Related papers: Resonantly-forced Eccentric Ringlets: Relationship…

The apsidal precession frequency in a fixed gravitational potential increases with the radial range of the orbit (eccentricity). Although the frequency increase is modest it can have important implications for wave dynamics in galaxy discs,…

We fit an isothermal oscillatory density model of Saturn's protoplanetary disk to the present-day major satellites and innermost rings D/C and we determine the radial scale length of the disk, the equation of state and the central density…

In a previous paper (Hedman and Nicholson 2013), we developed tools that allowed us to confirm that several of the waves in Saturn's rings were likely generated by resonances with fundamental sectoral normal modes inside Saturn itself. Here…

Various processes can induce long-lived overdense rings and arcs in protoplanetary and AGN accretion discs, such as the accumulation of gas at the outer edge of the dead zone, or the infall of material. Using the local approximation of…

In many astrophysical problems involving discs (gaseous or particulate) orbiting a dominant central mass, gravitational potential of the disc plays an important dynamical role. Its impact on the motion of external objects, as well as on the…

Plasma rotation plays a large role in determining the size and shape of Saturn's disc-like magnetosphere. A magnetosphere more confined to the equator in the polar regions is expected as a result of the interaction between this type of…

Tidal dissipation within a short-period transiting extrasolar planet perturbed by a companion object can drive orbital evolution of the system to a so-called tidal fixed point, in which the apsidal lines of the transiting planet and its…

The giant impact phase of terrestrial planet formation establishes connections between super-Earths' orbital properties (semimajor axis spacings, eccentricities, mutual inclinations) and interior compositions (the presence or absence of…

We present an analytical model to study the dynamics of the outer edge of Saturn's A ring. The latter is influenced by 7:6 mean motion resonances with Janus and Epimetheus. Because of the horseshoe motion of the two co-orbital moons, the…

Eccentricity is an important orbital parameter. Understanding its effect on planetary climate and habitability is critical for us to search for a habitable world beyond our solar system. The orbital configurations of M-dwarf planets are…

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…

The orbital eccentricity distribution of exoplanets is shaped by a combination of dynamical processes, reflecting both formation conditions and long-term evolution. Probing the orbital dynamics of planets in the kinematic thin and thick…

I report the results of a new set of calculations for the gravitational contraction of the proto-solar cloud to quantify the idea that Titan may be a captured moon of Saturn (Prentice 1981, 1984). It is proposed that Titan initially…

We present a review of Saturn's interior structure and thermal evolution, with a particular focus on work in the past 5 years. Data from the Cassini mission, including a precise determination of the gravity field from the Grand Finale…

Planetary rings are ubiquitous structure in our Solar System, but their formation mechanisms remain under debate. One of the proposed scenarios is the tidal disruption of a nearby passing body that enters within a planet's Roche limit,…

The secular perturbations exerted by an inclined satellite orbiting in a gap in a broad planetary ring tends to excite the inclinations of the nearby ring particles, and the ring's self-gravity can allow that disturbance to propagate away…

In a planetary system, a secular particle resonance occurs at a location where the precession rate of a test particle (e.g. an asteroid) matches the frequency of one of the precessional modes of the planetary system. We investigate the…

In this paper, we investigate whether Uranus's 98$^{\circ}$ obliquity was a by-product of a secular spin-orbit resonance assuming that the planet originated closer to the Sun. In this position, Uranus's spin precession frequency is fast…

In a recent paper we proposed that the giant planets' primordial orbits may have been eccentric (~0.05), and used a suite of dynamical simulations to show outcomes of the giant planet instability that are consistent with their present-day…

We study the stability of gaps opened by a giant planet in a self-gravitating protoplanetary disc. We find a linear instability associated with both the self-gravity of the disc and local vortensity maxima which coincide with gap edges. For…