No pseudosynchronous rotation for terrestrial planets and moons
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
2015-06-11 v3 Geophysics
Abstract
We reexamine the popular belief that a telluric planet or satellite on an eccentric orbit can, outside a spin-orbit resonance, be captured in a quasi-static tidal equilibrium called pseudosynchronous rotation. The existence of such configurations was deduced from oversimplified tidal models assuming either a constant tidal torque or a torque linear in the tidal frequency. A more accurate treatment requires that the torque be decomposed into the Darwin-Kaula series over the tidal modes, and that this decomposition be combined with a realistic choice of rheological properties of the mantle. This development demonstrates that there exist no stable equilibrium states for solid planets and moons, other than spin-orbit resonances.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1209.1616,
title = {No pseudosynchronous rotation for terrestrial planets and moons},
author = {Valeri V. Makarov and Michael Efroimsky},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1209.1616},
year = {2015}
}