Characterizing Multi-planet Systems with Classical Secular Theory

摘要: Classical secular theory can be a powerful tool to describe the qualitative character of multi-planet systems and offer insight into their histories. The eigenmodes behavior, rather than current orbital elements, help identify tidal effects, early planet-planet scattering, dynamical coupling among planets, for in which mean-motion resonances do not play role. Although damping result aligned major axes after all but one eigenmode have damped away, such alignment may simply fortuitous. An example this is 55 Cancri (orbital solution Fischer et al., 2008) where multiple remain undamped. Various solutions are compared, showing differing groupings, with implications eccentricities partitioning planets. Solutions orbits that include expectations past evolution observational data, must take account should damped, expecting particular near zero. only accurate low eccentricity values, comparison other results suggests it yield useful descriptions behavior even moderately large advantages revealing underlying physical processes and, as numbers new discovered, triage more comprehensive studies priority.