On the co-orbital asteroids in the solar system: medium-term timescale analysis of the quasi-coplanar objects
Abstract
The focus of this work is the current distribution of asteroids in co-orbital motion with Venus, Earth and Jupiter, under a quasi-coplanar configuration and for a medium-term timescale of the order of 900 years. A co-orbital trajectory is a heliocentric orbit trapped in a 1:1 mean-motion resonance with a given planet. As such, to model it this work considers the Restricted Three-Body Problem in the planar circular case with the help of averaging techniques. The domain of each co-orbital regime, that is, the quasi-satellite motion, the horseshoe motion and the tadpole motion, can be neatly defined by means of an integrable model and a simple two-dimensional map, that is invariant with respect to the mass parameter of the planet, and turns out to be a remarkable tool to investigate the distribution of the co-orbitals objects of interest. The study is based on the data corresponding to the ephemerides computed by the JPL Horizons system for asteroids with a sufficient low orbital inclination with respect to the Sun-planet orbital plane. These objects are cataloged according to their current dynamics, together with the transitions that occur in the given time frame from a given type of co-orbital motion to another. The results provide a general catalog of co-orbital asteroids in the solar system, the first one to our knowledge, and an efficient mean to study transitions.
- Publication:
-
Icarus
- Pub Date:
- January 2023
- DOI:
- 10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115330
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2209.05219
- Bibcode:
- 2023Icar..39015330D
- Keywords:
-
- Resonances;
- Orbital;
- Asteroids;
- Dynamics;
- Celestial mechanics;
- Trojan asteroids;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics;
- Mathematical Physics
- E-Print:
- doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115330