Salo H, Hanninen J
Division of Astronomy, Department of Physical Sciences, University of Oulu, FIN-90570 Oulu, Finland.
Science. 1998 Nov 6;282(5391):1102-4. doi: 10.1126/science.282.5391.1102.
Numerical simulations of Neptune's arcs show that self-gravity between macroscopic arc particles can prevent interparticle impacts and thereby stabilize their resonant confinement by Galatea, a satellite of Neptune. Stable subkilometer arc particles provide a source for replenishing the observed dust and explain the clumpy substructure seen in arcs. A few confining kilometer-sized particles between the major arc components can account for the observed arc widths spanning several resonance sites. The modeled distribution of dust is consistent with observations and helps to explain how embedded satellites may affect the structure and evolution of planetary ring systems.
海王星环弧的数值模拟表明，宏观环弧粒子之间的自引力可以防止粒子间碰撞，从而通过海王星的卫星伽拉忒亚使其共振约束保持稳定。稳定的亚千米级环弧粒子为补充观测到的尘埃提供了一个来源，并解释了环弧中出现的块状子结构。主要环弧组分之间的一些约束性千米级粒子可以解释观测到的跨越几个共振位点的环弧宽度。模拟的尘埃分布与观测结果一致，有助于解释嵌入式卫星如何影响行星环系统的结构和演化。
