English

Second order perturbation theory for spin-orbit resonances

Astrophysics 2008-11-26 v1

Abstract

We implement Lie transform perturbation theory to second order for the planar spin-orbit problem. The perturbation parameter is the asphericity of the body, with the orbital eccentricity entering as an additional parameter. We study first and second order resonances for different values of these parameters. For nearly spherical bodies like Mercury and the Moon first order perturbation theory is adequate, whereas for highly aspherical bodies like Hyperion the spin is mostly chaotic and perturbation theory is of limited use. However, in between, we identify a parameter range where second order perturbation theory is useful and where as yet unidentified objects may be in second order resonances.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0505559,
  title  = {Second order perturbation theory for spin-orbit resonances},
  author = {A. E. Flynn and P. Saha},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0505559},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

To appear in AJ

R2 v1 2026-07-22T08:52:26.490Z