Impact of Modern Dynamics in Astronomy

Book excerpt: Modem dynamics is increasingly participating in the solution of problems raised by as tronomical observations. This new relationship is being fostered on one side by the im provements in the observations, which in recent years contributed several discoveries of new systems, such as the objects in the Kuiper belt, the pulsar and star companions, to speak only of the most striking ones, and, on the other hand, by the progresses in modem dynamics. The progresses in modem dynamics are due to two factors: the dissemination of fast computers, allowing the numerical studies of very complex systems by a large number of scientists, and the improvement in our understanding of the complex behaviour of Hamiltonian systems. KAM and Nekhorochev theories have shed a light on the subtle and surprizing interplays between regular and chaotic motions; numerical experiments and analytical approximations have shown how these peculiarities are indeed present in astronomically important systems and are instrumental in understanding their formation and evolution.