The physics of planetary rings

N.N. Gor’kavyi^a, A.M. Fridman^b, c, d
^aCrimean Astrophysical Observatory, Simeiz, Crimea, Ukraine
^bDepartment of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
^cInstitute of Astronomy, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Pyatnitskaya 48, Moscow, 119017, Russian Federation
^dRussian Research Centre ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Institute of Physics of Stochastic Structures, pl. Kurchatova 1, Moscow, 123182, Russian Federation

A review of the collisional, collective, and resonance phenomena in planetary rings is presented. The following questions are examined: the reasons for the existence of planetary rings and the properties of a typical particle, the collisional breaking of loose bodies, and the azimuthal asymmetry effect for the rings of Saturn. A transfer theory is being developed for differentially rotating disks of inelastic particles, and the collective instabilities of planetary rings and a protoplanetary disk are discussed. A model for the resonance origin for the rings of Uranus is described, which enabled one to predict unknown satellites of Uranus that were later discovered by ``Voyager-2''. The problem of the stability of the rings of Uranus is examined.

PACS: 96.15.Uv, 96.30.Qk, 96.30.Wr, 97.10.Fy (all)
DOI: 10.1070/PU1990v033n02ABEH002544
URL: https://ufn.ru/en/articles/1990/2/a/
Citation: Gor’kavyi N N, Fridman A M "The physics of planetary rings" Sov. Phys. Usp. 33 (2) 95–133 (1990)

BibTex

BibNote ® (generic)BibNote ® (RIS)MedlineRefWorks

%0 Journal Article
%T The physics of planetary rings
%A N. N. Gor’kavyi
%A A. M. Fridman
%I Physics-Uspekhi
%D 1990
%J Phys. Usp.
%V 33
%N 2
%P 95-133
%U https://ufn.ru/en/articles/1990/2/a/
%U https://doi.org/10.1070/PU1990v033n02ABEH002544

Оригинал: Горькавый Н Н, Фридман А М «Физика планетных колец» УФН 160 (2) 169–237 (1990); DOI: 10.3367/UFNr.0160.199002a.0169