A synchronous moon as a possible cause of Mars' initial triaxiality
arXiv:2408.14725 · doi:10.1029/2023JE008277
Abstract
The paper addresses the possibility of a young Mars having had a massive moon, which synchronised the rotation of Mars, and gave Mars an initial asymmetric triaxiality to be later boosted by geological processes. It turns out that a moon of less than a third of the lunar mass was capable of producing a sufficient initial triaxiality. The asymmetry of the initial tidal shape of the equator depends on timing: the initial asymmetry is much stronger if the synchronous moon shows up already at the magma-ocean stage. From the moment of synchronisation of Mars' rotation with the moon's orbital motion, and until the moon was eliminated (as one possibility, by an impact in the beginning of the LHB), the moon was sustaining an early value of Mars' rotation rate.
References in corpus (11)
- Strong tidal dissipation in Saturn and constraints on Enceladus' thermal state from astrometry
- Multiple Impact Origin for the Moon
- Spin-orbit evolution of Mercury revisited
- Tidal insights into rocky and icy bodies: An introduction and overview
- Early Bombardment of the Moon: Connecting the Lunar Crater Record to the Terrestrial Planet Formation
- Tidal disruption of satellites and formation of narrow rings
- The effect of pre-impact spin on the Moon-forming collision
- Near/Far Side Asymmetry in the Tidally Heated Moon
- Is there a semi-molten layer at the base of the lunar mantle?
- Pathways of Survival of Exomoons and Inner Exoplanets
- Forming Massive Terrestrial Satellites through Binary-Exchange Capture