Formation of Sharp Ringlets by Inelastic Collisions

抄録

We investigate the possibility that the sharp ringlets observed around giant planets of the solar system are generated through inelastic collisions. First, a model is defined, and then ringlet formation is shown to occur under certain conditions on the rebound coefficients. A three-dimensional case with 2000-body was then simulated. If the condition is satisfied, particles under the gravitational influence of a planet are shown to evolve from a three-dimensional torus to a two-dimensional disc, and finally to one-dimensional ringlets. The form is thus simplified through inelastic collisions. This result is contrary to the common notion that collisions among the constituents of planetary rings would cause the rings to lose their sharp features.