Mathematics – Probability
Scientific paper
Sep 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008dps....40.1701z&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #40, #17.01; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.417
Mathematics
Probability
Scientific paper
Tidal dissipation in a planet usually drives satellites outwards, often resulting in the satellites encountering mean-motion resonances. Because of precessions of the orbital node and pericenter, a single resonance splits into many individual resonances packed into a narrow region (see e.g. Murray and Dermott 1999). In the case of the 2:1 resonance between the Saturnian satellites Enceladus and Dione, the two satellites likely passed through two other strong nearby resonances that would affect their eccentricities before they were trapped into the current one (Meyer and Wisdom 2008). Here we investigate the orbital evolution of the two satellites during these resonant encounters with N-body simulations. In particular, we examine the effect of dissipation within the satellites, and conclude that this process significantly alters their orbital evolution.
Recent observations strongly suggest that Enceladus is experiencing significant tidal dissipation at the present day (e.g. Spencer et al. 2006). Such dissipation is capable of circularizing the orbit on a relatively short timescale. Borderies (1984) showed that when resonant trapping is possible for two orbits, the capture probability decreases sharply when the relevant eccentricities are greater than some critical value. Because dissipation in a satellite acts to decrease its eccentricity, the probability of capture into resonance is increased for simulations in which satellite dissipation is included.
For Enceladus and Dione, inclusion of satellite dissipation makes it difficult to avoid being trapped into a resonance encountered earlier than the currently observed one. Thus, the current resonance between the two satellites places strong constraints on their orbital evolution and tidal parameters, which in turn depends on their internal structures. We will present possible evolution scenarios for Enceladus and Dione; in particular, we will conclude that scenarios with a cold, ocean-free Dione are the most plausible.
Nimmo Francis
Zhang Ke
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