A Hamiltonian theory for an elastic earth: Elastic energy of deformation

In this paper we study only the perturbation due to the deformation of the elastic mantle by a tidal body force. In a previous publication (Getino and Ferrándiz, 1989a) we defined two canonical systems of variables - we gave them the names ofelastic variables of Euler and Andoyer respectively. Next, using them, we obtained the canonical expression of rotational kinetic energy. In the present paper, using the same variables, we build up the elastic energy which is produced by the deformation of the elastic mantle. We show that the three termsm = 0, 1, 2 corresponding to the second order of the development in spherical harmonics of the perturbing potential, a tidal potential, are of the same order of magnitude. In addition, the numerical integration for a particular Earth Model (Takeuchi's Model 2) is performed, with the aim of obtaining a numerical estimate of the coefficients which intervene in both this energy and the previously mentioned kinetic energy.     

A Hamiltonian theory for an elastic earth: Canonical variables and kinetic energy

This paper is the first of a set of four, in which we shall develop the first part of a project dedicated to elaborating a Hamiltonian theory for the rotational motion of a deformable Earth. Here we study only the perturbation due to the deformation of the elastic mantle by tidal body force. In the present paper, we define two canonical systems of variables—we give these variables the names of elastic variables of Euler and Andoyer respectively. Next, using them, we obtain the canonical expression of rotational kinetic energy, which is valid for any Earth model satisfying hypotheses as general as those established in Section 2.     

A Hamiltonian theory for an elastic earth: First order analytical integration

In this article an approximate analytical integration is performed of the Hamiltonian corresponding to the rotational motion of an Earth whose elastic mantle is deformed by rotation and lunisolar attraction, using Deprit's perturbation method for the first order. Besides the usual terms, this Hamiltonian includes the perturbation of the kinetic energy and the elastic energy produced with the deformation, as well as their causes, the tidal and the centrifugal potential; these new terms have already been studied for the tidal deformation in previous articles (Getino and Ferrándiz, 1990a, 1990b). The effects of the deformation due to the centrifugal potential are studied in this article, following the same method as that used for the tidal deformation. Numerical tables of the periodic perturbations corresponding to the nutation in obliquity and longitude are obtained. As for the secular effects, a theoretical value of 457 days is obtained for Chandler's period.     

用Hamilton方法计算弹性地球的章动序列

本文利用Hamilton方法研究弹性地球自转运动，采用地球模型PREM参数，给出了形状轴的章动序列．结果表明我们的方法是可行的，计算是可靠的．弹性地幔对地球章动的影响仅在毫角秒量级上，它相对液核对地球竟动的影响要小得多．     

Motion of a space station. I

In this first part of the work we develop the equations of motion of a triaxial space station in orbit around the oblate Earth. A first order solution of the problem is presented and the method of complete integration of the system is outlined up to second order of approximation. The zero order part of the Hamiltonian includes both the kinetic and potential energy (Earth's Newtonian attraction) of the station, while the motion in the vicinity of a specific configuration is assumed.The solution leads to deviations on the attitude introduced by the oblateness of the Earth. Such attitude is an exact solution of the equations of the station when its center of mass moves in an elliptic Keplerian orbit.The explicit expressions of the complete solution, discussion of other possible effects on the motion and numerical comparisons will be presented in the second part of the work.     

Love Numbers And Elastic Energy Of Deformation For Venus

Love numbers of second order of Venus are calculated with resolving fundamental differential equations of elastic body according to the parameters of the density and the elasticity of material by means of the PVM94-01 Venus model. Meanwhile, the elastic energy of deformation of second order due to the tidal perturbation of the Sun and that due to rotational centrifugal potential are also calculated. The values of Love number provide a basis for model of internal structure of Venus. The numerical calculation of the elastic energy of deformation gives a magnitude evaluation of the perturbation terms to the Hamiltonian expressions in the study of dynamics of the elastic Venus. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Quantitative analysis of clumps in the tidal tails of star clusters

Tidal tails of star clusters are not homogeneous but show well-defined clumps in observations as well as in numerical simulations. Recently, an epicyclic theory for the formation of these clumps was presented. A quantitative analysis was still missing. We present a quantitative derivation of the angular momentum and energy distribution of escaping stars from a star cluster in the tidal field of the Milky Way and derive the connection to the position and width of the clumps. For the numerical realization we use star-by-star N -body simulations. We find a very good agreement of theory and models. We show that the radial offset of the tidal arms scales with the tidal radius, which is a function of cluster mass and the rotation curve at the cluster orbit. The mean radial offset is 2.77 times the tidal radius in the outer disc. Near the Galactic Centre the circumstances are more complicated, but to lowest order the theory still applies. We have also measured the Jacobi energy distribution of bound stars and showed that there is a large fraction of stars (about 35 per cent) above the critical Jacobi energy at all times, which can potentially leave the cluster. This is a hint that the mass loss is dominated by a self-regulating process of increasing Jacobi energy due to the weakening of the potential well of the star cluster, which is induced by the mass loss itself.     

Tidal dissipation within large icy satellites: Applications to Europa and Titan

This paper describes a new approach based on variational principles to calculate the radial distribution of tidal energy dissipation in any satellite. The advantage of the model with respect to classical solutions, is that it relates in a straightforward way the radial distribution of the time-averaged dissipation rate to its sensitivity to the corresponding distribution of viscoelastic parameters. This method is applied to Io-, Europa-, and Titan-like interiors, and it is tested against the results obtained by two classical methods by determining global dissipation as well as radial and lateral distributions within satellite interiors. By exploring systematically the different parameters defining the interior models, we demonstrate that the presence of a deep ocean below an outer ice layer strongly influences the tidal dissipation distribution in both the outer ice layer and in the innermost part of the satellite. On the one hand, the ocean by imposing a large radial displacement at the base of the outer ice I layer, controls the distribution of tidal strain rate within the outer layer, making the tidal strain rate field very weakly sensitive to the viscosity variations. Conversely, in the high-pressure ice layer below the ocean, both tidal strain rate and dissipation are very sensitive to any variation of the ice viscosity. On the other hand, for identical structures of the mantle and of the core, the presence of a subsurface ocean reduces the strength of dissipation in the silicate mantle. The existence of a liquid layer within Europa makes models of the silicate mantle less dissipative than the predictions for Io.     

Westwanderung and the lunar tidal couple: Modulation of convection by Bulge Stress

Wegener concluded that the Earth's surface has suffered regionally variable westward displacement. Modern data support Wegener's conclusion, but a causative mechanism has not been evident. The retarding torque is too small to distort the viscous Earth. At the same time difficulty has been experienced in explaining the large value of the astronomically detected tidal dissipation. We have examined the effect of the secular rotational strain imposed by tidal bulge formation on convection in the mantle of arbitrary origin. The dissipation as measured by the lag in the bodily tides appears adequate to explain the missing part of the dissipation, some 8.5 × 10²⁶ erg yr^–1, without recourse to an unidentified mechanism in the seas. The convection must itself be influenced by the external force system. The effect to be expected is that circulation resulting in westward displacement at surface must be fostered at the expense of circulation in other directions. The history of the tidal couple, if this is based on dissipation in the mantle, is likely to differ greatly from that of a couple based on dissipation in the seas.     

Bodily tides near spin–orbit resonances

Spin–orbit coupling can be described in two approaches. The first method, known as the “MacDonald torque”, is often combined with a convenient assumption that the quality factor Q is frequency-independent. This makes the method inconsistent, because derivation of the expression for the MacDonald torque tacitly fixes the rheology of the mantle by making Q scale as the inverse tidal frequency. Spin–orbit coupling can be treated also in an approach called “the Darwin torque”. While this theory is general enough to accommodate an arbitrary frequency-dependence of Q, this advantage has not yet been fully exploited in the literature, where Q is often assumed constant or is set to scale as inverse tidal frequency, the latter assertion making the Darwin torque equivalent to a corrected version of the MacDonald torque. However neither a constant nor an inverse-frequency Q reflect the properties of realistic mantles and crusts, because the actual frequency-dependence is more complex. Hence it is necessary to enrich the theory of spin–orbit interaction with the right frequency-dependence. We accomplish this programme for the Darwin-torque-based model near resonances. We derive the frequency-dependence of the tidal torque from the first principles of solid-state mechanics, i.e., from the expression for the mantle’s compliance in the time domain. We also explain that the tidal torque includes not only the customary, secular part, but also an oscillating part. We demonstrate that the lmpq term of the Darwin–Kaula expansion for the tidal torque smoothly passes zero, when the secondary traverses the lmpq resonance (e.g., the principal tidal torque smoothly goes through nil as the secondary crosses the synchronous orbit). Thus, we prepare a foundation for modeling entrapment of a despinning primary into a resonance with its secondary. The roles of the primary and secondary may be played, e.g., by Mercury and the Sun, correspondingly, or by an icy moon and a Jovian planet. We also offer a possible explanation for the “improper” frequency-dependence of the tidal dissipation rate in the Moon, discovered by LLR.     

The interior structure of Mercury and its core sulfur content

Depth-dependent interior structure models of Mercury are calculated for several plausible chemical compositions of the core and of the mantle. For those models, we compute the associated libration amplitude, obliquity, tidal deformation, and tidal changes in the external potential. In particular we study the relation between the interior structure parameters for five different mantle mineralogies and two different temperature profiles together with two extreme crust density values. We investigate the influence of the core light element concentration, temperature, and melting law on core state and inner and outer core size. We show that a sulfur concentration above 10 wt% is unlikely if the temperature at the core-mantle boundary is above 1850 K and the silicate shell at least 240 km thick. The interior models can only have an inner core if the sulfur weight fraction is below 5 wt% for core-mantle boundary temperature in the 1850-2200 K range. Within our modeling hypotheses, we show that with the expected precision on the moment of inertia the core size can be estimated to a precision of about 50 km and the core sulfur concentration with an error of about 2 wt%. This uncertainty can only be reduced when more information on the mantle mineralogy of Mercury becomes available. However, we show that the uncertainty on the core size estimation can be greatly reduced, to about 25 km, if tidal surface displacements and tidal variations in the external potential are considered.     

A Hamiltonian theory for an elastic earth: Secular rotational acceleration

In this article, our previous Hamiltonian theory for the rotation of an Earth whose elastic mantle is deformed by rotation and linisolar attraction is applied to the study of the secular acceleration of the Earth's rotation. Since it is a result of the inelasticity, the theory is extended to include a phase lag. So, we obtain, in a theoretical way, a value of –5.6 × 10^–22 rd sec^–2, which agrees perfectly with the latest observational results.     

Tides and nutation of the Earth: II. Realistic models of the liquid core

In the first part of this study (Molodensky, 2004; hereinafter, paper I), a survey of the theory of tides and nutation of the Earth was given with the inclusion of the dynamical effects of the elastic mantle and liquid core in the framework of a very simple model of a homogeneous, incompressible core. Here, effects of the inhomogeneity, compressibility, and viscosity of the liquid core are considered, along with those of electromagnetic coupling of the liquid core with the mantle and solid inner core. Errors in the present-day measurements of the amplitudes of forced nutation (of the order of 20 arc s) are well below not only the dynamical effects of the Earths liquid core but also the effects of the inelasticity of the mantle, the dynamical effects of the solid inner core, and the possible effects of electromagnetic coupling between the liquid core, solid inner core, and mantle. This opens up new avenues for astrometric studies of the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the mantle and solid inner core at very low frequencies. The modern data on the amplitudes and phases of the Earths forced nutation cannot be interpreted entirely unambiguously, since the following factors remain unknown: (i) the role of the core-mantle electromagnetic coupling compared to the coupling due to core viscosity near the core-mantle boundary and (ii) the frequency dependence of the creep function of the mantle at low frequencies. In large measure, the effects of electromagnetic and viscous coupling can be separated if high-precision data on the tidal variations in the gravitational force at periods of about a day are invoked and allowances are made for the differences between the effects of viscous and electromagnetic coupling on the amplitudes and phases of forced nutation and on the tidal variations in the gravitational force. Here, ranges of possible values of the creep function are constructed for periods from one hour to one day; for these calculations, values consistent with the entire set of data on the forced nutation of the Earth are assumed for the effective dynamical flattening of the liquid core-mantle and liquid core-solid inner core boundaries (these values describe the ellipticity of the boundaries of the inner core, outer core, and mantle, as well as the electromagnetic coupling between the liquid core, mantle, and solid inner core).Translated from Astronomicheskii Vestnik, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2005, pp. 61–80.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Molodensky.     

The Responses of the Deformable Earth to Different Driving Forces

The spatial and temporal variations of the Earth deformation and the gravitational field are important both in the theoretical research and in the construction of geospatial database. The Earth deforms due to various mechanisms and the deformation further induces changes in the gravitational potential of the Earth, i.e. the deformation-induced additional potential or the Euler gravitational increment. Based on the theory of vector spherical harmonics, we discuss in this paper the Earth deformation and gravitational increment resulting from the tidal force, loading force and the stress of the Earth's surface. We write out the expression for the Euler gravitational potential increment and the relations between different Love numbers. These are all important points in the research on Earth deformation.     

Tidal friction in close-in satellites and exoplanets: The Darwin theory re-visited

This report is a review of Darwin’s classical theory of bodily tides in which we present the analytical expressions for the orbital and rotational evolution of the bodies and for the energy dissipation rates due to their tidal interaction. General formulas are given which do not depend on any assumption linking the tidal lags to the frequencies of the corresponding tidal waves (except that equal frequency harmonics are assumed to span equal lags). Emphasis is given to the cases of companions having reached one of the two possible final states: (1) the super-synchronous stationary rotation resulting from the vanishing of the average tidal torque; (2) capture into the 1:1 spin-orbit resonance (true synchronization). In these cases, the energy dissipation is controlled by the tidal harmonic with period equal to the orbital period (instead of the semi-diurnal tide) and the singularity due to the vanishing of the geometric phase lag does not exist. It is also shown that the true synchronization with non-zero eccentricity is only possible if an extra torque exists opposite to the tidal torque. The theory is developed assuming that this additional torque is produced by an equatorial permanent asymmetry in the companion. The results are model-dependent and the theory is developed only to the second degree in eccentricity and inclination (obliquity). It can easily be extended to higher orders, but formal accuracy will not be a real improvement as long as the physics of the processes leading to tidal lags is not better known.     

Thermal-orbital evolution of Io and Europa

Coupled thermal-orbital evolution models of Europa and Io are presented. It is assumed that Io, Europa, and Ganymede evolve in the Laplace resonance and that tidal dissipation of orbital energy is an internal heat source for both Io and Europa. While dissipation in Io occurs in the mantle as in the mantle dissipation model of Segatz et al. (1988, Icarus 75, 187), two models for Europa are considered. In the first model dissipation occurs in the silicate mantle while in the second model dissipation occurs in the ice shell. In the latter model, ice shell melting and variations of the shell thickness above an ocean are explicitly included. The rheology of both the ice and the rock is cast in terms of a viscoelastic Maxwell rheology with viscosity and shear modulus depending on the average temperature of the dissipating layer. Heat transfer by convection is calculated using a parameterization for strongly temperature-dependent viscosity convection. Both models are consistent with the present orbital elements of Io, Europa, and Ganymede. It is shown that there may be phases of quasi-steady evolution with large or small dissipation rates (in comparison with radiogenic heating), phases with runaway heating or cooling and oscillatory phases during which the eccentricity and the tidal heating rate will oscillate. Europa's ice thickness varies between roughly 3 and 70 km (dissipation in the silicate layer) or 10 and 60 km (dissipation in the ice layer), suggesting that Europa's ocean existed for geological timescales. The variation in ice thickness, including both convective and purely conductive phases, may be reflected in the formation of different geological surface features on Europa. Both models suggest that at present Europa's ice thickness is several tens of km thick and is increasing, while the eccentricity decreases, implying that the satellites evolve out of resonance. Including lithospheric growth in the models makes it impossible to match the high heat flux constraint for Io. Other heat transfer processes than conduction through the lithosphere must be important for the present Io.     

Numerical theory of rotation of the deformable Earth with the two-layer fluid core. Part 1: Mathematical model

Improved differential equations of the rotation of the deformable Earth with the two-layer fluid core are developed. The equations describe both the precession-nutational motion and the axial rotation (i.e. variations of the Universal Time UT). Poincaré’s method of modeling the dynamical effects of the fluid core, and Sasao’s approach for calculating the tidal interaction between the core and mantle in terms of the dynamical Love number are generalized for the case of the two-layer fluid core. Some important perturbations ignored in the currently adopted theory of the Earth’s rotation are considered. In particular, these are the perturbing torques induced by redistribution of the density within the Earth due to the tidal deformations of the Earth and its core (including the effects of the dissipative cross interaction of the lunar tides with the Sun and the solar tides with the Moon). Perturbations of this kind could not be accounted for in the adopted Nutation IAU 2000, in which the tidal variations of the moments of inertia of the mantle and core are the only body tide effects taken into consideration. The equations explicitly depend on the three tidal phase lags δ, δ _c, δ _i responsible for dissipation of energy in the Earth as a whole, and in its external and inner cores, respectively. Apart from the tidal effects, the differential equations account for the non-tidal interaction between the mantle and external core near their boundary. The equations are presented in a simple close form suitable for numerical integration. Such integration has been carried out with subsequent fitting the constructed numerical theory to the VLBI-based Celestial Pole positions and variations of UT for the time span 1984–2005. Details of the fitting are given in the second part of this work presented as a separate paper (Krasinsky and Vasilyev 2006) hereafter referred to as Paper 2. The resulting Weighted Root Mean Square (WRMS) errors of the residuals dθ, sin θd for the angles of nutation θ and precession are 0.136 mas and 0.129 mas, respectively. They are significantly less than the corresponding values 0.172 and 0.165 mas for IAU 2000 theory. The WRMS error of the UT residuals is 18 ms.     

The production of Ganymede's magnetic field

One of the great discoveries of NASA's Galileo mission was the presence of an intrinsically produced magnetic field at Ganymede. Generation of the relatively strong (750 nT) field likely requires dynamo action in Ganymede's metallic core, but how such a dynamo has been maintained into the present epoch remains uncertain. Using a one-dimensional, three layer thermal model of Ganymede, we find that magnetic field generation can only occur if the sulfur mass fraction in Ganymede's core is very low (?3%) or very high (?21%), and the silicate mantle can cool rapidly (i.e. it has a viscosity like wet olivine). However, these requirements are not necessarily compatible with cosmochemical and physical models of the satellite. We therefore investigate an alternative scenario for producing Ganymede's magnetic field in which passage through an eccentricity pumping Laplace-like resonance in Ganymede's past enables present day dynamo action in the metallic core. If sufficient tidal dissipation occurs in Ganymede's silicate mantle during resonance passage, silicate temperatures can undergo a runaway which prevents the core from cooling until the resonance passage ends. The rapid silicate and core cooling that follows resonance escape triggers dynamo action via thermal and/or compositional convection. To test the feasibility of this mechanism we couple our thermal model with an orbital evolution model to examine the effects of resonance passage on Ganymede's silicate mantle and metallic core. We find that, contrary to expectations, there are no physically plausible scenarios in which tidal heating in the silicates is sufficient to cause the thermal runaway necessary to prevent core cooling. These findings are robust to variations in the silicate rheology, tidal dissipation factor of Jupiter (QJ), structure of the ice shell, and the inclusion of partial melting in the silicate mantle. Resonance passage therefore appears unlikely to explain Ganymede's magnetic field and we must appeal to the special conditions described above to explain the presence of the field.     

Magnetization of celestial bodies with special application to the primeval Earth and Moon

The magnetic fields of celestial bodies are usually supposed to be due to a ‘hydromagnetic dynamo’. This term refers to a number of rather speculative processes which are supposed to take place in the liquid core of a celestial body. In this paper we shall follow another approach which is more closely connected with hydromagnetic processes well-known from the laboratory, and hence basically less speculative. The paper should be regarded as part of a general program to connect cosmical phenomena with phenomena studied in the laboratory. As has been demonstrated by laboratory experiments, a poloidal magnetic field may be increased by the transfer of energy from a toroidal magnetic field through kink instability of the current system. This mechanism can be applied to the fluid core of a celestial body. Any differential rotation will produce a toroidal field from an existing poloidal field, and the kink instability will feed toroidal energy back to the poloidal field, and hence amplify it. In the Earth-Moon system the tidal braking of the Earth's mantle acts to produce a differential angular velocity between core and mantle. The braking will be transferred to the core by hydromagnetic forces which at the same time give rise to a strong magnetic field. The strength of the field will be determined by the rate of tidal braking. It is suggested that the magnetization of lunar rocks from the period ?4 to ?3 Gyears derives from the Earth's magnetic field. As the interior of the Moon immediately after accretion probably was too cool to be melted, the Moon could not produce a magnetic field by hydromagnetic effects in its core. The observed lunar magnetization could be produced by such an amplified Earth field even if the Moon never came closer than 10 or 20 Earth's radii. This hypothesis might be checked by magnetic measurements on the Earth during the same period.     

Tidally induced surface displacements, external potential variations, and gravity variations on Mars

We have used and extended Roosbeek’s tidal potential for Mars to calculate tidal displacements, gravity variations, and external gravitational potential variations. The tides on Mars are caused by the Sun, and to a lesser degree by the natural satellites Phobos (8%, relative to the Sun) and Deimos (0.08%, relative to the Sun). To determine the reaction of Mars to the tidal forcing, the Love numbers h, l, and k and the gravimetric factor δ were calculated for interior models of Mars with different state, density, and radius of the core and for models which include mantle anelasticity. The latitude dependence and frequency dependence of the Love numbers have been taken explicitly into account. The Love numbers are about three times smaller than those for the Earth and are very sensitive to core changes; e.g., a difference of about 30% is found between a model with a liquid core and an otherwise similar model with a solid core. Tidal displacements on Mars are much smaller than on Earth due to the smaller tidal potential, but also due to the smaller reaction of Mars (smaller Love numbers). For both the tidal diplacement and the tidal external potential perturbations, the tidal signal is at the limit of detection and is too small to permit properties of Mars’s interior to be inferred. On the other hand, the Phobos tidally induced gravity changes, which are subdiurnal with typical periods shorter than 12 h, can be measured very precisely by the very broad band seismometer with thermal control of the seismological experiment SEIS of the upcoming NetLander mission. It is shown that the Phobos-induced gravity tides could be used to study the Martian core.