title: Regions of nonexistence of invariant tori for spin-orbit models.
abstract: The spin-orbit problem in celestial mechanics describes the motion of an oblate satellite moving on a Keplerian orbit around a primary body. We apply the conjugate points criterion for the nonexistence of rotational invariant tori. We treat both the conservative case and a case including a dissipative effect modeling a tidal torque generated by internal nonrigidity. As a by-product of the conjugate points criterion we obtain a global view of the dynamics, thanks to the introduction of a tangent orbit indicator, which allows us to discern the dynamical character of the motion.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Matematica, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, I-00133 Roma, Italy. celletti@mat.uniroma2.it
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Celletti
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: MacKay
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D005118:Extraterrestrial Environment; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010825:Physics / Q000379:methods*; D018531:Spacecraft; D013997:Time Factors