Stability analysis of quintuple stellar and planetary systems using a symmetric five-body model

• Main Authors: M., Shoaib, B. A., Steves, A., Szell
• Format: Article
• Published: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, PO BOX 211, 1000 AE AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS 2008
• Subjects: TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
• Online Access: http://eprints.utp.edu.my/2349/1/SAMPLE_PAPER_PDF.pdf; http://apps.isiknowledge.com/full_record.do?product=WOS&search_mode=GeneralSearch&qid=22&SID=X212JDdPAc7358p5C3D&page=1&doc=1; http://eprints.utp.edu.my/2349/
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Petronas

Shoaib [Shoaib, M., 2004. Many body symmetrical dynamical systems. Ph.D. Thesis, eprint arXiv:0709.0652, pp. 132-169] gave an analytical stability criterion for the Caledonian Symmetric Five-Body Problem valid for all time. This analytical stability criterion is verified numerically for the coplanar case. it is also shown numerically that the hierarchical stability and the Szebehely constant, C-0, are directly related to each other. We conclude that stable quintuple stellar systems should have large C-0 value, while planetary systems can be stabilised hierarchically by a massive central star even with relatively small C-0 value. This analysis can be used to study the stability of extrasolar planets and stellar systems.(C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.