Frequency map and global dynamics in the solar system I - Short period dynamics of massless particles

Frequency map analysis (FMA) is a refined numerical method based on Fourier techniques that provides a clear representation of the global dynamics of multidimensional systems, which is very effective for systems of 3 degrees of freedom and more, and was applied to a large class of dynamical systems (Solar System, galaxies, particle accelerators, etc.). FMA requires only a very short integration time to obtain a measure of the diffusion of the tra jectories, and makes it possible to identify easily the location of the mai n resonances. We have performed a complete analysis of massless particles i n the Solar System, from Mercury (0.38 AU) to the outer parts of the Kuiper belt (90 AU), for all values of the eccentricities, and several values for the inclinations. This provides a complete dynamical map of the Solar Syst em, which is, in this first step, restricted to mean motion resonances. The precise extent of the resonant islands in the phase space has been determi ned, and the vicinity of the phase space has been plotted for the 62 best k nown Kuiper belt objects. We have thus set up a system for the analysis of the numerous planetary systems that are expected to be discovered in the ne ar future. As an example, we present the application of this method to the understanding of the dynamics of the newly discovered V-Andromedae system. (C) 2001 Academic Press.