A planetary dust ring generated by impact-ejection from the Galilean satellites
- All outer planets in the Solar System are surrounded by a ring system. Many of these rings are dust rings or they contain at least a high proportion of dust. They are often formed by impacts of micro-meteoroids onto embedded bodies. The ejected material typically consists of micron-sized charged particles, which are susceptible to gravitational and non-gravitational forces. Generally, detailed information on the dynamics and distribution of the dust requires expensive numerical simulations of a large number of particles. Here we develop a relatively simple and fast, semi-analytical model for an impact-generated planetary dust ring governed by the planet’s gravity and the relevant perturbation forces for the dynamics of small charged particles. The most important parameter of the model is the dust production rate, which is a linear factor in the calculation of the dust densities. We apply our model to dust ejected from the Galilean satellites using production rates obtained from flybys of the dust sources. The dust densities predictedAll outer planets in the Solar System are surrounded by a ring system. Many of these rings are dust rings or they contain at least a high proportion of dust. They are often formed by impacts of micro-meteoroids onto embedded bodies. The ejected material typically consists of micron-sized charged particles, which are susceptible to gravitational and non-gravitational forces. Generally, detailed information on the dynamics and distribution of the dust requires expensive numerical simulations of a large number of particles. Here we develop a relatively simple and fast, semi-analytical model for an impact-generated planetary dust ring governed by the planet’s gravity and the relevant perturbation forces for the dynamics of small charged particles. The most important parameter of the model is the dust production rate, which is a linear factor in the calculation of the dust densities. We apply our model to dust ejected from the Galilean satellites using production rates obtained from flybys of the dust sources. The dust densities predicted by our model are in good agreement with numerical simulations and with in situ measurements by the Galileo spacecraft. The lifetimes of large particles are about two orders of magnitude greater than those of small ones, which implies a flattening of the size distribution in circumplanetary space. Information about the distribution of circumplanetary dust is also important for the risk assessment of spacecraft orbits in the respective regions.…
Author details: | Manuel SachseORCiDGND |
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DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.10.011 |
ISSN: | 0019-1035 |
ISSN: | 1090-2643 |
Title of parent work (English): | Icarus : international journal of solar system studies |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Place of publishing: | San Diego |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 0207/10/12 |
Publication year: | 2018 |
Release date: | 2022/01/06 |
Volume: | 303 |
Number of pages: | 15 |
First page: | 166 |
Last Page: | 180 |
Funding institution: | Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und RaumfahrtHelmholtz AssociationGerman Aerospace Centre (DLR) [50 OH 1401] |
Organizational units: | Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Institut für Physik und Astronomie |
DDC classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 53 Physik / 530 Physik |
Peer review: | Referiert |