Long-term gravitational influence of moonlets in planetary rings

Spahn, F.; Wiebicke, H.J.

doi:10.1016/0019-1035(89)90012-2

Cited by 29 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…On the one hand there exist large moonlets with diameters roughly larger than 1 km, which are able to clear a almost empty gap around their orbit due to their gravity (Henon (1981); Lissauer et al (1981); Petit and Henon (1988); Spahn and Wiebicke (1989)). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The particles orbiting closest to the moonlet orbit move on horseshoe orbits which can only become unstable if other perturbations are taken into account. Thus, a ringlet can exist on the orbit of the moon (Spahn and Wiebicke (1989)). The observation of wakes at the edges of the Encke gap and a central ringlet inside this gap indicated the existence of a moon (Showalter et al (1986); Spahn and Wiebicke (1989); Spahn and Sponholz (1989)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, a ringlet can exist on the orbit of the moon (Spahn and Wiebicke (1989)). The observation of wakes at the edges of the Encke gap and a central ringlet inside this gap indicated the existence of a moon (Showalter et al (1986); Spahn and Wiebicke (1989); Spahn and Sponholz (1989)). Finally, Showalter (1991) discovered the moon Pan in Voyager images.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Moonlet induced wakes in planetary rings: Analytical model including eccentric orbits of moon and ring particles

Seiß

Spahn

Schmidt

2010

Icarus

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Saturn's rings host two known moons, Pan and Daphnis, which are massive enough to clear circumferential gaps in the ring around their orbits. Both moons create wake patterns at the gap edges by gravitational deflection of the ring material (Cuzzi and Scargle (1985), Showalter et al. (1986)). New Cassini observations revealed that these wavy edges deviate from the sinusoidal waveform, which one would expect from a theory that assumes a circular orbit of the perturbing moon and neglects particle interactions. (2005)), which might be attributed to the neglect of particle interactions and vertical motion in our model.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Moonlet induced wakes in planetary rings: Analytical model including eccentric orbits of moon and ring particles

Seiß

Spahn

Schmidt

2010

Icarus

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“…Partly, the particles move on chaotic orbits and the final radial mean positions x out change drastically. This causes a depleted region of material at this radial position (gap) [33,43,46,69,67].…”

Section: Gaps Induced By Embedded Moonletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This length of gravitational influence is related to the Hill radius 13) which depends on the mass of the moon M m , the mass of Saturn M s and the semi-major axis of the moon a m . Neglecting the particle interactions one can perform test particle integrations of the equation of motion [63,69]. Three types of particle behavior and related structures can be distinguished, depending on the radial distance x = r − a m in which the particles enter the moon:…”

Section: Gaps Induced By Embedded Moonletsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrodynamics of Saturn’s Dense Rings

Seiß

Spahn

2011

Math. Model. Nat. Phenom.

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Abstract. The space missions Voyager and Cassini together with earthbound observations revealed a wealth of structures in Saturn's rings. There are, for example, waves being excited at ring positions which are in orbital resonance with Saturn's moons. Other structures can be assigned to embedded moons like empty gaps, moon induced wakes or S-shaped propeller features. Furthermore, irregular radial structures are observed in the range from 10 meters until kilometers. Here some of these structures will be discussed in the frame of hydrodynamical modeling of Saturn's dense rings. For this purpose we will characterize the physical properties of the ring particle ensemble by mean field quantities and point to the special behavior of the transport coefficients. We show that unperturbed rings can become unstable and how diffusion acts in the rings. Additionally, the alternative streamline formalism is introduced to describe perturbed regions of dense rings with applications to the wake damping and the dispersion relation of the density waves.

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