| Mathematical Conversations | |
| Topic: | Kozai-Lidov Oscillations |
| Speaker: | Scott Tremaine |
| Affiliation: | School of Natural Sciences, IAS |
| Date: | Wednesday, February 13 |
| Time/Room: | 6:00pm - 7:30pm/Dilworth Room |
These are a curious and only recently appreciated phenomenon in celestial mechanics, in which (for example) a planet orbiting one member of a binary star system undergoes large, slow oscillations in its orbital eccentricity and inclination. I will describe the mechanics of Kozai-Lidov oscillations, some of their unexpected properties, and their consequences for a variety of astronomical systems.