Abstract
We discuss the main mechanisms affecting the dynamical evolution of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) by analyzing the results of three numerical integrations over 1 Myr of the NEA (4179) Toutatis. In the first integration the only perturbing planet is the Earth. So the evolution is dominated by close encounters and looks like a random walk in semimajor axis and a correlated random walk in eccentricity, keeping almost constant the perihelion distance and the Tisserand invariant. In the second integration Jupiter and Saturn are present instead of the Earth, and the 3/1 (mean motion) and v 6 (secular) resonances substantially change the eccentricity but not the semimajor axis. The third, most realistic, integration including all the three planets together shows a complex interplay of effects, with close encounters switching the orbit between different resonant states and no approximate conservation of the Tisserand invariant. This shows that simplified 3-body or 4-body models cannot be used to predict the typical evolution patterns and time scales of NEAs, and in particular that resonances provide some “fast-track” dynamical routes from low-eccentricity to very eccentric, planet-crossing orbits.
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On leave from the Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Via Buonarroti 2, 56127 Pisa, Italy, thanks to the “G. Colombo” fellowships of the European Space Agency.
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Michel, P., Froeschlé, C. & Farinella, P. Dynamical evolution of NEAs: Close encounters, secular perturbations and resonances. Earth Moon Planet 72, 151–164 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117513
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117513