Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Apr 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011dda....42.0806l&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DDA meeting #42, #8.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 43, 2011
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Previous work on moonlets assumed that they were just a single indestructible spherical particle and focused primarily on the effects such a body would have on the surrounding ring material (Lewis and Stewart 2009, Icarus 199:387-412; Sremcevic et al. 2007, Nature 449:1019-1021). Both observations and numerical simulations of Saturn's small inner moons show them as very low density rubble piles (Porco et al. 2007, Science 318:1602). Unlike the small moons, moonlets embedded in the ring material will experience regular collisions with self gravity wakes tens of meters across. Even with a single spherical core, these collisions can lead to the shedding of significant amounts of accreted material. We describe numerical simulations in which we explore the parameters required for stability of moonlets embedded in the ring material. Because of their location well inside the Roche limit, these bodies require either higher densities or some internal strength in order to stay together. We explore how much strength is required for these moonlets to be stable against the regular impacts they sustain in that environment. This work was funded by NSF AAG award number 0907972.
Burdon Crosby
Lewis Mark C.
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