The use of the wavelet cluster analysis for asteroid family determination

The asteroid family determination has been analysis method dependent for a longtime. A new cluster analysis based on the wavelet transform has allowed an automatic definition of families with a degree of significance versus randomness. Actually this method is rather general and can be applied to any kind of structural analysis. We will rather concentrate on the main features of the method. The analysis has been performed on the set of 4100 asteroid proper elements computed by Milani and Knezevic (see Milani and Knezevic 1990). Twenty one families have been found and influence of the chosen metric has been tested. The results have beem compared to Zappala et al.'s ones (see Zappala et al 1990) obtained by the use of a completely different method applied to the same set of data. For the first time, a good overlapping has been found between both method results, not only for the big well known families but also for the smallest ones

Stream Lifetimes Against Planetary Encounters

We study, both analytically and numerically, the perturbation induced by an encounter with a planet on a meteoroid stream. Our analytical tool is the extension of pik s theory of close encounters, that we apply to streams described by geocentric variables. The resulting formulae are used to compute the rate at which a stream is dispersed by planetary encounters into the sporadic background. We have verified the accuracy of the analytical model using a numerical test

Formation of Kuiper-belt binaries through multiple chaotic scattering encounters with low-mass intruders

The discovery that many trans-neptunian objects exist in pairs, or binaries, is proving invaluable for shedding light on the formation, evolution and structure of the outer Solar system. Based on recent systematic searches it has been estimated that up to 10% of Kuiper-belt objects might be binaries. However, all examples discovered to-date are unusual, as compared to near-Earth and main-belt asteroid binaries, for their mass ratios of order unity and their large, eccentric orbits. In this article we propose a common dynamical origin for these compositional and orbital properties based on four-body simulations in the Hill approximation. Our calculations suggest that binaries are produced through the following chain of events: initially, long-lived quasi-bound binaries form by two bodies getting entangled in thin layers of dynamical chaos produced by solar tides within the Hill sphere. Next, energy transfer through gravitational scattering with a low-mass intruder nudges the binary into a nearby non-chaotic, stable zone of phase space. Finally, the binary hardens (loses energy) through a series of relatively gentle gravitational scattering encounters with further intruders. This produces binary orbits that are well fitted by Kepler ellipses. Dynamically, the overall process is strongly favored if the original quasi-bound binary contains comparable masses. We propose a simplified model of chaotic scattering to explain these results. Our findings suggest that the observed preference for roughly equal mass ratio binaries is probably a real effect; that is, it is not primarily due to an observational bias for widely separated, comparably bright objects. Nevertheless, we predict that a sizeable population of very unequal mass Kuiper-belt binaries is likely awaiting discovery.Comment: This is a preprint of an Article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, (C) 2005 The Royal Astronomical Societ

Probing rare physical trajectories with Lyapunov weighted dynamics

The transition from order to chaos has been a major subject of research since the work of Poincare, as it is relevant in areas ranging from the foundations of statistical physics to the stability of the solar system. Along this transition, atypical structures like the first chaotic regions to appear, or the last regular islands to survive, play a crucial role in many physical situations. For instance, resonances and separatrices determine the fate of planetary systems, and localised objects like solitons and breathers provide mechanisms of energy transport in nonlinear systems such as Bose-Einstein condensates and biological molecules. Unfortunately, despite the fundamental progress made in the last years, most of the numerical methods to locate these 'rare' trajectories are confined to low-dimensional or toy models, while the realms of statistical physics, chemical reactions, or astronomy are still hard to reach. Here we implement an efficient method that allows one to work in higher dimensions by selecting trajectories with unusual chaoticity. As an example, we study the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam nonlinear chain in equilibrium and show that the algorithm rapidly singles out the soliton solutions when searching for trajectories with low level of chaoticity, and chaotic-breathers in the opposite situation. We expect the scheme to have natural applications in celestial mechanics and turbulence, where it can readily be combined with existing numerical methodsComment: Accepted for publication in Nature Physics. Due to size restrictions, the figures are not of high qualit

Relativistic Celestial Mechanics with PPN Parameters

Starting from the global parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) reference system with two PPN parameters $\gamma$ and $\beta$ we consider a space-bounded subsystem of matter and construct a local reference system for that subsystem in which the influence of external masses reduces to tidal effects. Both the metric tensor of the local PPN reference system in the first post-Newtonian approximation as well as the coordinate transformations between the global PPN reference system and the local one are constructed in explicit form. The terms proportional to $\eta=4\beta-\gamma-3$ reflecting a violation of the equivalence principle are discussed in detail. We suggest an empirical definition of multipole moments which are intended to play the same role in PPN celestial mechanics as the Blanchet-Damour moments in General Relativity. Starting with the metric tensor in the local PPN reference system we derive translational equations of motion of a test particle in that system. The translational and rotational equations of motion for center of mass and spin of each of $N$ extended massive bodies possessing arbitrary multipole structure are derived. As an application of the general equations of motion a monopole-spin dipole model is considered and the known PPN equations of motion of mass monopoles with spins are rederived.Comment: 71 page

Measure of the exponential splitting of the homoclinic tangle in four-dimensional symplectic mappings

Using four-dimensional symplectic maps as a model problem, we numerically compute the unstable manifolds of the hyperbolic manifolds of the phase space related to the single resonances. We measure an exponential dependence of the size of the lobes of these manifolds through many orders of magnitude of the perturbing parameter. This is an indirect numerical verification of the exponential decay of the normal form, as predicted by the Nekhoroshev theorem. The variation of the size of the lobes turns out to be correlated to the diffusion coefficient

Detection of Arnold diffusion in Hamiltonian systems

We detect diffusion along resonances in a quasi-integrable system at small values of the perturbing parameter. The diffusion coefficient goes to zero, as the perturbation parameter goes to zero, faster than a power law, typical of Chirikov diffusion, and is compatible with an exponential law expected in the Nekhoroshev theorem

Diffusion in Hamiltonian quasi-integrable systems

The characterization of di\ufb00usion of orbits in Hamiltonian quasi- integrable systems is a relevant topic in dynamics. For quasi-integrable Hamiltonian systems a possible model for global di\ufb00usion, valid for perturbation larger than a critical value, was given by Chirikov; while for smaller perturbation the Nekhoroshev theorem leave the possibility of exponentially slow di\ufb00usion along a peculiar the Arnold\u2019s web. We have studied this problem using a numerical approach. The aim of this chapter is to give the state of the art concerning the detection of slow Arnold\u2019s di\ufb00usion in quasi-integrable Hamiltonian systems