Trapped and escaping orbits in an axially symmetric galactic-type potential

Abstract

In the present article, we investigate the behavior of orbits in a time independent axially symmetric galactic type potential. This dynamical model can be considered to describe the motion in the central parts of a galaxy, for values of energies larger than the energy of escape. We use the classical method of the surface of section, in order to visualize and interpret the structure of the phase space of the dynamical system. Moreover, the Lyapunov Characteristic Exponent (LCE), is used in order to make an estimation of the degree of the chaoticity of the orbits in our galactic model. Our numerical calculations suggest that in this galactic type potential, there are two kinds of orbits: (i) escaping orbits and (ii) trapped orbits which do not escape at all. Furthermore, a large number of orbits of the dynamical system, display chaotic motion. Among the chaotic orbits, there are orbits that escape fast and also orbits that remain trapped for vast time intervals. When the value of the test particle's energy exceeds slightly the energy of escape, the amount of the trapped regular orbits increases, as the the value of the angular momentum increases. Therefore, the extent of the chaotic regions observed in the phase plane decreases as the value of the energy increases. Moreover, we calculate the average value of the escape period of the chaotic orbits and we try to correlate it with the value of the energy and also with the maximum value of the z component of the orbits. In addition, we find that the value of the LCE corresponding to each chaotic region, for different values of the energy, increases exponentially as the value of the energy increases. Some theoretical arguments in order to support the numerically obtained outcomes are presented.

Published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA) journal

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