AUTHOR=Celletti Alessandra , Galeş Cătălin B. 

TITLE=A Study of the Lunisolar Secular Resonance 2ω˙+Ω˙=0

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences

VOLUME=3

YEAR=2016

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2016.00011

DOI=10.3389/fspas.2016.00011

ISSN=2296-987X

ABSTRACT=<p>The dynamics of small bodies around the Earth has gained a renewed interest, since the awareness of the problems that space debris can cause in the nearby future. A relevant role in space debris is played by lunisolar secular resonances, which might contribute to an increase of the orbital elements, typically of the eccentricity. We concentrate our attention on the lunisolar secular resonance described by the relation <inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>ω</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Ω</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:math></inline-formula>, where ω and Ω denote the argument of perigee and the longitude of the ascending node of the space debris. We introduce three different models with increasing complexity. We show that the growth in eccentricity, as observed in space debris located in the MEO region at the inclination about equal to 56°, can be explained as a natural effect of the secular resonance <inline-formula><mml:math id="M3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>ω</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mo>+</mml:mo><mml:mover accent="true"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Ω</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo>˙</mml:mo></mml:mover><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn>0</mml:mn></mml:math></inline-formula>, while the chaotic variations of the orbital parameters are the result of interaction and overlapping of nearby resonances.</p>