The Dynamics and Stability of Circumbinary Orbits

TL;DR

This paper explores the complex dynamics and stability of inclined circumbinary orbits in 3D, revealing nodal libration mechanisms and providing a comprehensive analysis across binary parameters, with implications for exoplanet studies.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed stability analysis of circumbinary orbits considering both binary eccentricity and mass fraction, expanding understanding of orbital dynamics.

Findings

Identification of nodal libration in inclined orbits

Quantitative analysis of orbit stability across parameters

Implications for stable exoplanet orbits around binaries

Abstract

We numerically investigate the dynamics of orbits in 3D circumbinary phase-space as a function of binary eccentricity and mass fraction. We find that inclined circumbinary orbits in the elliptically-restricted three-body problem display a nodal libration mechanism in the longitude of the ascending node and in the inclination to the plane of the binary. We (i) analyse and quantify the behaviour of these orbits with reference to analytical work performed by Farago & Laskar (2010) and (ii) investigate the stability of these orbits over time. This work is the first dynamically aware analysis of the stability of circumbinary orbits across both binary mass fraction and binary eccentricity. This work also has implications for exoplanetary astronomy in the existence and determination of stable orbits around binary systems.