vbid/9783662526934

Description

This prizewinning PhD thesis presents a general discussion of the orbital motion close to solar system small bodies (SSSBs), which induce non-central asymmetric gravitational fields in their neighborhoods. It introduces the methods of qualitative theory in nonlinear dynamics to the study of local/global behaviors around SSSBs. Detailed mechanical models are employed throughout this dissertation, and specific numeric techniques are developed to compensate for the difficulties of directly�analyzing. Applying this method,�several�target systems, like asteroid 216 Kleopatra, are explored in great detail, and the results prove to be both revealing and pervasive for a large group of SSSBs.�Typham this is the title: Orbital Dynamics in the Gravitational Field of Small Bodies