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A detailed numerical analysis of asymmetrical density distribution in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus
journal contribution
posted on 2014-04-25, 13:30 authored by Phil Sutton, Feodor KusmartsevSaturn's rings, reminiscent of an early Solar system present a unique opportunity to investigate experimentally some mechanisms thought to be responsible for planet and planetesimal formation in protoplanetary discs. Here, we extended the comparison of our numerical models of Prometheus encountering the F ring employing non-interacting and interacting particles. Higher resolution analysis revealed that the density increases known to exist at channel edges is more complex and localized than previously thought. Asymmetry between density increases on channel edges revealed that the channel edge facing way from Prometheus to be the most stable but with lowest maximum increases. However, on the channel edge facing Prometheus the interacting model showed large chaotic fluctuations in the maximum density of some clumps, much larger than those of the other channel. The likely cause of this asymmetry is a variance in localized turbulence introduced into the F ring by Prometheus. High-resolution velocity dispersion maps showed that there was a spatial link between the highest densities and the highest velocity dispersions in the interacting model. Thus, suggesting that the high velocity dispersion we see is the reason for the observed inhomogeneous distribution of fans (evidence of embedded moonlets) on some of the channel edges facing Prometheus.
History
School
- Science
Department
- Physics
Citation
SUTTON, P.J. and KUSMARTSEV, F.V., 2014. A detailed numerical analysis of asymmetrical density distribution in Saturn's F ring during an encounter with Prometheus. MNRAS, 439 (2), pp. 1313 - 1325.Publisher
© 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical SocietyVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Publication date
2014Notes
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2014 The Authors Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. The published version is also available from Oxford Journals at: http://mnras.oxfordjournals.org/content/439/2/1313ISSN
0035-8711eISSN
1365-2966Publisher version
Language
- en