Related papers: Migration of a moonlet in a ring of solid particle…
Many small moonlets, creating propeller structures, have been found in Saturn's rings by the Cassini spacecraft. We study the dynamical evolution of such 20-50m sized bodies which are embedded in Saturn's rings. We estimate the importance…
The motions of small moons through Saturn's rings provide excellent tests of radial migration models. In theory, torque exchange between these moons and ring particles leads to radial drift. We predict that moons with Hill radii r_H ~ 2-24…
We present an extensive data set of ~150 localized features from Cassini images of Saturn's Ring A, a third of which are demonstrated to be persistent by their appearance in multiple images, and half of which are resolved well enough to…
Kilometer-sized moonlets in Saturn's A ring create S-shaped wakes called "propellers" in surrounding material. The Cassini spacecraft has tracked the motions of propellers for several years and finds that they deviate from Keplerian orbits…
We report the discovery of several large "propeller" moons in the outer part of Saturn's A ring, objects large enough to be followed over the 5-year duration of the Cassini mission. These are the first objects ever discovered that can be…
We propose a mechanism for the observed non-keplerian motion (Tiscareno et al. 2010, ApJL) of "propeller" moons embedded in Saturn's rings. Our mechanism, in which radial variations in surface density -- external to, and unaffected by, the…
The Cassini spacecraft discovered a propeller-shaped structure in Saturn's A ring. This propeller structure is thought to be formed by gravitational scattering of ring particles by an unseen embedded moonlet. Self-gravity wakes are…
The migration of planetary cores embedded in a protoplanetary disk is an important mechanism within planet-formation theory, relevant for the architecture of planetary systems. Consequently, planet migration is actively discussed, yet often…
Planetary rings sustain a continual bombardment of hypervelocity meteoroids that erode the surfaces of ring particles on time scales of 10^5 - 10^7 years. The debris ejected from such impacts re-accretes on to the ring, though often at a…
Planet migration within inner protoplanetary disks significantly influences exoplanet architectures. We investigate various migration mechanisms for young planets close to young stars. To quantify the stochastic migration driven by…
We investigate the migration rates of high-mass protoplanets embedded in accretion discs via two and three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations. The simulations follow the planet's radial motion and employ a nested-grid code that allows…
Planets migrate due to the recoil they experience from scattering solid (planetesimal) bodies. To first order, the torques exerted by the interior and exterior disks cancel, analogous to the cancellation of the torques from the…
Migration of protoplanets in their gaseous host disks may be largely responsible for the observed orbital distribution of extrasolar planets. Recent simulations have shown that the magnetorotational turbulence thought to drive accretion in…
The Cassini mission provided key measurements needed to determine the absolute age of Saturn's rings, including the extrinsic micrometeoroid flux at Saturn, the volume fraction of non-icy pollutants in the rings, and the total ring mass.…
Gravitational torques between a planet and gas in the protoplanetary disk result in orbital migration of the planet, and are likely to play an important role in the formation and early evolution of planetary systems. For masses comparable…
Planet migration in protoplanetary discs plays an important role in the longer term evolution of planetary systems, yet we currently have no direct observational test to determine if a planet is migrating in its gaseous disc. We explore the…
(Abridged) We present global disc and local shearing box simulations of planets interacting with a MHD turbulent disc. We examine the torque exerted by the disc on the embedded planets as a function of planet mass, and thus make a first…
Migration of giant planets in discs with low viscosity has been studied recently. The proportionality between migration speed and the disc's viscosity is broken by the presence of vortices that appear at the edges of the planet-induced gap.…
We study the type III migration of a Saturn mass planet in low viscosity discs. The planet is found to experience cyclic episodes of rapid decay in orbital radius, each amounting to a few Hill radii. We find this to be due to the scattering…
The dynamics of planetesimals and planetary cores may be strongly influenced by density perturbations driven by magneto-rotational turbulence in their natal protoplanetary gas disks. Using the local shearing box approximation, we perform…