Related papers: Enceladus's measured physical libration requires a…
Are Saturn's regular satellites young or old? And how old are Enceladus' cratered plains? To answer these questions we computed model surface ages of the most heavily cratered terrains on Saturn's regular icy satellites using new…
The infall of a satellite galaxy onto a galactic disk generally brings in angular momentum that is not aligned with the axis of the disk. The main dynamical issues addressed are what fraction of the orbital angular momentum of the satellite…
Tidal dissipation in planetary interiors is one of the key physical mechanisms that drive the evolution of star-planet and planet-moon systems. New constraints are now obtained both in the Solar and exoplanetary systems. Tidal dissipation…
The aim of my dissertation is to investigate habitability in extra-Solar Systems. Most of the time, only planets are considered as possible places where extraterrestrial life can emerge and evolve, however, their moons could be inhabited,…
Observational data from the Cassini spacecraft are used to obtain a chemical model of ocean water on Enceladus. The model indicates that Enceladus' ocean is a Na-Cl-CO3 solution with an alkaline pH of ~11-12. The dominance of aqueous NaCl…
Enceladus offers our best opportunity for exploring the chemistry of an ocean on another world. Here, we perform geochemical modeling to show how the distribution of phosphate species found in ice grains from Enceladus's plume provides a…
The formation and orbital evolution of Saturn's inner mid-sized moons are still debated. The most puzzling aspects are 1) how the Tethys-Dione pair and the Mimas-Enceladus pair passed through their strong 3:2 mean-motion resonances during…
Several stars show deep transits consistent with discs of roughly 1 Solar radius seen at moderate inclinations, likely surrounding planets on eccentric orbits. We show that this configuration arises naturally as a result of planet-planet…
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…
Regarding tidal dissipation in Saturn, usually parameterized by Saturn's quality factor Q, there remains a discrepancy between conventional estimates and the latest determination that has been derived from astrometric observations of…
The best constraints on the internal structures of giant planets have historically come from measurements of their gravity fields. These gravity data are inherently mostly sensitive to a planet's outer regions, providing only loose…
Surface liquid water is essential for standard planetary habitability. Calculations of atmospheric circulation on tidally locked planets around M stars suggest that this peculiar orbital configuration lends itself to the trapping of large…
Much of the geologic activity preserved on Europa's icy surface has been attributed to tidal deformation, mainly due to Europa's eccentric orbit. Although the surface is geologically young (30 - 80 Myr), there is little information as to…
Aptly named, ice giants such as Uranus and Neptune contain significant amounts of water. While this water cannot be present near the cloud tops, it must be abundant in the deep interior. We investigate the likelihood of a liquid water ocean…
The accurate determination of Saturn's gravitational coefficients by Cassini could provide tighter constrains on Saturn's internal structure. Also, occultation measurements provide important information on the planetary shape which is often…
Tidal dissipation inside giant planets is important for the orbital evolution of their natural satellites. It is conventionally treated by parameterized equilibrium tidal theory, in which the tidal torque declines rapidly with distance, and…
We investigated the orbital evolution of satellite galaxies using numerical simulations. It has been long believed that the orbit suffers circularization due to the dynamical friction from the galactic halo during orbital decay. This…
This paper presents a study of the Poincar\'e-Hough model of rotation of the synchronous natural satellites, in which these bodies are assumed to be composed of a rigid mantle and a triaxial cavity filled with inviscid fluid of constant…
A fundamental question in the study of planetary system demographics is: how common is the solar system architecture? The primary importance of this question lies in the potential of planetary systems to create habitable environments, and…
Spacecraft observations suggest that the plumes of Saturn's moon Enceladus draw water from a subsurface ocean, but the sustainability of conduits linking ocean and surface is not understood. Observations show sustained (though tidally…