A new expansion of planetary disturbing function and applications to interior, co-orbital and exterior resonances with planets

In this study, a new expansion of planetary disturbing function is developed for describing the resonant dynamics of minor bodies with arbitrary inclinations and semimajor axis ratios. In practice, the disturbing function is expanded around circular orbits in the first step and then, in the second step, the resulting mutual interaction between circular orbits is expanded around a reference point. As usual, the resulting expansion is presented in the Fourier series form, where the force amplitudes are dependent on the semimajor axis, eccentricity and inclination, and the harmonic arguments are linear combinations of the mean longitude, longitude of pericenter and longitude of ascending node of each mass. The resulting new expansion is valid for arbitrary inclinations and semimajor axis ratios. In the case of mean motion resonant configuration, the disturbing function can be easily averaged to produce the analytical expansion of resonant disturbing function. Based on the analytical expansion, the Hamiltonian model of mean motion resonances is formulated, and the resulting analytical developments are applied to Jupiter’s inner and co-orbital resonances and Neptune’s exterior resonances. Analytical expansion is validated by comparing the analytical results with the associated numerical outcomes.

Period Ratio Sculpting near Second-order Mean-motion Resonances

Second-order mean-motion resonances lead to an interesting phenomenon in the sculpting of the period-ratio distribution, due to their shape and width in period-ratio/eccentricity space. As the osculating periods librate in resonance, the time-averaged period ratio approaches the exact commensurability. The width of second-order resonances increases with increasing eccentricity, and thus more eccentric systems have a stronger peak at commensurability when averaged over sufficient time. The libration period is short enough that this time-averaging behavior is expected to appear on the timescale of the Kepler mission. Using N-body integrations of simulated planet pairs near the 5:3 and 3:1 mean-motion resonances, we investigate the eccentricity distribution consistent with the planet pairs observed by Kepler. This analysis, an approach independent from previous studies, shows no statistically significant peak at the 3:1 resonance and a small peak at the 5:3 resonance, placing an upper limit on the Rayleigh scale parameter, σ, of the eccentricity of the observed Kepler planets at σ = 0.245 (3:1) and σ = 0.095 (5:3) at 95% confidence, consistent with previous results from other methods.

A Sublime Opportunity: The Dynamics of Transitioning Cometary Bodies and the Feasibility of In Situ Observations of the Evolution of Their Activity

The compositional and morphological evolution of minor bodies in the solar system is primarily driven by the evolution of their heliocentric distances, as the level of incident solar radiation regulates cometary activity. We investigate the dynamical transfer of Centaurs into the inner solar system, facilitated by mean motion resonances with Jupiter and Saturn. The recently discovered object P/2019 LD2 will transition from the Centaur region to the inner solar system in 2063. In order to contextualize LD2, we perform N-body simulations of a population of Centaurs and Jupiter-family comets. Objects between Jupiter and Saturn with Tisserand parameter T J ∼ 3 are transferred onto orbits with perihelia q < 4 au within the next 1000 yr with notably high efficiency. Our simulations show that there may be additional LD2-like objects transitioning into the inner solar system in the near future, all of which have low ΔV with respect to Jupiter. We calculate the distribution of orbital elements resulting from a single Jovian encounter and show that objects with initial perihelia close to Jupiter are efficiently scattered to q < 4 au. Moreover, approximately 55% of the transitioning objects in our simulated population experience at least one Jovian encounter prior to reaching q < 4 au. We demonstrate that a spacecraft stationed near Jupiter would be well positioned to rendezvous, orbit-match, and accompany LD2 into the inner solar system, providing an opportunity to observe the onset of intense activity in a pristine comet in situ. Finally, we discuss the prospect of identifying additional targets for similar measurements with forthcoming observational facilities.

The functional relation between three-body mean motion resonances and Yarkovsky drift speeds

ABSTRACT We examined the motion of asteroids across the three-body mean motion resonances (MMRs) with Jupiter and Saturn and with the Yarkovsky drift speed in the semimajor axis of the asteroids. The research was conducted using numerical integrations performed using the Orbit9 integrator with 84 000 test asteroids. We calculated time delays, dtr, caused by the seven three-body MMRs on the mobility of test asteroids with 10 positive and 10 negative Yarkovsky drift speeds, which are reliable for Main Belt asteroids. Our final results considered only test asteroids that successfully crossed over the MMRs without close approaches to the planets. We have devised two equations that approximately describe the functional relation between the average time 〈dtr〉 spent in the resonance, the strength of the resonance SR, and the semimajor axis drift speed da/dt (positive and negative) with the orbital eccentricities of asteroids in the range (0, 0.1). Comparing the values of 〈dtr〉 obtained from the numerical integrations and from the derived functional relations, we analysed average values of 〈dtr〉 in all three-body MMRs for every da/dt. The main conclusion is that the analytical and numerical estimates of the average time 〈dtr〉 are in very good agreement, for both positive and negative da/dt. Finally, this study shows that the functional relation we obtain for three-body MMRs is analogous to that previously obtained for two-body MMRs.

An integrable model for first-order three-planet mean motion resonances

Recent works on three-planet mean motion resonances (MMRs) have highlighted their importance for understanding the details of the dynamics of planet formation and evolution. While the dynamics of two-planet MMRs are well understood and approximately described by a one-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian, little is known of the exact dynamics of three-body resonances besides the cases of zeroth-order MMRs or when one of the bodies is a test particle. In this work, I propose the first general integrable model for first-order three-planet mean motion resonances. I show that one can generalize the strategy proposed in the two-planet case to obtain a one-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian. The dynamics of these resonances are governed by the second fundamental model of resonance. The model is valid for any mass ratio between the planets and for every first-order resonance. I show the agreement of the analytical model with numerical simulations. As examples of application, I show how this model could improve our understanding of the capture into MMRs as well as their role in the stability of planetary systems.

Fomalhaut b could be massive and sculpting the narrow, eccentric debris disc, if in mean-motion resonance with it

ABSTRACT The star Fomalhaut hosts a narrow, eccentric debris disc, plus a highly eccentric companion Fomalhaut b. It is often argued that Fomalhaut b cannot have significant mass, otherwise it would quickly perturb the disc. We show that material in internal mean-motion resonances with a massive, coplanar Fomalhaut b would actually be long-term stable, and occupy orbits similar to the observed debris. Furthermore, millimetre dust released in collisions between resonant bodies could reproduce the width, shape, and orientation of the observed disc. We first re-examine the possible orbits of Fomalhaut b, assuming that it moves under gravity alone. If Fomalhaut b orbits close to the disc mid-plane then its orbit crosses the disc, and the two are apsidally aligned. This alignment may hint at an ongoing dynamical interaction. Using the observationally allowed orbits, we then model the interaction between a massive Fomalhaut b and debris. While most debris is unstable in such an extreme configuration, we identify several resonant populations that remain stable for the stellar lifetime, despite crossing the orbit of Fomalhaut b. This debris occupies low-eccentricity orbits similar to the observed debris ring. These resonant bodies would have a clumpy distribution, but dust released in collisions between them would form a narrow, relatively smooth ring similar to observations. We show that if Fomalhaut b has a mass between those of Earth and Jupiter then, far from removing the observed debris, it could actually be sculpting it through resonant interactions.

Flip mechanism of Jupiter-crossing orbits in the non-hierarchical triple system

With the discovery of more and more retrograde minor bodies, retrograde orbits’ production mechanism has attracted much attention. However, almost all of the current research on the flip mechanism is based on the hierarchical approximation. In this paper, we study the flip mechanism of Jupiter-crossing orbits in a non-hierarchical Sun-Jupiter triple system. Numerical experiments summarize the characteristics of flipping orbits, and this provides essential guidance for the semi-analytical method. The i − Ω portraits of flipping particles are obtained and verified by numerical integrations. Based on the previous numerical experiments, 200,000 test particles in a particular range are generated and integrated over 1Myr. The flip region on the entire a − e parameter space is obtained. For each grid of the flip area, we plot the i − Ω portrait and measure the corresponding Jupiter’s flip ability. The gaps around the mean motion resonances (MMRs) in the flip region are also investigated. The MMRs protect the particles in these gaps from flips. Different resonant widths cause the differences in the size of these gaps. The flip mechanism is systematically studied in a planet-crossing system. The complete map of Jupiter’s flip ability in the entire flip region is depicted. Given the orbital parameters of the particle, we can assess whether the flip will occur in Jupiter’s presence. Our work can also apply to build the flip maps of other massive planets. And it may help understand the evolution of retrograde minor bodies.