Abstract
Numerical simulations of planetary ring dynamics are reviewed, with main emphasis on local 3-dimensional simulations, which utilize a co-moving calculation cell with periodic boundary conditions. Various factors affecting the local balance between collisional dissipation and viscous gain of energy from the systematic velocity field are considered, including gravitational encounters and collective gravitational forces besides physical impacts. Simulation examples of the effects of particle size distribution, particles’ spin motion, and different forms of the coefficient of restitution are given. Viscous stability properties are also briefly discussed: examples of both instabilities and overstabilities are given. In this context 2D-simulations are useful, eventhough physically unrealistic even for extremely flattened planetary ring systems.
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Salo, H. (2001). Numerical Simulations of the Collisional Dynamics of Planetary Rings. In: Pöschel, T., Luding, S. (eds) Granular Gases. Lecture Notes in Physics, vol 564. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44506-4_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-44506-4_18
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