Strands and braids in narrow planetary rings: a scattering system approach

Authors: Merlo, Olivier¹; Benet, Luis²

Source: Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, Volume 97, Number 1, January 2007 , pp. 49-72(24)

Publisher: Springer

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $47.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

We address the occurrence of narrow planetary rings and some of their structural properties, in particular when the rings are shepherded. We consider the problem as Hamiltonian scattering of a large number of non-interacting massless point particles in an effective potential. Using the existence of stable motion in scattering regions in this set up, we describe a mechanism in phase space for the occurrence of narrow rings and some consequences in their structure. We illustrate our approach with three examples. We find eccentric narrow rings displaying sharp edges, variable width and the appearance of distinct ring components (strands) which are spatially organized and entangled (braids). We discuss the relevance of our approach for narrow planetary rings.

Keywords: Narrow planetary rings; Scattering systems; Strands; Braids

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10569-006-9051-8

Affiliations: 1: Email: merlo@fis.unam.mx 2: Email: benet@fis.unam.mx

Publication date: 2007-01-01