Excitation of inclinations in ring-satellite systems

Abstract

Resonant gravitational interactions between a ring and a satellite produce secular variations of their orbital inclinations. Interactions at vertical resonances, analogous to Lindblad resonances but involving inclinations instead of eccentricities, excite inclinations. There is no inclination analog of the corotation resonance. An equatorial ring changes the inclination of a nearby satellite in qualitatively the same way that a satellite in an equatorial orbit changes the inclination of a nearby ring. Viscous dissipation in a ring leads to an equilibrium value of its inclination. These results provide a basis for discussing the origins of the inclinations of planetary rings.

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