A Two-Dimensional Analytic Solution for the Generation of Hyperbolic Trajectories Via A Single Close Encounter with Applications To Interstellar Objects

TL;DR

This paper develops an approximate analytical method to predict hyperbolic trajectories of small bodies ejected from planetary systems after a single close encounter, validated against simulations and applied to various systems.

Contribution

It introduces a closed-form, approximate analytic criterion for mapping pre- to post-encounter orbital elements in hyperbolic ejections, enhancing understanding of interstellar object origins.

Findings

Ejection most efficient when orbital eccentricity exceeds 0.4.

Final eccentricity driven mainly by perturber-centric velocity component.

Analytic criteria agree reasonably well with numerical simulations.

Abstract

The discovery of interstellar interlopers such as 1I/`Oumuamua, 2I/Borisov, and 3I/ATLAS have highlighted the necessity of understanding the dynamical pathways that eject small bodies from planetary systems into hyperbolic trajectories. In this paper we examine the orbital elements of particles in the restricted three-body problem prior to and post scattering onto hyperbolic trajectories by massive perturbers. Building on previous work, we calculate closed-form -- but approximate -- analytic criteria that map pre- to post-encounter orbital elements. An application of these equations demonstrates that ejection occurs most efficiently when the orbital eccentricity of the massless test particle exceeds a minimum threshold, $e\gtrsim0.4$. The primary driver of the final eccentricity is the component of the perturber-centric velocity projected along the direction of motion of the perturber. These analytic criteria are then benchmarked and validated against numerical simulations which demonstrate that they provide a reasonably good zeroth-order approximation for ejection behavior. However, system-specific cases will generally require numerical simulations in addition to this analytic construction. The methodology is applied to (i) the solar system and exoplanetary systems (ii) $\beta$ Pictoris and (iii) HR 8799 to evaluate the pre-scattering orbits of ejected particles. This method provides a transparent and computationally efficient tool for identifying orbits within a given system from which interstellar objects are efficiently ejected via a single scattering event from a massive perturber.