Production and fate of the G ring arc particles due to Aegaeon (Saturn LIII)

Abstract

The G ring arc hosts the smallest satellite of Saturn, Aegaeon, observed with a set of images sent by Cassini spacecraft. Along with Aegaeon, the arc particles are trapped in a 7:6 corotation eccentric resonance with the satellite Mimas. Due to this resonance, both Aegaeon and the arc material are confined to within sixty degrees of corotating longitudes. The arc particles are dust grains which can have their orbital motions severely disturbed by the solar radiation force. Our numerical simulations showed that Aegaeon is responsible for depleting the arc dust population by removing them through collisions. The solar radiation force hastens these collisions by removing most of the 10$\mu$m sized grains in less than 40 years. Some debris released from Aegaeon's surface by meteoroid impacts can populate the arc. However, it would take 30,000 years for Aegaeon to supply the observed amount of arc material, and so it is unlikely that Aegaeon alone is the source of dust in the arc.

References in corpus (3)

• Aegaeon (Saturn LIII), a G-ring object
• Coupling between corotation and Lindblad resonances in the elliptic planar three-body problem
• Dust in the arcs of Methone and Anthe

Cited by in corpus (11)

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• The orbit of Aegaeon and the 7:6 Mimas-Aegaeon resonance
• Analysing the region of the rings and small satellites of Neptune
• Neptune's ring arcs confined by coorbital satellites: dust orbital evolution through solar radiation
• Dynamics of multiple bodies in a corotation resonance: Conserved quantities and relevance to ring arcs
• Numerical analysis of processes for the formation of moonlets confining the arcs of Neptune
• Long-term Dynamical Evolution of Pallene (Saturn XXXIII) and its Diffuse, Dusty Ring
• Saturn's G ring: insights from the dynamical evolution of dust particles from the G-ring arc
• Dust production through collisions between small bodies: an application to the G-ring arc