Numerical simulations of planetary rings using SPH

• Grant number: 19/20288-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: December 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Astronomy - Solar System Astronomy
• Principal Investigator: Rafael Sfair de Oliveira
• Grantee: Maria Eduarda de Barros Alves Matos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEG). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Guaratinguetá. Guaratinguetá , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 16/24561-0 - On the relevance of small bodies in orbital dynamics, AP.TEM

Abstract

It was believed that only the giant planets of the Solar System would be able to keep stable ring-shaped structures around them. However, a stellar occultation in 2013 revealed that Chariklo - a Centaur with a radius of 125 km - hosts a ring system composed by two narrow rings with well defined edges. This discovery raised numerous questions related to the origin and stability of this system. In this project we will study the orbital evolution of particles and how nearby satellites can confine the ring. For this, simulations with the SPH technique will be used. SPH, unlike the N-body approach usually adopted, allows us to analyses a number of rather large particles considering the interaction between them. (AU)