Related papers: Three-Dimensional Dynamics of Narrow Planetary Rin…
We develop an idealized dynamical model to predict the typical properties of outer extrasolar planetary systems, at radii beyond 5 AU. Our hypothesis is that dynamical evolution in outer planetary systems is controlled by a combination of…
We combine DensePak integral field unit and TAURUS Fabry-Perot observations of 13 nuclear rings to show an interconnection between the kinematic properties of the rings and their resonant origin. The nuclear rings have regular and symmetric…
Because of the high eccentricities (~0.3) of two of the possible planets about the star Upsilon Andromeda, the stability of the system requires careful study. We present results of 1000 numerical simulations which explore the orbital…
Disks of bodies orbiting a much more massive central object are extremely common in astrophysics. When the orbits comprising such disks are eccentric, we show they are susceptible to a new dynamical instability. Gravitational forces between…
Certain spiral density waves in Saturn's rings are generated through resonances with planetary normal modes, making them valuable probes of Saturn's internal structure. Previous research has primarily focused on the rotation rates of these…
In previous hydrodynamical simulations, we found a mechanism for nearly circular binary stars, like Kepler-413, to trap two planets in a stable 1:1 resonance. Therefore, the stability of coorbital configurations becomes a relevant question…
Some wave features found in the C-ring of Saturn appear to be excited by resonances with normal mode oscillations of the planet. The waves are found at locations in the rings where the ratio of orbital to oscillation frequencies is given by…
Resonant locking of two planets is an expected outcome of convergent disc migration. The planets subsequently migrate together as a resonant pair. In the context of circumbinary planets, the disc is truncated internally by the binary. If…
We study the stability of charged dust grains orbiting a planet and subject to gravity and the electromagnetic force. Our numerical models cover a broad range of launch distances from the planetary surface to beyond synchronous orbit, and…
The Cassini spacecraft provided key measurements during its more than twelve year mission that constrain the absolute age of Saturn's rings. These include the extrinsic micrometeoroid flux at Saturn, the volume fraction of non-icy…
Saturn's main rings exhibit variations in both their opacity and spectral properties on a broad range of spatial scales, and the correlations between these parameters can provide insights into the processes that shape the composition and…
The Upsilon Andromedae system is the first exoplanetary system to have the relative inclination of two planets' orbital planes directly measured, and therefore offers our first window into the 3-dimensional configurations of planetary…
Over the past few decades, various conjectures were advanced that Saturn's rings are Cantor-like sets, although no convincing fractal analysis of actual images has ever appeared. We focus on the images sent by the Cassini spacecraft…
Maxwell's investigations into the stability of Saturn's rings provide one of the earliest analyses of the dynamics of astrophysical discs. Current research in planetary rings extends Maxwell's kinetic theory to treat dense granular gases of…
A restricted planar circular three-body system, consisting of the Sun and two planets, is studied as a simple model for a planetary system. The mass of the inner planet is considered to be larger and the system is assumed to be moving in a…
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…
We present a stability analysis of a large set of simulated planetary systems of three or more planets based on architectures of multiplanet systems discovered by \textit{Kepler} and \textit{K2}. We propagated 21,400 simulated planetary…
We study the orbital stability of a non-zero mass, close-in circular orbit planet around an eccentric orbit binary for various initial values of the binary eccentricity, binary mass fraction, planet mass, planet semi--major axis, and planet…
Astrophysical discs which are sufficiently massive and cool are linearly unstable to the formation of axisymmetric structures. In practice, linearly stable discs of surface density slightly below the threshold needed for this instability…
Irregular structure in planetary rings is often attributed to the intrinsic instabilities of a homogeneous state undergoing Keplerian shear. Previously these have been analysed with simple hydrodynamic models. We instead employ a kinetic…