Definition
Specific relative angular momentum, represented by the symbol, is defined as the cross product of the relative position vector and the relative velocity vector .
where:
- is the relative orbital position vector
- is the relative orbital velocity vector
- is the total angular momentum of the system
- is the reduced mass
The units of are m2s−1.
For unperturbed orbits the vector is always perpendicular to the fixed orbital plane. However, for perturbed orbits the vector is generally not perpendicular to the osculating orbital plane
As usual in physics, the magnitude of the vector quantity is denoted by :
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