Position and velocity sensitivities at the triangular libration points

The model of the circular restricted problem of three bodies is used to investigate the sensitivity of the third body motion when it is given a positional or velocity deviation away from the L₄ triangular libration point. The x-axis is used as a criteria for defining the stability of the third body motion. Poincaré's surfaces of section are used to compare the regions of periodic, quasi-periodic and stochastic motion to the trajectories found using the definition of stability (not crossing the x-axis) defined in this study. Values of the primary/secondary mass ratios () ranging from 0 to the linear critical value 0.038521... are investigated. Using this new form of stability measure, it is determined that certain values of are more stable than others. The results of this study are compared, and found, to give agreeable results to other studies which investigate commensurabilities of the long and short period terms of periodic orbits.     

A note on the elliptic restricted three-body problem

This work considers periodic solutions, arc-solutions (solutions with consecutive collisions) and double collision orbits of the plane elliptic restricted problem of three bodies for =0 when the eccentricity of the primaries,e _p , varies from 0 to 1. Characteristic curves of these three kinds of solutions are given.     

Existence and Stability of Libration Points in the Restricted Three-Body Problem When the Primaries are Triaxial Rigid Bodies

This paper deals with the stationary solutions of the planar restricted three-body problem when the primaries are triaxial rigid bodies with one of the axes as the axis of symmetry and its equatorial plane coinciding with the plane of motion. It is seen that there are five libration points, two triangular and three collinear. It is further observed that the collinear points are unstable, while the triangular points are stable for the mass parameter 0 < _crit(the critical mass parameter). It is further seen that the triangular points have long or short periodic elliptical orbits in the same range of .This revised version was published online in October 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A method for stability determinations in the elliptic restricted problem

In the ordinary restricted problem of three bodies, the first-order stability of planar periodic orbits may be determined by means of their characteristic exponents, as derived from the condition of a vanishing determinant for the coefficients of an infinite system of homogenous linear equations associated with the exponential series solutionu, v representing any initially small oscillations about the periodic solutionx, y. In the elliptic restricted problem, periodic solutions are possible only for periods which are equal to, or integral multiples of, the periodP of the elliptic motion of the two primary masses. It is shown that the infinite determinant approach to the determination of the characteristic exponents can be extended to the treatment of superposed free oscillations in the elliptic problem, and that in generaltwo exponents appear in any complete solutionu, v for eachone existing in the corresponding ordinary restricted problem. The value of each exponent depends on a series proceeding in even powers of the eccentricitye of the relative orbit of the two primaries, in addition to its basic dependence on the mass ratio . For stable periodic orbits, the oscillation frequenciesn ₁ (,e ²),n ₂ (,e ²) associated with these two exponents tend, withe0, to certain limiting valuesn ₁ (),n ₂(), which differ from each other by the amount of the frequencyN=2/P of the orbital motion of the primaries. One of the two frequencies, sayn ₁(), is identical with the frequency of the corresponding oscillations in the ordinary restricted problem, while the second one gives rise to oscillations only in the elliptic restricted problem, withe0.The method will be described in more detail, together with its application to two families of small periodie librations about the equilateral points of the elliptic restricted problem (E. Rabe: Two new Classes of Periodic Trojan Librations in the Elliptic Restricted Problem and their Stabilities) in theProceedings of the Symposium on Periodic Orbits, Stability and Resonances, held at the University of São Paulo, Brasil, 4–12 September, 1969.Presented at the Conference on Celestial Mechanics, Oberwolfach, Germany, August 17–23, 1969.     

Bifurcating families around collinear libration points

The planar and the vertical Lyapunov families are two basic periodic families around the collinear libration points. The stability curves of these two families are given first, and then periodic families bifurcating from them are explored in detail. Several properties of these bifurcating families are found. This study follows a series of the authors’ publications on periodic families around the libration points in the restricted three-body problem.     

Some analytical results about periodic orbits in the restricted three body problem with dissipation

We present some analytical results about the existence of periodic orbits for the planar restricted three body problem with dissipation considered recently by Celletti et?al. (CMDA 109, 265, 2011) We show that, under fairly general conditions on the dissipation term, the circular orbits cannot be continued to the dissipative framework. Moreover, we give general conditions for the occurrence or not of a Hopf bifurcation around the libration points L ₄ and L ₅. Our results are consistent with the numerical findings of Celletti et?al.     

The effect of oblateness of the bigger primary on collinear libration points in the restricted problem of three bodies

In the restricted problem of three bodies, the effect of oblateness of the bigger primary appears as an additional term in the potential. As a result, the location of libration points and the roots of the characteristic equation at these points depend not only upon the mass parameter but also on the oblateness termI of the bigger primary. Series solutions are developed in terms of andI which are used for locating the collinear libration points and for determining the mean motions and characteristic exponents at these points.The work is supported by a fellowship awarded to the second author by University Grant Commission, India.     

Geometrical dynamics: A new approach to periodic orbits aroundL 4

Geometrical dynamics is the study of the geometry of the orbits in configuration space of a dynamical system without reference to the system's motion in time.Generalized coordinates for the circular restricted problem of three bodies are taken as polar coordinatesr, centered at the triangular libration pointL ₄. A time-independent nonlinear second order ordinary differential equation forr as a function of is derived. Approximations to periodic solutions are obtained by perturbations and Fourier series.     

Bifurcations of plane with three-dimensional periodic orbits in the elliptic restricted problem

We show that the procedure employed in the circular restricted problem, of tracing families of three-dimensional periodic orbits from vertical self-resonant orbits belonging to plane families, can also be applied in the elliptic problem. A method of determining series of vertical bifurcation orbits in the planar elliptic restricted problem is described, and one such series consisting of vertical-critical orbits (a _v=+1) is given for the entire range (0,1/2) of the mass parameter . The initial segments of the families of three-dimensional orbits which bifurcate from two of the orbits belonging to this series are also given.     

Families <Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">i</Emphasis> of periodic solutions of the restricted problem for μ = 5 × 10<Superscript>−5</Superscript>

We consider the circular planar restricted three-body problem with the mass parameter μ = 5 × 10^?5. Two families of periodic solutions are calculated: family c, starting from the collinear fixed point L ₁, and the initial part of familyi, which begins by direct circular orbits of an infinitely small radius around the body of bigger mass. The calculated families are very close to the generating ones, which we described earlier. In particular, the existence of the predicted zigzag structure of characteristics of family iis verified. New properties of the planar and vertical traces are discovered.     

A grid search for families of periodic orbits in the restricted problem of three bodies

A method is described for the numerical determination of families of periodic orbits in the planar restricted problem of three bodies. The families are sought in their representation as curves in a two-dimensional space of parameters. A grid search is applied to the study of the evolution of satellite motion when the mass parameter is varied. Only that part of the space of parameters is investigated for which one of them, the relative energy constant, takes values larger than that corresponding to the inner Lagrangian pointL ₂. Critical values of the mass parameter are determined for which new families of simple or double periodic orbits appear inside the closed ovals of zero velocity.     

Inclined asymmetric librations in exterior resonances

Librational motion in Celestial Mechanics is generally associated with the existence of stable resonant configurations and signified by the existence of stable periodic solutions and oscillation of critical (resonant) angles. When such an oscillation takes place around a value different than 0 or \(\pi \), the libration is called asymmetric. In the context of the planar circular restricted three-body problem, asymmetric librations have been identified for the exterior mean motion resonances (MMRs) 1:2, 1:3, etc., as well as for co-orbital motion (1:1). In exterior MMRs the massless body is the outer one. In this paper, we study asymmetric librations in the three-dimensional space. We employ the computational approach of Markellos (Mon Not R Astron Soc 184:273–281,  https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/184.2.273, 1978) and compute families of asymmetric periodic orbits and their stability. Stable asymmetric periodic orbits are surrounded in phase space by domains of initial conditions which correspond to stable evolution and librating resonant angles. Our computations were focused on the spatial circular restricted three-body model of the Sun–Neptune–TNO system (TNO = trans-Neptunian object). We compare our results with numerical integrations of observed TNOs, which reveal that some of them perform 1:2 resonant, inclined asymmetric librations. For the stable 1:2 TNO librators, we find that their libration seems to be related to the vertically stable planar asymmetric orbits of our model, rather than the three-dimensional ones found in the present study.     

The linear stability of libration points of the photogravitational restricted three-body problem when the smaller primary is an oblate spheroid

This paper deals with the stationary solutions of the planar restricted three-body problem when the more massive primary is a source of radiation and the smaller primary is an oblate spheroid with its equatorial plane coincident with the plane of motion. The collinear equilibria have conditional retrograde elliptical periodic orbits around them in the linear sense, while the triangular points have long- or short-periodic retrograde elliptical orbits for the mass parameter 0 < _crit, the critical mass parameter, which decreases with the increase in oblateness and radiation force. Through special choice of initial conditions, retrograde elliptical periodic orbits exist for the case = _crit, whose eccentricity increases with oblateness and decreases with radiation force for non-zero oblateness.     

Three-dimensional,periodic, ‘halo’ orbits

A largely numerical study was made of families of three-dimensional, periodic, halo orbits near the collinear libration points in the restricted three-body problem. Families extend from each of the libration points to the nearest primary. They appear to exist for all values of the mass ratio , from 0 to 1. More importantly, most of the families contain a range of stable orbits. Only near L₁, the libration point between the two primaries, are there no stable orbits for certain values of . In that case the stable range decreases with increasing , until it disappears at =0.0573. Near the other libration points, stable orbits exist for all mass ratios investigated between 0 and 1. In addition, the orbits increase in size with increasing .     

Comparison between stability limits for satellite motion

Numerical and analytical comparisons are made between three methods of obtaining stability information on satellite motion using the model of the restricted problem of three bodies. Kuiper's (1961) and Szebehely's (1978) approximate results are compared with computer solutions obtained by successive iterations. The three methods show close agreement regarding the maximum values of the orbital radii for stability. The lowest result and therefore the most conservative estimate is obtained by the simplest formula, _max=(/81)^1/3 where is the ratio of the satellite's orbital radius to the distance between the primaries with massesm ₁>m ₂ and is the mass-ratio given bym ₂/(m ₁+m ₂).     

Families of Asymmetric Periodic Orbits in the Restricted Three-body Problem

This paper studies the asymmetric solutions of the restricted planar problem of three bodies, two of which are finite, moving in circular orbits around their center of masses, while the third is infinitesimal. We explore, numerically, the families of asymmetric simple-periodic orbits which bifurcate from the basic families of symmetric periodic solutions f, g, h, i, l and m, as well as the asymmetric ones associated with the families c, a and b which emanate from the collinear equilibrium points L ₁, L ₂ and L ₃ correspondingly. The evolution of these asymmetric families covering the entire range of the mass parameter of the problem is presented. We found that some symmetric families have only one bifurcating asymmetric family, others have infinity number of asymmetric families associated with them and others have not branching asymmetric families at all, as the mass parameter varies. The network of the symmetric families and the branching asymmetric families from them when the primaries are equal, when the left primary body is three times bigger than the right one and for the Earth–Moon case, is presented. Minimum and maximum values of the mass parameter of the series of critical symmetric periodic orbits are given. In order to avoid the singularity due to binary collisions between the third body and one of the primaries, we regularize the equations of motion of the problem using the Levi-Civita transformations.     

The Web of Periodic Orbits at L 4

We describe and comment the results of a numerical exploration of the numerous natural families of periodic orbits associated with the L ₄ equilibrium point of the restricted problem of three bodies (and of course by symmetry those associated with the L ₅ equilibrium point). These families are organized in a very structured network or coweb and this structure evolves, when the mass ratio varies, in a very organized way.     

A case of commensurability induced by oblateness

In the three-dimensional restricted three-body problem, it is known that there exists a near one-to-one commensurability ratio between the planar angular frequencies (s _{1, 2, 3}) and the corresponding angular frequency (S ₂) in thez-direction at the three collinear equilibria (L _{1, 2, 3}), which is significant for small and practically important values of the mass parameter (). When the more massive primary is treated as an oblate spheroid with its equatorial plane coincident with the plane of motion of the primaries, it is established that oblateness induces a one-to-one commensurability at the exterior pointL ₃ (to the right of the more massive primary) and at the interior pointL ₂ for 01/2 and that atL ₁ no such commensurability exists. However, the values of the oblateness coefficient (A ₁) involved atL ₂ are too high to have any practical significance, while those atL ₃ being small for small values of may be useful for generating periodic orbits of the third kind.     

Spatial p-q Resonant Orbits of the RTBP

The purpose of this paper is to extend the study of the so called p-q resonant orbits of the planar restricted three-body problem to the spatial case. The p-q resonant orbits are solutions of the restricted three-body problem which have consecutive close encounters with the smaller primary. If E, M and P denote the larger primary, the smaller one and the infinitesimal body, respectively, then p and q are the number of revolutions that P gives around M and M around E, respectively, between two consecutive close approaches. For fixed values of p and q and suitable initial conditions on a sphere of radius around the smaller primary, we will derive expressions for the final position and velocity on this sphere for the orbits under consideration.