Analytic results for the linear stability of the equilibrium point in Robe's restricted elliptic three-body problem

Abstract

We study the Robe's restricted three-body problem. Such a motion was firstly studied by A. G. Robe in \cite{Robe}, which is used to model small oscillations of the earth's inner core taking into account the moon attraction. For the linear stability of elliptic equilibrium points of the Robe's restricted three-body problem, earlier results of such linear stability problem depend on a lot of numerical computations, while we give an analytic approach to it. The linearized Hamiltonian system near the elliptic relative equilibrium point in our problem coincides with the linearized system near the Euler elliptic relative equilibria in the classical three-body problem except for the rang of the mass parameter. We first establish some relations from the linear stability problem to symplectic paths and its corresponding linear operators. Then using the Maslov-type $\omega$-index theory of symplectic paths and the theory of linear operators, we compute $\omega$-indices and obtain certain properties of the linear stability of elliptic equilibrium points of the Robe's restricted three-body problem.