This project will use a new N-body integrator to perform global simulations of self-gravitating rings and ringlets around Saturn. The work is motivated by recent observations of Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft which showed unexpected non-equilibrium orbital states of the ringlets, which appear to be in free normal modes that are not forced or excited by any known resonances. Comparisons of mode simulations with Cassini data will be used to determine physical properties, such as surface density, of the ringlets, and to explore non-equilibrium orbital dynamics in general.
Broader impacts include training a graduate student in all aspects of the proposed research and providing the N-body integrator code to the planetary rings community.
