Related papers: NOTE: Explaining why the Uranian satellites have e…
Changes in planetary obliquity, or axial tilt, influence the climates on Earth-like planets. In the solar system, the Earth's obliquity is stabilized due to interactions with our moon and the resulting {small amplitude variations…
A significant proportion of exoplanets have been detected with highly tilted or even polar orbits relative to their host stars' equatorial planes. These unusual orbital configurations are often linked to post-disk secular interactions among…
We investigate the conditions under which the regular satellites of Jupiter and Saturn formed. The final stage of giant planet accretion is thought to occur slowly over a relatively long, 10 Myr, timescale. Gas accretion during this stage,…
The origin of the regular satellites ties directly to planetary formation in that the satellites form in gas and dust disks around the giant planets and may be viewed as mini-solar systems, involving a number of closely related underlying…
We observe similar structures in the orbital radii of satellite and ring systems of Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune. This stimulates an investigation that the evolution of these systems and Saturn's system is initiated by a common mechanism…
Saturn's mid-sized moons (satellites) have a puzzling orbital configuration with trapping in mean-motion resonances with every other pairs (Mimas-Tethys 4:2 and Enceladus-Dione 2:1). To reproduce their current orbital configuration on the…
We investigate the obliquity and spin period of Earth-Moon like systems after 4.5 Gyr of tidal evolution with various satellite masses and initial planetary obliquity and discuss their relations to the habitability of the planet. We find…
The orbital distribution of trans-Neptunian objects provides strong evidence for the radial migration of Neptune. The outer planets' orbits are thought to have become unstable during the early stages with Jupiter having scattering…
The origins of Uranus and Neptune are not fully understood. Their inclined rotation axes -- obliquities -- suggest that they experienced giant impacts during their formation histories. Simulations modeling their accretion from giant impacts…
Saturn is the only known planet to have coorbital satellite systems. In the present work we studied the process of mass accretion as a possible mechanism for coorbital satellites formation. The system considered is composed of Saturn, a…
The origin of the highly eccentric, inclined, and resonance-locked orbit of Pluto has long been a puzzle. A possible explanation has been proposed recently [Malhotra, R., {\it Nature} 365:819-21 (1993)] which suggests that these…
The study of off-equatorial orbits in razor-thin disks is still in its beginnings. Contrary to what was presented in the literature in recent publications, the vertical stability criterion for equatorial circular orbits cannot be based on…
Motion of stellar-mass satellites is studied around a massive compact body which is surrounded by a gaseous slab of a stationary accretion disc. The satellites suffer an orbital decay due to hydrodynamical interaction with the disc medium…
Mutual gravitational interactions between the five major Uranian satellites raise small quasi-periodic fluctuations on their orbital elements. At the same time, tidal interactions between the satellites and the planet induce a slow outward…
The five classical Uranian moons are possible ocean worlds that exhibit bizarre geologic landforms, hinting at recent surface-interior communication. However, Uranus' classical moons, as well as its ring moons and irregular satellites,…
Many exoplanets have been observed close to their parent stars with orbital periods of a few days. As for the major satellites of the Jovian planets, the figure of these planets is expected to be strongly shaped by tidal forces. However,…
Previous studies have shown that planets that rotate retrograde (backwards with respect to their orbital motion) generally experience less severe obliquity variations than those that rotate prograde (the same direction as their orbital…
We consider a scenario where the small satellites of Pluto and Charon grew within a disk of debris from an impact between Charon and a trans-Neptunian Object (TNO). After Charon's orbital motion boosts the debris into a disk-like structure,…
Orbits of known extrasolar planets that are located outside the tidal circularization regions of their parent stars are often substantially eccentric. By contrast, planetary orbits in our Solar System are approximately circular, reflecting…
A Hamiltonian model is constructed for the spin axis of a planet perturbed by a nearby planet with both planets in orbit about star. We expand the planet-planet gravitational potential perturbation to first order in orbital inclinations and…