  The motion of particles in the field of forces associated to an axially
symmetric attraction center modeled by a monopolar term plus a prolate
quadrupole deformation is studied using Poincare surface of sections and
Lyapunov characteristic numbers. We find chaotic motion for certain values of
the parameters, and that the instability of the orbits increases when the
quadrupole parameter increases. A general relativistic analogue is briefly
discussed.
