Box orbit
In stellar dynamics , a box orbit describes a certain type of orbit that occurs in triaxial systems. These are systems that have no symmetry about one of their coordinate axes . The box orbits are therefore counterparts to the loop orbits that occur in spherically symmetrical or axially symmetrical systems.
In a box orbit , the star oscillates independently along three different axes as it moves through the system. As a result of this movement, it occupies roughly a box-shaped region in space. In contrast to the Loop Orbit, the stars on Box Orbits can come as close as desired to the center of the system. In a special case, if the frequencies of the oscillation are commensurable in different directions , the orbit will lie on a one or two-dimensional manifold and can avoid the center. Such orbits are sometimes called " boxlets ".
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Beginning of a box orbit | Many cycles of a box orbit | A closed box orbit |
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Merritt, M. Valluri: Resonant Orbits in Triaxial Galaxies . In: The Astronomical Journal . tape 118 , September 1999, p. 1177–1189 , doi : 10.1086 / 301012 , arxiv : astro-ph / 9903452 , bibcode : 1999AJ .... 118.1177M .