Order statistics and heavy-tail distributions for planetary perturbations on Oort cloud comets

Aims. This paper tackles important aspects of comets dynamics from a statistical point of view. Existing methodology uses numerical integration for computing planetary perturbations for simulating such dynamics. This operation is highly computational. It is reasonable to wonder whenever statistical simulation of the perturbations can be much more easy to handle. Methods. The first step for answering such a question is to provide a statistical study of these perturbations in order to catch their main features. The statistical tools used are order statistics and heavy tail distributions. Results. The study carried out indicated a general pattern exhibited by the perturbations around the orbits of the important planet. These characteristics were validated through statistical testing and a theoretical study based on Öpik theory.