Tisserand's criterion is used to determine whether or not an observed orbiting body, such as a comet or an asteroid, is the same as a previously observed orbiting body.^[1][2]

While all the orbital parameters of an object orbiting the Sun during the close encounter with another massive body (e.g. Jupiter) can be changed dramatically, the value of a function of these parameters, called Tisserand's relation (due to Félix Tisserand) is approximately conserved, making it possible to recognize the orbit after the encounter.

Definition

Tisserand's criterion is computed in a circular restricted three-body system. In a circular restricted three-body system, one of the masses is assumed to be much smaller than the other two. The other two masses are assumed to be in a circular orbit about the system's center of mass. In addition, Tisserand's criterion also relies on the assumptions that a) one of the two larger masses is much smaller than the other large mass and b) the comet or asteroid has not had a close approach to any other large mass.

Two observed orbiting bodies are possibly the same if they satisfy or nearly satisfy Tisserand's criterion:^[1][2][3]

${\displaystyle {\frac {1}{2a_{1}}}+{\sqrt {a_{1}(1-e_{1}^{2})}}\cos i_{1}={\frac {1}{2a_{2}}}+{\sqrt {a_{2}(1-e_{2}^{2})}}\cos i_{2}}$

where a is the semimajor axis (in units of Jupiters semimajor axis), e is the eccentricity, and i is the inclination of the body's orbit.

In other words, if a function of the orbital elements (named Tisserand's parameter) of the first observed body (nearly) equals the same function calculated with the orbital elements of the second observed body, the two bodies might be the same.

Tisserand's relation

The relation defines a function of orbital parameters, conserved approximately when the third body is far from the second (perturbing) mass.^[3]

${\displaystyle {\frac {1}{2a}}+{\sqrt {a(1-e^{2})}}\cos i\approx {\rm {const}}}$

The relation is derived from the Jacobi constant selecting a suitable unit system and using some approximations. Traditionally, the units are chosen in order to make μ₁ and the (constant) distance from μ₂ to μ₁ a unity, resulting in mean motion n also being a unity in this system.

In addition, given the very large mass of μ₁ compared μ₂ and μ₃

${\displaystyle G(\mu _{1}+\mu _{2})\approx 1\approx G(\mu _{1}+\mu _{3})}$

These conditions are satisfied for example for the Sun–Jupiter system with a comet or a spacecraft being the third mass.

The Jacobi constant, a function of coordinates ξ, η, ζ, (distances r₁, r₂ from the two masses) and the velocities remains the constant of motion through the encounter.

${\displaystyle C_{J}=2\cdot ({\frac {\mu _{1}}{r_{1}}}+{\frac {\mu _{2}}{r_{2}}})+2n(\xi {\dot {\eta }}-\eta {\dot {\xi }})-({\dot {\xi }}^{2}+{\dot {\eta }}^{2}+{\dot {\zeta }}^{2})}$

The goal is to express the constant using orbital parameters.

It is assumed, that far from the mass μ₂, the test particle (comet, spacecraft) is on an orbit around μ₁ resulting from two-body solution. First, the last term in the constant is the velocity, so it can be expressed, sufficiently far from the perturbing mass μ₂, as a function of the distance and semi-major axis alone using vis-viva equation

${\displaystyle ({\dot {\xi }}^{2}+{\dot {\eta }}^{2}+{\dot {\zeta }}^{2})=v^{2}=\mu \left({{2 \over {r}}-{1 \over {a}}}\right)}$

Second, observing that the ${\displaystyle \zeta }$ component of the angular momentum (per unit mass) ${\displaystyle \mathbf {h} =\mathbf {r} \times \mathbf {\dot {r}} }$ is

${\displaystyle \xi {\dot {\eta }}-\eta {\dot {\xi }}=h\cos I}$

where ${\displaystyle I\,\!}$ is the mutual inclination of the orbits of μ₃ and μ₂, and ${\displaystyle h=|\mathbf {h} |={\sqrt {a(1-e^{2})}}}$.

Substituting these into the Jacobi constant C_J, ignoring the term with μ₂<<1 and replacing r₁ with r (given very large μ₁ the barycenter of the system μ₁, μ₃ is very close to the position of μ₁) gives

${\displaystyle {\frac {1}{2a}}+{\sqrt {a(1-e^{2})}}\cos i\approx {\rm {const}}}$

See also

• Orbital elements
• Orbital mechanics
• n-body problem

References