Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems

Multiple analytical, semi-analytical, and empirical stability criteria have been derived in the literature for two-planet systems. But, the dependence of the stability limit on the initial mutual inclination between the inner and outer orbits is not well modeled by previous stability criteria. Here,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hareesh Gautham Bhaskar, Hagai Perets
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2024-01-01
Series:The Astrophysical Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad62f9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850264967123566592
author Hareesh Gautham Bhaskar
Hagai Perets
author_facet Hareesh Gautham Bhaskar
Hagai Perets
author_sort Hareesh Gautham Bhaskar
collection DOAJ
description Multiple analytical, semi-analytical, and empirical stability criteria have been derived in the literature for two-planet systems. But, the dependence of the stability limit on the initial mutual inclination between the inner and outer orbits is not well modeled by previous stability criteria. Here, we derive a semi-analytical stability criteria for two-planet systems, at arbitrary inclinations, in which the inner planet is a test particle. Using perturbation theory we calculate the characteristic fractional change in the semimajor axis of the inner binary β = δ a _1 / a _1 caused by perturbations from the companion. Stability criteria can be derived by setting a threshold on β. Focusing initially on circular orbits, we derive an analytical expression for β for coplanar prograde and retrograde orbits. For noncoplanar configurations, we evaluate a semi-analytical expression. We then generalize to orbits with arbitrary eccentricities and account for the secular effects. Our analytical and semi-analytical results are in excellent agreement with direct N -body simulations. In addition, we show that contours of β ∼ 0.01 can serve as criteria for stability. More specifically, we show that (1) retrograde orbits are generally more stable than prograde ones; (2) systems with intermediate mutual inclination are less stable due to von Ziepel–Lidov–Kozai (vZLK) dynamics; and (3) mean motion resonances (MMRs) can stabilize intermediate inclination secularly unstable regions in phase space, by quenching vZLK secular processes (4) MMRs can destabilize some of the dynamically stable regions. We also point out that these stability criteria can be used to constrain the orbital properties of observed systems and their age.
format Article
id doaj-art-947b27746f764605a1ff80ea7ad0b4d9
institution OA Journals
issn 1538-4357
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher IOP Publishing
record_format Article
series The Astrophysical Journal
spelling doaj-art-947b27746f764605a1ff80ea7ad0b4d92025-08-20T01:54:34ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572024-01-01973210810.3847/1538-4357/ad62f9Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary SystemsHareesh Gautham Bhaskar0Hagai Perets1Technion-Israel Institute of Technology , Haifa, IsraelTechnion-Israel Institute of Technology , Haifa, IsraelMultiple analytical, semi-analytical, and empirical stability criteria have been derived in the literature for two-planet systems. But, the dependence of the stability limit on the initial mutual inclination between the inner and outer orbits is not well modeled by previous stability criteria. Here, we derive a semi-analytical stability criteria for two-planet systems, at arbitrary inclinations, in which the inner planet is a test particle. Using perturbation theory we calculate the characteristic fractional change in the semimajor axis of the inner binary β = δ a _1 / a _1 caused by perturbations from the companion. Stability criteria can be derived by setting a threshold on β. Focusing initially on circular orbits, we derive an analytical expression for β for coplanar prograde and retrograde orbits. For noncoplanar configurations, we evaluate a semi-analytical expression. We then generalize to orbits with arbitrary eccentricities and account for the secular effects. Our analytical and semi-analytical results are in excellent agreement with direct N -body simulations. In addition, we show that contours of β ∼ 0.01 can serve as criteria for stability. More specifically, we show that (1) retrograde orbits are generally more stable than prograde ones; (2) systems with intermediate mutual inclination are less stable due to von Ziepel–Lidov–Kozai (vZLK) dynamics; and (3) mean motion resonances (MMRs) can stabilize intermediate inclination secularly unstable regions in phase space, by quenching vZLK secular processes (4) MMRs can destabilize some of the dynamically stable regions. We also point out that these stability criteria can be used to constrain the orbital properties of observed systems and their age.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad62f9Exoplanet dynamicsExoplanet evolutionThree-body problemN-body simulations
spellingShingle Hareesh Gautham Bhaskar
Hagai Perets
Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems
The Astrophysical Journal
Exoplanet dynamics
Exoplanet evolution
Three-body problem
N-body simulations
title Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems
title_full Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems
title_fullStr Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems
title_full_unstemmed Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems
title_short Dynamical and Secular Stability of Mutually Inclined Planetary Systems
title_sort dynamical and secular stability of mutually inclined planetary systems
topic Exoplanet dynamics
Exoplanet evolution
Three-body problem
N-body simulations
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad62f9
work_keys_str_mv AT hareeshgauthambhaskar dynamicalandsecularstabilityofmutuallyinclinedplanetarysystems
AT hagaiperets dynamicalandsecularstabilityofmutuallyinclinedplanetarysystems