Chaotic dynamics around cometary nuclei

José Lages (1) , Ivan I. Shevchenko , Guillaume Rollin (1)

1 UTINAM - Univers, Transport, Interfaces, Nanostructures, Atmosphère et environnement, Molécules (UMR 6213)

We apply a generalized Kepler map theory to describe the qualitative chaotic dynamics around cometary nuclei, based on accessible observational data for five comets whose nuclei are well-documented to resemble dumb-bells. The sizes of chaotic zones around the nuclei and the Lyapunov times of the motion inside these zones are estimated. In the case of Comet 1P/Halley, the circumnuclear chaotic zone seems to engulf an essential part of the Hill sphere, at least for orbits of moderate to high eccentricity.

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]; Dynamique Chaotique [nlin.CD]

José Lages, Ivan I. Shevchenko, Guillaume Rollin. Chaotic dynamics around cometary nuclei. Icarus, In press, ⟨10.1016/j.icarus.2017.10.035⟩. ⟨hal-01626982⟩