ASTM001/MTH724U

SOLAR SYSTEM

Lecture 6: The Three-Body

Problem (2)
Zero Velocity Curves (1)
 Zero Velocity Curves (2)

The surface composed of the zero velocity curves, the

curves themselves and the trajectories of the particles
suggest that there are several key values of the Jacobi
constant for a given mass ratio. These are the Lagrange
equilibrium points.
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (1)
Although the restricted problem is non-integrable, we
can find some special solutions that correspond to
stationary orbits at the Lagrange equilibrium points.

Consider the equations of motion in the CRTBP:

Using the fact that

we can rewrite U as n=1
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (2)
At an equilibrium point,

Therefore the
equations of motion
become:

With substitutions for the partial derivatives we get:

 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (3)
It is easy to spot that there is a trivial
solution:

corresponding
to:

L4

These are the locations of the

Lagrange points L4 and L5 that
lie 60 degrees ahead of and
behind the secondary mass. L5
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (4)
The second equation for the equilibrium point,

has an obvious solution with y = 0 implying that the

remaining equilibrium points lie on the x axis.
There are 3 remaining points. Two lie on either
side of the secondary mass and one lies at almost
unit distance on the negative branch of the x axis.

L3 L1 L2
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (5)

L3 L1 L2

At the L1 point:

Define:
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (6)

L3 L1 L2

At the L2 point:

Define:
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (7)

L3 L1 L2

At the L3 point:

Define:
Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (8)
 Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (9)

As the mass ratio gets smaller, L3, L4 and L5 approach

the unit circle while L1 and L2 gradually approach the
same distance, α, from the secondary.
Lagrangian Equilibrium Points (10)
As the mass ratio
decreases, the zero
velocity curves
become more
symmetric about the
unit circle.
Note that zero
velocity curves are
not orbital paths,
although there is a
relationship between
an orbit and its zero
velocity curve.
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (1)

If we plot the relative magnitudes and directions of the initial

motion around two zero velocity curves in the vicinity of L4
we see that initial motion is away from L4, implying that the
point is unstable to small displacements. But is it?
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (2)
The equations of motion
are:

We have found five equilibrium points of the system but

we need to discover whether or not these points are
(linearly) stable to small displacements.
To do this we consider an equilibrium point,
and then a small displacement by an amount (X,Y)
so that the particle now has coordinates
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (3)
The next step is to linearise the equations of motion:

Subscript 0 denotes
evaluation at the
equilibrium point.
where we have made use of the fact that

at an equilibrium point.
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (4)
The differential equations can be written as:

or

where
and

This is a standard eigenvalue problem. The first

step is to find the eigenvalues of the system by
solving the characteristic equation:
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (5)
This gives:

or

This quartic is a biquadratic in λ with solutions

 Stability of Equilibrium Points (6)
The resulting motion will be purely oscillatory if the
eigenvalues are purely imaginary and hence the
point is stable.

However, if any of the four eigenvalues have a

positive real part then there will be exponential
growth away from the equilibrium point and the
point is unstable.

We can illustrate what this means by plotting the

location of the four eigenvalues in the Argand
diagram for successively smaller values of the
mass ratio.
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (7)

Argand diagram of Argand diagram of

eigenvalues for perturbed eigenvalues for perturbed
motion around L1. motion around L4 or L5.
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (8)
Example: L1 point

Eigenvalues:

Solutions:
!
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (9)
Example: L4 point

Eigenvalues:

Solutions:
 Stability of Equilibrium Points (10)
The L4 and L5 points are stable provided the eigenvalues
are purely imaginary (as in the previous case).

At the points,

Therefore the points are stable provided,

or
This condition is

The approximate eigenfrequencies are: satisfied by (almost)

all the relevant mass
ratios in the solar
system
 Motion Around L4 and L5 (1)
The eigenfrequencies for the perturbed motion
around L4 and L5 show that there are two periods
associated with the motion:
Close to the orbital period of the
secondary mass
>> Long-period motion associated with
libration around equilibrium point.

The first (short-period) motion is just the epicycles

around the guiding centre viewed in the rotating
frame.
The second (long-period) motion is the libration of
the guiding centre around the equilibrium point.
Motion Around L4 and L5 (2)
Motion Around L4 and L5 (3)
 Tadpole and Horseshoe Motion (1)
Consider particle trajectories for different initial
displacements from L4:

These are examples of tadpole orbits.

Tadpole and Horseshoe Motion (2)

(suppressed eccentricity)

These are examples of horseshoe orbits.

Tadpole and Horseshoe Motion (3)
Tadpole and Horseshoe Motion (4)
Tadpole and Horseshoe Motion (5)
 Trojan Asteroids (1)
The possibility of objects near the L4 and L5 points
of Jupiter was suggested by Lagrange in the 18th
century. However, it was not until the start of the
20th century that such objects – the Trojan
asteroids, were first discovered.
Several hundred Trojans of Jupiter are known to
exist. Furthermore, there are at least two Trojans
of Mars as well as objects co-orbital with Earth and
Neptune.
Trojan Asteroids (2)
 Trojan Satellites

There are suspicions of Trojan satellites associated with

Enceladus and Mimas.
In 1980 two new satellites, Janus and Epimetheus, were
discovered in the Saturn system during ring plane
crossing. Their orbits were separated by just 50km.
They were subsequently imaged by the Voyager
spacecraft. Being so close (radially) together, they are
executing a modified version of the classical horseshoe
orbit configuration.
Janus and Epimetheus (1)
Janus and Epimetheus (2)
The relative radial widths
of the two horseshoes
are related by:
Particles in Horseshoe Orbits
New Types of Coorbital Motion (1)

Fathi Namouni showed that additional types of

coorbital motion are possible.
New Types of Coorbital Motion (2)
New Types of Coorbital Motion (3)

Namouni, Christou & Murray (1999)

 Integration
Cruithne (1) Non-Rotating
Frame

Rotating Frame

Animations
by Paul
Wiegert
Cruithne (2)