The NHIM bifurcation scenario of a particle in an asymmetric binary system of dwarf galaxies

Abstract

We study the bifurcation scenario of a three-degree-of-freedom Hamiltonian system, a model based on the Lagrange restricted 3-body problem: a test particle moving in the gravitational field of a pair of interacting dwarf galaxies. The phase space of this system has 3 fundamental normally hyperbolic invariant manifolds (NHIMs) and their invariant stable and unstable manifolds form homoclinic/heteroclinic tangles. As the perturbation parameter increases, the NHIMs begin to lose normal hyperbolicity and their constituent KAM tori break, creating transient chaotic dynamics around them. We also observe a certain kind of coordination between the bifurcation scenarios of these NHIMs. We analyse this phenomenon using Poincar\'e maps and the delay time function.