Related papers: NOTE: Explaining why the Uranian satellites have e…
Spontaneous rotation of an ultra-small satellite was observed and its driving torque was explained by the thermal interaction between the air molecules and the surfaces of the satellite heated by the radiation from the earth. This mechanism…
The irregular satellites of outer planets are thought to have been captured from heliocentric orbits. The exact nature of the capture process, however, remains uncertain. We examine the possibility that irregular satellites were captured…
Through the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect, several hot Jupiters have been found to exhibit spin-orbit misalignment, and even retrograde orbits. The high obliquity observed in these planets can be attributed to two primary formation mechanisms,…
The ultra-faint satellite galaxy Hercules has a strongly elongated and irregular morphology with detections of tidal features up to 1.3 deg (3 kpc) from its center. This suggests that Hercules may be dissolving under the Milky Way's…
On the basis of tidal despinning timescale arguments, Peale showed in 1977 that the majority of irregular satellites (with unknown rotation states) are expected to reside close to their initial (fast) rotation states. Here we investigate…
We investigate the origin and stability of extrasolar satellites orbiting close-in gas giants, focusing on whether these satellites can survive planetary migration within a protoplanetary disk. To address this question, we used Posidonius,…
We develop a theoretical framework for the calculation of orbits for a system consisting of a spherical object and a non-spherical body, which is then specialized to a prolate ellipsoid. Particular trajectories are presented that illustrate…
Using test particle simulations we examine the structure of the outer Galactic disk as it is perturbed by a satellite in a tight eccentric orbit about the Galaxy. A satellite of mass a few times 10^9 Msol can heat the outer Galactic disk,…
The $\mu$ and $\nu$ rings of Uranus form a secondary ring-moon system with the satellites Puck, Mab,Portia, and Rosalind. These rings are tenuous and dominated by micrometric particles, which can be strongly disturbed by the solar radiation…
We study orbital inclination changes associated with the precession of a disc-planet system that occurs through gravitational interaction with a binary companion on an inclined orbit. We investigate whether this scenario can account for…
We further investigate the long-term evolution of a trajectory of a stellar-mass orbiter which is gravitationally bound to a massive central body. The orbiter undergoes repetitionary collisions with an accretion disc. We consider eccentric…
The stellar spin-orbit angles of Neptune-sized planets present a primordial yet puzzling view of the planetary formation epoch. The striking dichotomy of aligned and perpendicular orbital configurations are suggestive of obliquity…
Planets are formed from collisional growth of small bodies in a protoplanetary disk. Bodies much larger than approximately $1$\,m are mainly controlled by the gravity of the host star and experience weak gas drag; their orbits are mainly…
The hypothesis of a recent origin of Saturn's rings and its mid-sized moons is actively debated. It was suggested that a proto-Rhea and a proto-Dione might have collided recently, giving birth to the modern system of mid-sized moons. It is…
We perform a suite of smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations to investigate in detail the results of a giant impact on the young Uranus. We study the internal structure, rotation rate, and atmospheric retention of the post-impact…
Exoplanets are organized in a broad array of orbital configurations that reflect their formation along with billions of years of dynamical processing through gravitational interactions. This history is encoded in the angular momentum…
Recent analyses have shown that the concluding stages of giant planet formation are accompanied by the development of large-scale meridional flow of gas inside the planetary Hill sphere. This circulation feeds a circumplanetary disk that…
We evaluate the effects of a distant planet, commonly known as planet 9, on the dynamics of the giant planets of the Solar System. We find that, given the large distance of planet 9, the dynamics of the inner giant planets can be decomposed…
To date, studies of $\textit{Laplace Surface}$ dynamics have concerned themselves with test particle orbits of fixed shape and orientation in the combined field of an oblate central body (to which the particle is bound) and a distant,…
Aims: We aim to determine whether Jupiter's obliquity is bound to remain exceptionally small in the Solar System, or if it could grow in the future and reach values comparable to those of the other giant planets. Methods: The spin axis of…