Aaron Bryan Rosengren (University of California San Diego, USA)

Title: Space-Manifold Dynamics for Small Solar-System Bodies

Abstract: Centaurs are a prominent group of small Solar-System bodies in highly dispersed orbits between the two main belts. They are a short-lived transient phase connecting their source reservoir in the Kuiper Belt to the Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) and Halley-type comets (HTCs), but the precise dynamical hand-off process between the Centaurs and these short-period comet (SPC) populations remains unclear. The recent finding of an orbital gateway between Jupiter and Saturn, funneling Centaurs into the inner Solar System, has cast some light on the orbital migration of these enigmatic bodies. Yet, no dynamical mechanism to explain the existence of this apparent conduit has hitherto been offered. The talk will link seminal research conducted over two decades ago on Jovian-induced space manifolds with our recent understanding of the orbital architecture of these gravitational structures to elucidate the nature of this and other dynamical channels for the rapid transport of planet-crossing small bodies of the outer Solar System. This work combines the well-developed techniques of astrodynamics for the study of space manifolds with the modern analytical and numerical tools of planetary dynamics, harnessing these in unique ways to probe for the first time the high time-resolution details of such strongly chaotic orbital evolution. Building from the notion and success of the interplanetary transport network, studying and understanding space-manifold dynamics in the planetary-science context may also give rise to new and unexpected results that could uncover new Centaur-mission concepts, motivate entirely new classes of missions, and amplify scientific return.

The seminar will take place in room S08 at the Faculty of Sciences