Open AccessUnified analytical solutions to two‐body problems with drag
Author(s) -
Breiter S.,
Jackson A. A.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.1998.01768.x
Subject(s) - physics , drag , poynting vector , eccentricity (behavior) , classical mechanics , bessel function , mathematical analysis , generalization , parasitic drag , mechanics , mathematics , optics , quantum mechanics , magnetic field , political science , law
The two‐body problem with a generalized Stokes drag is discussed. The drag force is proportional to the product of the velocity vector and the inverse square of the distance. The generalization consists of allowing two different proportionality constants for the radial and the transverse components of the force. Under the ‘generalized Robertson transformation’, the equation of the orbit takes the form of the Lommel equation and admits solutions in terms of Bessel and Lommel functions. The exact, analytical solutions for this type of drag reveal a paradoxical effect of increasing eccentricity for all trajectories. The Poynting–Robertson drag and Poynting–Plummer–Danby problems are discussed as particular cases of the general solution.