Celestial Mechanics
Long-term dynamics of celestial bodies
Our research mainly focuses on the long-term stability of asteroids and extra-solar planetary systems. Here we use our expertise in numerical integration methods (especially symplectic integrators) and chaos detection techniques (e.g. Lyapunov exponents, MEGNO, frequency mapping and many more) to investigate for example the effects of resonances on the dynamics of these bodies.
Asteroids in the gravitational field of migrating planets
According to new theories of the dynamical evolution of our Solar System, the giant planets migrated towards their present positions due to the exchange of angular momentum with smaller planetesimals. We are developing suitable analytical and numerical methods to investigate the dynamical implications of such theories on the long-term dynamics of asteroids.