Abstract
We show that coorbital dynamics at large eccentricity and inclination exhibit hitherto unknown types of stable motion in the gravitational three-body problem. In the solar system, the secular stability is observed in the evolution of specific near-Earth asteroids. In particular, the slow diffusion of such objects through the Earth's coorbital region which leads to temporary capture suggests the existence of undiscovered retrograde moons of the Earth. In the Coulomb problem, the Kozai resonance is a primary candidate for stable low angular momentum states in two-electron atoms.
- Received 14 May 1999
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.83.2506
©1999 American Physical Society