Detection of chaos in the general relativistic Poynting-Robertson effect: Kerr equatorial plane

Abstract

The general relativistic Poynting-Robertson effect is a dissipative and non-linear dynamical system obtained by perturbing through radiation processes the geodesic motion of test particles orbiting around a spinning compact object, described by the Kerr metric. Using the Melnikov method we find that, in a suitable range of parameters, chaotic behavior is present in the motion of a test particle driven by the Poynting-Robertson effect in the Kerr equatorial plane.