity search for extra-solar planets

The reflex motion of a star induced by a planetary companion is too small to detect by photographic astrometry. The apparent discovery in the 1960s of planetary systems around certain nearby stars, in particular Barnard’s star, turned out to be spurious. Conventional stellar radial velocities determined from photographic spectra at that time were also too inaccurate to detect the expected reflex velocity changes. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the introduction of solid-state, signal-generating detectors and absorption cells to impose wavelength fiducials directly on the starlight, reduced radial velocity errors to the point where such a search became feasible. Beginning in 1980, our team from UBC introduced an absorption cell of hydrogen fluoride gas in front of the CFHT coudé spectrograph and, for 12 years, monitored the radial velocities of some 29 solar-type stars. Since it was assumed that extra-solar planets would most likely resemble Jupiter in mass and orbit, we were awarded only three or four two-night observing runs each year. Our survey highlighted three potential planet hosting stars, γ Cep (K1 IV), β Gem (K0 III), and ? Eri (K2 V). The putative planets all resembled Jovian systems with periods and masses of: 2.5 years and 1.4 M_J, 1.6 years and 2.6 M_J, and 6.9 years and 0.9 M_J, respectively. All three were subsequently confirmed from more extensive data by the Texas group led by Cochran and Hatzes who also derived the currently accepted orbital elements.None of these three systems is simple. All five giant stars and the supergiant in our survey proved to be intrinsic velocity variables. When we first drew attention to a possible planetary companion to γ Cep in 1988 it was classified as a giant, and there was the possibility that its radial velocity variations and those of β Gem (K0 III) were intrinsic to the stars. A further complication for γ Cep was the presence of an unseen secondary star in an orbit with a period initially estimated at some 30 years. The implication was that the planetary orbit might not be stable, and a Jovian planet surviving so close to a giant then seemed improbable. Later observations by others showed the stellar binary period was closer to 67 years, the primary was only a sub-giant and a weak, apparently synchronous chromospheric variation disappeared. Chromospheric activity was considered important because κ¹ Cet, one of our program stars, showed a significant correlation of its radial velocity curve with chromospheric activity.? Eri is a young, magnetically active star with spots making it a noisy target for radial velocities. While the signature of a highly elliptical orbit (e = 0.6) has persisted for more than three planetary orbits, some feel that even more extensive coverage is needed to confirm the identification despite an apparent complementary astrometric acceleration detected with the Hubble Space Telescope.We confined our initial analyses of the program stars to looking for circular orbits. In retrospect, it appears that some 10% of our sample did in fact have Jovian planetary companions in orbits with periods of years.     

Numerical integration of periodic orbits in the main problem of artificial satellite theory

We describe a collection of results obtained by numerical integration of orbits in the main problem of artificial satellite theory (theJ ₂ problem). The periodic orbits have been classified according to their stability and the Poincaré surfaces of section computed for different values ofJ ₂ andH (whereH is thez-component of angular momentum). The problem was scaled down to a fixed value (–1/2) of the energy constant. It is found that the pseudo-circular periodic solution plays a fundamental role. They are the equivalent of the Poincaré first-kind solutions in the three-body problem. The integration of the variational equations shows that these pseudo-circular solutions are stable, except in a very narrow band near the critical inclincation. This results in a sequence of bifurcations near the critical inclination, refining therefore some known results on the critical inclination, for instance by Izsak (1963), Jupp (1975, 1980) and Cushman (1983). We also verify that the double pitchfork bifurcation around the critical inclination exists for large values ofJ ₂, as large as |J ₂|=0.2. Other secondary (higher-order) bifurcations are also described. The equations of motion were integrated in rotating meridian coordinates.     

Effect of 3rd-degree gravity harmonics and Earth perturbations on lunar artificial satellite orbits

In a previous work we studied the effects of (I) the J ₂ and C ₂₂ terms of the lunar potential and (II) the rotation of the primary on the critical inclination orbits of artificial satellites. Here, we show that, when 3rd-degree gravity harmonics are taken into account, the long-term orbital behavior and stability are strongly affected, especially for a non-rotating central body, where chaotic or collision orbits dominate the phase space. In the rotating case these phenomena are strongly weakened and the motion is mostly regular. When the averaged effect of the Earth’s perturbation is added, chaotic regions appear again for some inclination ranges. These are more important for higher values of semi-major axes. We compute the main families of periodic orbits, which are shown to emanate from the ‘frozen eccentricity’ and ‘critical inclination’ solutions of the axisymmetric problem (‘J ₂ + J ₃’). Although the geometrical properties of the orbits are not preserved, we find that the variations in e, I and g can be quite small, so that they can be of practical importance to mission planning.     

Resonant periodic orbits in the exoplanetary systems

The planetary dynamics of 4/3, 3/2, 5/2, 3/1 and 4/1 mean motion resonances is studied by using the model of the general three body problem in a rotating frame and by determining families of periodic orbits for each resonance. Both planar and spatial cases are examined. In the spatial problem, families of periodic orbits are obtained after analytical continuation of vertical critical orbits. The linear stability of orbits is also examined. Concerning initial conditions nearby stable periodic orbits, we obtain long-term planetary stability, while unstable orbits are associated with chaotic evolution that destabilizes the planetary system. Stable periodic orbits are of particular importance in planetary dynamics, since they can host real planetary systems. We found stable orbits up to 60^° of mutual planetary inclination, but in most families, the stability does not exceed 20^°–30^°, depending on the planetary mass ratio. Most of these orbits are very eccentric. Stable inclined circular orbits or orbits of low eccentricity were found in the 4/3 and 5/2 resonance, respectively.     

Construction d'orbites periodiques de satellites dans un systeme d'axes tournants,I

Résumé On développe une méthode de construction d'orbites périoldiques dans un système d'axes tournants, pour un satellite gravitant autour d'un sphéroide. Les orbites sont quasi circulaires,i est l'inclinaison sur le plan équatorial de la planète. Pour les petites inclinaisons, la solution est donnée jusqu'aux termes enJ ₂ ² etJ ₄.Ce modèle peut être appliqué aux satellites de Saturne. Des valeurs observées des longitudes des noeuds ascendants de Mimas et Téthys, on donne une estimation des valeurs deJ ₂ etJ ₄ du potentiel de Saturne. La valeur deJ ₂ est très sensible aux valeurs adoptées pour le rayon équatorial de la planète.

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Construction of periodic orbits of satellites in a moving system of axes, I

We give an algorithm for the construction of periodic orbits in a rotating frame for the cases of satellites moving around an oblate planet.The orbits are near to the circular case; the asymptotic developments of the periodic solutions are completely calculated for the termsJ ₂ andJ ₄ of the potential. The solutions for small inclinations are given up toJ ₂ ² .The families of solutions depend on three parameters: the semi-major axis, the inclination of the generating orbit and the initial position on this orbit.These solutions can be applied to the motion of the Saturnian satellites. From the observed longitudes of the ascending nodes of Mimas and Tethys, we estimate the valuesJ ₂ andJ ₄ of the Saturnian potential, the value ofJ ₂ very strongly depends on the adopted value of the planet's equatorial diameter.

     

The nature of the orbits of charged dust injected into the Jovian magnetosphere during the tidal break-up of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9

Assuming that the spin and magnetic axis of Jupiter are strictly parallel and that the grain charge remains constant we have derived two integrals of the 3D equations of motion of charged dust grains moving within the co-rotating regions of the Jovian magnetosphere taking into account both planetary gravitation and magnetospheric rotation. We then apply this model to study the fate of fine dust injected into the Jovian magnetosphere as a result of the tidal disruption of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 during its first encounter with Jupiter in July 1992. This analysis, which uses the integrals of the equation of motion rather than the equation of motion itself as was done by Horanyi (1994), does not allow us to calculate the orbits or the orbital evolution of the grains. But it does allow us to construct the spatial regions to which the grains are confined, at least initially before evolutionary effects take over. We have chosen three points along the path of the disintegrating comet for the injection of dust and used two values for the uncertain floating potential of the dust in the inner Jovian magnetosphere. Grains can have three different fates, depending on their size, their acquired potential and their point of injection. While the smallest grains are quickly lost by collision with the planet at high latitudes independent of the sign of their charge, those in an intermediate but narrow size range, injected near the equatorial plane can be trapped in a region close to it, this being true for both positive and negative grains. While somewhat larger positive grains may be initially ejected outward by the co-rotational electric force, similar negative grains, pulled inward by this force collide with the planet at low latitudes. In all cases the largest grains, which are dominated by planetary gravity, initially escape from the inner magnetosphere by following in the path of the comet.Using a detailed time dependent numerical calculation of the jovicentric orbits of the charged dust debris of the disintegrating comet, that allows for variation in the grain potential, while also allowing for perturbations of the grain orbits due to solar radiation pressure and solar gravity Horanyi (1994) found that grains in the size range (1.5m <a < 2.5m) which initially make large excursions from the planet, will eventually form a ring in the radial range 4.5R _J <r < 6R _J . Our present analytical calculation cannot make such a prediction about the evolutionary fate of the dust debris. It can, however, estimate the size of the grains that are initially confined to regions near the points of injection, before evolutionary effects become important.     

Nonlinear dynamical analysis for displaced orbits above a planet

Nonlinear dynamical analysis and the control problem for a displaced orbit above a planet are discussed. It is indicated that there are two equilibria for the system, one hyperbolic (saddle) and one elliptic (center), except for the degenerate h _z ^max, a saddle-node bifurcation point. Motions near the equilibria for the nonresonance case are investigated by means of the Birkhoff normal form and dynamical system techniques. The Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser (KAM) torus filled with quasiperiodic trajectories is measured in the τ ₁ and τ ₂ directions, and a rough algorithm for calculating τ ₁ and τ ₂ is proposed. A general iterative algorithm to generate periodic Lyapunov orbits is also presented. Transitions in the neck region are demonstrated, respectively, in the nonresonance, resonance, and degradation cases. One of the important contributions of the paper is to derive necessary and sufficiency conditions for stability of the motion near the equilibria. Another contribution is to demonstrate numerically that the critical KAM torus of nontransition is filled with the (1,1)-homoclinic orbits of the Lyapunov orbit.