Element sets for high-order Poincar\'e mapping of perturbed Keplerian motion

TL;DR

This paper evaluates various element sets for high-order Poincaré mapping of perturbed Keplerian orbits, introducing a new set that improves accuracy for high eccentricities and complex perturbations.

Contribution

It compares classical and novel element sets for HOTM, proposing a new set that enhances mapping accuracy for challenging orbital conditions.

Findings

The choice of element set significantly affects HOTM accuracy.

A new element set improves high-eccentricity orbit mapping.

HOTM effectively identifies fixed points and center manifolds.

Abstract

The propagation and Poincar\'e mapping of perturbed Keplerian motion is a key topic in celestial mechanics and astrodynamics, e.g. to study the stability of orbits or design bounded relative trajectories. The high-order transfer map (HOTM) method enables efficient mapping of perturbed Keplerian orbits over many revolutions. For this, the method uses the high-order Taylor expansion of a Poincar\'e or stroboscopic map, which is accurate close to the expansion point. In this paper, we investigate the performance of the HOTM method using different element sets for building the high-order map. The element sets investigated are the classical orbital elements, modified equinoctial elements, Hill variables, cylindrical coordinates and Deprit's ideal elements. The performances of the different coordinate sets are tested by comparing the accuracy and efficiency of mapping low-Earth and highly-elliptical orbits perturbed by $J_2$ with numerical propagation. The accuracy of HOTM depends strongly on the choice of elements and type of orbit. A new set of elements is introduced that enables extremely accurate mapping of the state, even for high eccentricities and higher-order zonal perturbations. Finally, the high-order map is shown to be very useful for the determination and study of fixed points and centre manifolds of Poincar\'e maps.