We introduce the notion of orbital L-functions for the space of binary cubic
forms and investigate their analytic properties. We study their functional
equations and residue formulas in some detail. Aside from the intrinsic
interest, results from this paper are used to prove the existence of secondary
terms in counting functions for cubic fields. This is worked out in a companion
paper (arXiv:1102.2914).Comment: 49 pages; submitte