The Poynting-robertson Effect and Advancement of Perihelion

The Poynting-Robertson (P-R) effect has been applied to meteoroids – interplanetary dust particles – for several decades. It is well known that the P-R effect produces only changes in the orbital plane of the particle. Provided the initial orbits are not near circular, the differential equations governing the secular changes in both eccentricity and semimajor axis have been known since the time of Robertson. In fact, the P-R effect also causes an advancement of perihelion. The correct expression is i) a decreasing function of β (the ratio of radiation pressure force to gravity force) for all β less than 1, ii) the perihelion circulates in a negative direction for particles with β > ( √ 73− 5)/4, iii) the rate of the advancement of perihelion is not bounded for β → 1. Thus, the correct expression differs both quantitatively and qualitatively from those given in the literature.