The theory of equilibrium figures was actively developed in the 19th century, when it was found that the observed massive celestial bodies (the Sun, planets, and satellites) had an almost ellipsoidal form. The existence of exactly ellipsoidal figures was also established. The gravitational potential of these figures is represented by a Laplace series with its coefficients (Stokes’ constants In) determined by some integral operator. The general term of the series was found for a homogeneous ellipsoid of revolution and the first terms of the series were found for some other mass distributions. Here, we have obtained the general term of the series for an arbitrary mass distribution given that the equidensites (surfaces of equal density) are homothetic to the outer surface of the ellipsoid of revolution. Simple estimates and an asymptotics of In have also been obtained.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)318-324
Number of pages7
JournalVestnik St. Petersburg University: Mathematics
Volume50
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2017

    Research areas

  • ellipsoid, gravitational potential, Laplace series

    Scopus subject areas

  • Mathematics(all)

ID: 15489483