Editing Box orbit

{{Short description|Type of gravitational orbit seen in triaxial systems}}
In [[stellar dynamics]], a '''box orbit''' refers to a particular type of [[orbit]] that can be seen in triaxial systems, i.e. systems that do not possess a [[symmetry]] around any of its [[Coordinate axis|axes]]. They contrast with the [[loop orbit]]s that are observed in spherically symmetric or axisymmetric systems.

In a box orbit, a star oscillates independently{{Citation needed|reason=In general, these oscillations are not independent, and the resulting figure is far from a rectengular parallelepiped, but the orbit is still called a box-orbit|date=March 2023}} along the three different axes as it moves through the system. As a result of this motion, it fills in a (roughly) box-shaped region of space. Unlike loop orbits, the stars on box orbits can come arbitrarily close to the center of the system. As a special case, if the frequencies of [[oscillation]] in different directions are [[commensurability (mathematics)|commensurate]], the orbit will lie on a one- or two-dimensional manifold and can avoid the center.<ref>{{Citation
  | last1 = Merritt
  | first1 = D.
  | author-link = David Merritt
  | last2 = Valluri
  | first2 = M.
  | title = Resonant Orbits in Triaxial Galaxies
  | journal = The Astronomical Journal
  | volume = 118
  | pages = 1177–1189
  | date = September 1999
   | issue = 3
 |arxiv = astro-ph/9903452 |bibcode = 1999AJ....118.1177M |doi = 10.1086/301012 | s2cid = 14621588
 }}
</ref> Such orbits are sometimes called "[[boxlet]]s".

{| border="0" cellpadding="2" align="center"
|+'''Examples of box orbits''' (in 2 dimensions)
|-
|[[Image:Box_orbit_begin.svg|220px|Beginning of a box orbit]]
|[[Image:Box_orbit_full.svg|220px|Many cycles of a box orbit]]
|[[Image:Box_orbit_resonance.svg|220px|A closed box orbit]]
|-
| align="center" |''Beginning of a box orbit''
| align="center" |''Many cycles of a box orbit''
| align="center" |''A closed box orbit''
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==See also==
* [[Horseshoe orbit]]
* [[Lissajous curve]]
* [[List of orbits]]

{{orbits|state=expanded}}

[[Category:Orbits]]