Related papers: Resonant stratification in Titan's global ocean
The ultracool M-dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 is surrounded by seven planets configured in a resonant chain. Transit-timing variations have shown that the planets are caught in multiple three-body resonances and that their orbits are slightly…
The photochemical haze produced in the upper atmosphere of Titan plays a key role in various atmospheric and surface processes on Titan. The surface energy, one important physical properties of the haze, is crucial for understanding the…
Giant collisions can account for Uranus's and Neptune's large obliquities, yet generating two planets with widely different tilts and strikingly similar spin rates is a low-probability event. Trapping into a secular spin-orbit resonance, a…
We calculate the tidal torque on a uniformly rotating 1 Msun star at various stages of core hydrogen burning by an orbiting companion. We apply the `traditional approximation' and solve the radial part of the tidal perturbations by matrix…
Most multi-planet systems around mature ($\sim 5$-Gyr-old) host stars are non-resonant. Even the near-resonant planet pairs still display 1-2\% positive deviation from perfect period commensurabilities ($\Delta$) near first-order mean…
Eccentricity tides generate a torque that can drive an ocean planet towards asynchronous rotation states of equilibrium when enhanced by resonances associated with the oceanic tidal modes. We investigate the impact of eccentricity tides on…
The origin of rings around giant planets remains elusive. Saturn's rings are massive and made of 90-95% of water ice. In contrast, the much less massive rings of Uranus and Neptune are dark and likely to have higher rock fraction. Here we…
Could tidal dissipation within Enceladus' subsurface ocean account for the observed heat flow? Earthlike models of dynamical tides give no definitive answer because they neglect the influence of the crust. I propose here the first model of…
Planets in the liquid-water habitable zone of low-mass stars experience large tidal forces, $10^3$ to $10^4$ times those on Earth, due to the small distance between the habitable zone and the host stars. Therefore, interior solid tides,…
In the polar regions of Titan, the main satellite of Saturn, hydrocarbon seas have been discovered by the Cassini-Huygens mission. RADAR observations have revealed surprising and transient bright areas over Ligeia Mare surface. As suggested…
Ice-covered ocean worlds possess diverse energy sources and associated mechanisms that are capable of driving significant seismic activity, but to date no measurements of their seismic activity have been obtained. Such investigations could…
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…
Transit and radial velocity observations continuously discover an increasing number of exoplanets. However, when it comes to the composition of the observed planets the data are compatible with several interior structure models. Thus, a…
The Juno orbiter continues to collect data on Jupiter's gravity field with unprecedented precision since 2016, recently reporting a non-hydrostatic component in the tidal response of the planet. At the mid-mission perijove 17, Juno…
Neptune's present axial tilt of approximately 28 deg. with respect to its orbital plane can be explained by collisions that its primordial core may have experienced with surrounding planetary embryos during the final stages of its…
Ocean salinity is known to dramatically affect the climates of Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars, with high salinity leading to less ice and higher surface temperature. However, how ocean composition impacts climate under different…
Tidal heating is the prime suspect behind Enceladus's south polar heating anomaly and global subsurface ocean. No model of internal tidal dissipation, however, can explain at the same time the total heat budget and the focusing of the…
The outer areas of Jupiter and Saturn have multiple zonal winds, reaching the high latitudes, that penetrate deep into the planets' interiors, as suggested by gravity measurements. These characteristics are replicable in numerical…
We present a geomorphologic map of Titan's polar terrains. The map was generated from a combination of Cassini Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Imaging Science Subsystem imaging products, as well as altimetry, SARTopo and radargrammetry…
Multi-planetary systems detected by the Kepler mission present an excess of planets close to first-order mean-motion resonances (2:1 and 3:2) but with a period ratio slightly higher than the resonant value. Several mechanisms have been…