The Dynamical Equations of the Restricted Three-Body Problem with Poynting-Robertson Drag Force and Variable Masses

Abstract

The restricted three-body problem (R3BP) is a formulation which defines the motion of a passively gravitating test particle having infinitesimal mass and moving in the gravitational environment of two bodies, called primaries. The R3BP is still an exciting and active research field that has been getting attention of scientists and astronomers because of its applications in dynamics of the solar and stellar systems, lunar theory, and artificial satellites. The equations of motion are usually the starting point in the investigations of the dynamical predictions of the infinitesimal mass. Therefore, in this paper, we examine the derivations of the dynamical equations of the R3BP with Poynting-Robertson (P-R) Drag force and variable masses. In this model formulation, both primaries are assumed to vary their masses under the combined Mestschersky law (CML) and they move in the frame of the GyldenMestschersky equation (GME). Further, the bigger primary is assumed to be emitting radiation force, which is a component of the radiation pressure and the P-R drag. The non- autonomous dynamical equations of the model are derived and converted into the autonomized equations with constant coefficients using the Mestschersky transformation (MT), the CML, the particular solutions of the GMP, and a transformation for the time dependent velocity of light. We observed that the P-R drag of the bigger primary depends on the mass parameter, radiation pressure, velocity of light and the mass variation constant . The derived systems of equations with variable and constant coefficients can be used to model the long-term motion of satellites and planets in binary systems.