Extensions of Brown Hamiltonian–III. Applications to irregular satellites of giant planets

Irregular satellites, orbiting at large distances from their host planets, are subject to strong solar perturbations that render long-term orbital predictions particularly challenging. Building upon the extended Brown Hamiltonian framework developed in Paper I, we introduce the modified Lidov integral (CZLK) as a practical diagnostic index to characterize the dynamical modes. We demonstrate that a satellite is trapped inside the von Zeipel–Lidov–Kozai (ZLK) resonance when CZLK < 0. Applying this criterion to the known population of irregular satellites, we identify 27 candidates in libration. Direct N-body simulations confirm 26 of these predictions, with the sole exception of S/2019 S1, whose discrepancy is attributed to its proximity to the separatrix. These results establish CZLK as a decisive parameter for identifying the ZLK resonance, providing an efficient tool for analyzing the secular dynamics in weakly hierarchical three-body systems.