The equilibria and periodic orbits around a dumbbell-shaped body

Xiangyu Li, Dong Qiao*, Pingyuan Cui

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper investigates the equilibria, their stability, and the periodic orbits in the vicinity of a rotating dumbbell-shaped body. First, the geometrical model of dumbbell-shaped body is established. The gravitational potential fields are obtained by the polyhedral method for several dumbbell-shaped bodies with various length-diameter ratios. Subsequently, the equilibrium points of these dumbbell-shaped bodies are computed and their stabilities are analyzed. Periodic orbits around equilibrium points are determined by the differential correction method. Finally, in order to understand further motion characteristic of dumbbell-shaped body, the effect of the rotating angular velocity of the dumbbell-shaped bodies is investigated. This study extends the research work of the orbital dynamics from simple shaped bodies to complex shaped bodies and the results can be applied to the dynamics of orbits around some asteroids.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)417-426
Number of pages10
JournalAstrophysics and Space Science
Volume348
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013

Keywords

  • Dumbbell-shaped body
  • Equilibrium points
  • Gravitational modeling
  • Periodic orbits
  • Stability

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