f and g series solutions to a post-Newtonian two-body problem with parameters β and γ

Classical Newtonian f and g series for a Keplerian two-body problem are extended for the case of a post-Newtonian two-body problem with parameters β and γ. These two parameters are introduced to parameterize the post-Newtonian approximation of alternative theories of gravity and they are both equal to1 in general relativity. Up to the order of 30, we obtain all of the coefficients of the series in their exact forms without any cutoff for significant figures. The f and g series for the post-Newtonian two-body problem are also compared with a Runge-Kutta order 7 integrator. Although the f and g series have no superiority in terms of accuracy or efficiency at the order of 7, the discrepancy in the performances of these two methods is not quite distinct. However, the f and g series have the advantage of flexibility for going to higher orders.Some examples of relativistic advance of periastron are given and the effect of gravitational radiation on the scheme of f and g series is evaluated.

Chaos in Compact Binaries with Frequency Map Analysis

The dynamics of compact binaries is very complicated because of spin-orbit cou- pling and spin-spin coupling. With Laskar＇s frequency map analysis （FMA） and frequency diffusion as an indicator, we found that misalignment of the spins and orbital angular momentum has a great effect on the dynamics, and for systems with different mass ratios β = m2/ml chaos occurs at different spin-orbit configurations. For equal-mass binaries （β = 1）, chaos occurs when the spins nearly cancel each other out. For some other systems （for exampleβ - 1/2）, the binaries are irregular, even chaotic, when the spins are perpendicular to the orbital angular momentum. For the case where gravitational radiation is taken into account, we give an analytic estimation for the frequency diffusion based on the decay of the orbit, which is roughly consistent with our simulations. This means the FMA is not suitable as a chaos indicator for weak chaotic cases with dissipative terms.

Extension of the rotating dipole model with oblateness of both primaries

A rotating mass dipole can be used to understand the dynamical behaviors around elongated asteroids as well as binary asteroids. In this paper an improved dipole model with oblateness in both primaries is investigated. The dynamical equations of a particle around the improved model are first derived by introducing the oblateness coefficients. The characteristic equations of equilibrium points are obtained, resulting in the emergence of new equilibria in the equatorial plane and the plane xoz de- pending on the shape of the spheroid. Numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the distribution of these equilibrium points. Significant influence from the oblateness of the primaries on the topological structure is also analyzed via zero-velocity curves.

Updating the orbital ephemeris of the dipping source XB 1254–690 and the distance to the source

XB 1254-690 is a dipping low mass X-ray binary system hosting a neutron star and showing type I X-ray bursts. We aim at obtaining a more accurate orbital ephemeris and at constraining the orbital period derivative of the system for the first time. In addition, we want to better constrain the distance to the source in order to locate the system in a well defined evolutive scenario. We apply, for the first time, an orbital timing technique to XB 1254-690, using the arrival times of the dips present in the light curves that have been collected during 26 yr of X-ray pointed observations acquired from different space missions. We estimate the dip arrival times using a statistical method that weights the count-rate inside the dip with respect to the level of persistent emission outside the dip. We fit the obtained delays as a function of the orbital cycles both with a linear and a quadratic function. We infer the orbital ephemeris of XB 1254-690, improving the accuracy of the orbital period with respect to previous estimates. We infer a mass of M2 = 0.42 ± 0.04 M for the donor star, in agreement with estimations already present in literature, assuming that the star is in thermal equilibrium while it transfers part of its mass via the inner Lagrangian point, and assuming a neutron star mass of 1.4 Mo. Using these assumptions, we also constrain the distance to the source, finding a value of 7.6±0.8 kpc. Finally, we discuss the evolution of the system, suggesting that it is compatible with a conservative mass transfer driven by magnetic braking.