Related papers: Two Dynamical Classes of Centaurs
Highly eccentric binary systems appear in many astrophysical contexts, ranging from tidal capture in dense star clusters, precursors of stellar disruption by massive black holes, to high-eccentricity migration of giant planets. In a highly…
A survey of currently known planet-hosting stars indicates that approximately 25% of extrasolar planetary systems are within dual-star environments. Several of these systems contain stellar companions on moderately close orbits, implying…
We investigate via numerical modeling the effects of two planets locked in resonance, and migrating outward, on the dust distribution of the natal circumstellar disk. We aim to test whether the dust distribution exhibits peculiar features…
Our understanding of the Solar System has been revolutionized over the past decade by the finding that the orbits of the planets are inherently chaotic. In extreme cases, chaotic motions can change the relative positions of the planets…
Scattered disk objects (SDOs) are distant minor bodies that orbit the sun on highly eccentric orbits, frequently with perhelia near Neptune's orbit. Gravitational perturbations due to Neptune frequently lead to chaotic dynamics, with the…
The differential migration of two planets due to planet-disk interaction can result in capture into the 2:1 eccentricity-type mean-motion resonances. Both the sequence of 2:1 eccentricity resonances that the system is driven through by…
The magnetic activity of the Sun becomes stronger and weaker over roughly an 11 year cycle, modulating the radiation and charged particle environment experienced by the Earth as "space weather". Decades of observations from the Mount Wilson…
We investigate the secular evolution of the orbital semi-major axis and eccentricity due to mass transfer in eccentric binaries, assuming conservation of total system mass and orbital angular momentum. Assuming a delta function mass…
We investigate the dynamical evolution of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in typical scattered disk orbits (scattered TNOs) by performing simulations using several thousand particles lying initially on Neptune-encountering orbits. We explore…
We have studied the dynamical evolution of rotating star clusters with mass spectrum using a Fokker-Planck code. As a simplest multi-mass model, we first investigated the two-component clusters. Rotation is found to accelerate the dynamical…
Centaurs have orbits between Jupiter and Neptune and are thought to originate from the trans-Neptunian region. Observations of surface properties of Centaurs and comparison with those of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) would provide…
We carried out an extensive analysis of the stability of the outer solar system, making use of the frequency analysis technique over short-term integrations of nearly a hundred thousand test particles, as well as a statistical analysis of…
A theory is developed for the dynamics of eccentric perturbations $[\propto \exp(\pm i\phi)]$ of a disk galaxy residing in a spherical dark matter halo and including a spherical bulge component. The disk is represented as a large number $N$…
Dynamics of regular clusters of many non-touching particles falling under gravity in a viscous fluid at low Reynolds number are analysed within the point-particle model. Evolution of two families of particle configurations is determined: 2…
Hierarchical quadruple systems arise naturally in stellar binaries and triples that harbour planets. Examples are hot Jupiters (HJs) in stellar triple systems, and planetary companions to HJs in stellar binaries. The secular dynamical…
In this review presented at the Royal Society meeting, "Cometary Science After Rosetta", I present an overview of studies of small solar system objects that exhibit properties of both asteroids and comets (with a focus on so-called active…
The study of dwarf galaxies in groups is a powerful tool for investigating galaxy evolution, chemical enrichment and environmental effects on these objects. Here we present results obtained for dwarf galaxies in the Centaurus A complex, a…
One of the characteristic features of low-mass stars is their propensity to shed large amounts of angular momentum throughout their evolution. This distinguishs them from brown dwarfs which remain fast rotators over timescales of gigayears.…
The text of lectures to the 2011 Tenerife Winter School. The School's theme was "Secular Evolution of Galaxies" and my task was to present the underlying stellar-dynamical theory. Other lecturers were speaking on the role of bars and…
This paper summarises a numerical investigation which aimed to identify and characterise regular and chaotic behaviour in time-dependent Hamiltonians H(r,p,t) = p^2/2 + U(r,t), with U=R(t)V(r) or U=V[R(t)r], where V(r) is a polynomial in x,…