Phys 7221, Fall 2006: Homework # 5

Gabriela Gonzalez
October 1, 2006
Prob 3-11: Collapse of an orbital system
Consider two particles falling into each other due to gravitational forces, starting from rest
at a distance a. The system has zero angular momentum, with the energy given by
E = T + V =
1
2
m r
2

k
r
=
k
a
where m is the reduced mass of the system, and r is the distance between the masses. Notice
that the value of the energy, k/a, calculated from the initial condition r = 0, r = a, is
not that of a Keplers orbit, k/2a, because l = 0.
We can derive an equation for r as usual:
dr
dt
=
_
2
m

E V
=
_
2
m
_
k
r

k
a
dt =
_
ma
2k

rdr

a r
=
_
2ma
k
_
a u
2
du
where we used the substitution u
2
= a r, and used the fact that dr/dt < 0 to add a
negative sign when taking the square root of r
2
. We can integrate the equation from the
initial time when u = 0, to the collapse time when u =

a, obtaining the time of the fall:

t
0
=
_
2ma
k
_

a
0
_
a u
2
du =
_
2ma
k
a
4
=
_
ma
3
8k
If the masses were in a circular orbit of radius a, the period is = 2
_
ma
3
/k, so the
time of the fall can be expressed as t
0
= /4

2.
1
Prob 3-21: A modied Keplers potential
Consider a central potential of the form V (r) = k/r + h/r
2
. The orbit equation (3.34)
for u() = 1/r() is
d
2
u
d
2
+ u =
m
l
2
d
du
V =
m
l
2
d
du
(ku + hu
2
) =
km
l
2

2mh
l
2
u
d
2
u
d
2
+
_
1 +
2mh
l
2
_
u =
km
l
2
The solution to this equation is of the form
u =
km
l
2
+ Acos((
0
))
with
2
= 1 + 2mh/l
2
.
This is the equation of a Kepler orbit (parabola, ellipse or hyperbola) in a coordinate
system where the angular coordinate is

= .
A revolution around the origin sweeps a angle equal to 2. If 1,there are many
radial oscillations in one revolution; if 1, the orbit shows a slow precession. If the
energy is negative and 2mh/l
2
1, the orbit is a precessing ellipse. In a cycle of the
periodic motion with period , the radial coordinate returns to the original value when
(
0
) = 2, or

0
=
2

=
2
_
1 + 2mh/l
2
= 2

The precession speed is then

=
2

_
1
1
_
1 + 2mh/l
2
_

2mh
l
2

This means orbit precession can be used as a test of Newtons theory for the gravita-
tional force being derived from a potential k/r. Using l
2
= mka(1 e
2
), we obtain an
expression for

in terms of the perturbation parameter of Keplers potential = h/ka,
and orbital parameters:

2mh
l
2

=
2mh
mka(1 e
2
)
=
2
(1 e
2
)
The eect is more pronounced for eccentric and long orbits. The perihelion of Mercury is
observed to precess (after correcting for known planetary perturbations) by 43 arc-seconds
per century:

=
43 (2/360) (1/3600) rad
100yr
= 2.1 10
6
rad/yr
2
and thus

(1 e
2
)

2
7.6 10
8
This discrepancy is also (and better) explained by General Relativity.
Prob 3-23: Mass ratio of Sun and Earth
The period and the semi-major axis of elliptical orbits in Keplers potential are related
by (/2)
2
= a
3
/k where = m
1
m
2
/(m
1
+ m
2
) is the reduced mass of the system, and
k = Gm
1
m
2
. When m
1
m
2
, we have (/2) a
3
/Gm
1
. For the Earth-Sun system,
_

es
2
_
2
=
a
3
es
GM
s
.
For the Earth-Moon system,
_

em
2
_
2
=
a
3
em
GM
e
.
Taking ratios, we obtain
_

es

em
_
2
=
a
3
em
a
3
em
M
e
M
s
M
s
M
e
=
_
a
es
a
em
_
3
_

em

es
_
2
=
_
1.5 10
8
3.8 10
5
_
3
_
27.3
365
_
2
= 3.4 10
5
The measured value, from http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?constants, is 328900.560.02;
our estimate is within 3% of this value.
Prob 3-24: Keplers equation
The energy in Keplers motion is
E =
1
2
m r
2
+
l
2
2mr
2

k
r
For negative energy and elliptical orbits, the energy is E =
k
2a
, and the angular momen-
tum is l
2
= kma(1 e
2
), thus
r
2
=
2
m
_
E
l
2
2mr
2
+
k
r
_
=
2
m
_

k
2a

ka(1 e
2
)
2r
2
+
k
r
_
=
k
mar
2
_
r
2
a
2
(1 e
2
) + 2ar
_
=
k
mar
2
_
a
2
e
2
(r a)
2
_
3
Since the period of the motion is = 2/, with =
_
k/ma
3
, we obtain
r
2
=
k
mar
2
_
a
2
e
2
(r a)
2
_
=
2
a
2
r
2
_
a
2
e
2
(r a)
2
_
dr
dt
=
a
r
_
a
2
e
2
(r a)
2
dt =
1
a
r dr
_
a
2
e
2
(r a)
2
which we can use to integrate t(r). Using the orbit equation r = a(1 e cos ), and
dr = ea sind we obtain
dt =
1
a
r dr
_
a
2
e
2
(r a)
2
=
1
a
a(1 e cos )ea sind
_
a
2
e
2
(ae cos )
2
= (1 e cos ) d
which can be now trivially integrated into Keplers equation:
t = e sin
Prob 3-33: A particle in a paraboloid of revolution
A particle with coordinates r = (x, y, z) is constrained to move in a paraboloid f revolution.
i.e., z = r
2
/a = (x
2
+y
2
)
2
/a. We will use generalized polar coordinates r, to describe the
motion of the particle, with z = r
2
/a. The kinetic energy is
T =
1
2
m( r
2
+ r
2

2
+ z
2
) =
1
2
m( r
2
+ r
2

2
+ 4
r
2
a
2
r
2
)
The potential energy is
V = mg r = +mgz =
mg
a
r
2
The Lagrangian is
L = T V =
1
2
m r
2
+
1
2
mr
2

2
+ 2m
r
2
a
2
r
2

mg
a
r
2
We see that the coordinate is cyclic, so the z-component of the angular momentum
is conserved (associated with the symmetry of rotation about the z-axis):
mr
2

= l = constant
4
Lagranges equation for the coordinate r is
d
dt
_
m r + 2m
r
2
a
2
r
_
mr

2
4m
r r
2
a
2
+
2mg
a
r = 0
_
1 + 2
r
2
a
2
_
r
l
2
m
2
r
3
+
2g
a
r = 0
There are solutions for circular orbits, with r
4
= r
4
0
= l
2
a/(2gm
2
). If the orbit is circular
with radius r
0
, the angular momentum is related to the radius and the speed, l = mr
0
v.
We can then nd the condition between the speed and the radius for circular orbits: v
2
=
2gr
2
0
/a. If the orbit is only approximately circular, we nd an approximate equation for
the perturbation r = r r
0
:
_
1 + 2
(r
0
+ r)
2
a
2
_

r =
l
2
m
2
r
3
0
1
1 + (r/r
0
)
3

2g
a
(r
0
+ r)
_
1 + 2
r
2
0
a
2
_

r
2g
a
r
This equation has a periodic solution, with period = 2/, with
2
= (2g/a)/(1+2r
2
0
/a
2
).
5