Direct N-body Simulations of Rubble Pile Collisions in Strong Tidal Fields: Applied to Saturn's F Ring

Details Direct N-body Simulations of Rubble Pile Collisions in Strong Tidal Fields: Applied to Saturn's F Ring Direct N-body Simulations of Rubble Pile Collisions in Strong Tidal Fields: Applied to Saturn's F Ring

Dec 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003dps....35.3421w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #35, #34.21; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 35, p.1486

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

1

Scientific paper

We present direct N-body simulations of planetesimal collisions in a strong tidal field, specifically the environment of Saturn's F ring. The collisions and subsequent accretion or dispersal of particles were modeled using the techniques of Leinhardt and Richardson 2002, Icarus 159, 306--313 (also see Leinhardt et al.\ 2000, Icarus 146, 133-151). The simulations show the outcomes of collisions between pairs of gravitational aggregates (represented as perfect rubble piles) as a function of impact speed, mass ratio, and normal coefficient of restitution ɛ n. Only head-on impacts were considered in this preliminary investigation. Collision outcomes proved to be strongly dependent on impact speed and the coefficient of restitution, and less so on mass ratio. We find for cases with equal-mass km-sized bodies of bulk density between 500 and 1000 kg m-3 and ɛ n between 0.5 and 0.8 (where ɛ n = 1 indicates no dissipation) that there is a sharp transition between accretion and dispersal for impact speeds between 1 and 4 m s-1 , above which no accretion is found. Previous studies (Barbara and Esposito, 2002 Icarus 160, 161--171) suggest that for high mass ratios (100:1) complete accretion is expected for speeds ranging from 1 to 10 m s-1 , but we find that either accretion or erosion can occur depending on the chosen impact speed and coefficient of restitution. These results demonstrate a complicated collisional environment for icy bodies in planetary rings, and shed light on important assumptions made in previous models. This work was supported by NASA under Contract No. NAG511722 issued through the Office of Space Science.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Direct N-body Simulations of Rubble Pile Collisions in Strong Tidal Fields: Applied to Saturn's F Ring does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Direct N-body Simulations of Rubble Pile Collisions in Strong Tidal Fields: Applied to Saturn's F Ring, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Direct N-body Simulations of Rubble Pile Collisions in Strong Tidal Fields: Applied to Saturn's F Ring will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-878796