The Relative Lyapunov Indicators: Theory and Application to Dynamical Astronomy

A recently introduced chaos detection method, the Relative Lyapunov Indicator (RLI) is investigated in the cases of symplectic mappings and continuous Hamiltonian systems. It is shown that the RLI is an efficient numerical tool in determining the true nature of individual orbits, and in separating ordered and chaotic regions of the phase space of dynamical systems. A comparison between the RLI and some other variational indicators are presented, as well as the recent applications of the RLI to various problems of dynamical astronomy.