Evolution of the Janus-Epimetheus coorbital resonance due to torques from Saturn's ring |
| |
Authors: | Jack J Lissauer Peter Goldreich Scott Tremaine |
| |
Institution: | 1. Space Science Division, NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, California 94035, USA;2. Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA |
| |
Abstract: | We analyze the interactions between Saturn's coorbital satellites, Janus and Epimetheus, and the outer edge of the A ring, which is presumably maintained by these moons at their 7:6 resonance. Using two distinct but conceptually related methods, we show that ring torques are driving these satellites into a tighter lock. Unless there is a counterbalancing force which we have neglected, their orbital configuration will evolve from the current horseshoe-type lock to one of tadpole orbits around a single Lagrange point in ~20 myr. This finding adds an additional member to the list of short time scale problems associated with the interactions between Saturn's rings and its inner moons |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|