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Mutual gravitational potential and torque of solid bodies via inertia integrals

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Abstract

The mutual gravitational potential and the mutual gravitational torque of two bodies of arbitrary shape are expanded to the fourth order. The derivations are based on Cartesian coordinates, inertia integrals with relation to the principal reference frames of each body, and the relative rotation matrix. The current formulation is convenient to utilize in high precision problems in rotational dynamics.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS 80, Cambridge, MA, 02138-1516, USA

    Joshua Ashenberg

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  1. Joshua Ashenberg
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Correspondence to Joshua Ashenberg.

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Ashenberg, J. Mutual gravitational potential and torque of solid bodies via inertia integrals. Celestial Mech Dyn Astr 99, 149–159 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-007-9092-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-007-9092-7

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