Spin-driven tidal pumping: tidally driven changes in planetary spin coupled with secular interactions between planets (Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 2013)

• Rory Barnes

Full Citation:
Greenberg, R., Van Laerhoven, C. & Barnes, R. Spin-driven tidal pumping: tidally driven changes in planetary spin coupled with secular interactions between planets. Celest Mech Dyn Astr 117, 331–348 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10569-013-9518-3

Abstract:
In a multiplanet system, tides acting on the inner planet can significantly affect the orbital evolution of the entire system. While tides usually damp eccentricities, a novel mechanism identified by Correia et al. (Astrophys J Lett 744, article id. L23, 2012) tends to raise eccentricities as a result of the tides’ effect on the inner planet’s rotation. Our analytical description of this spin-driven tidal (SDT) effect shows that, while the inner planet’s eccentricity undergoes pumping, the process is more completely described by an exchange of strength between the two eigenmodes of the dynamical system. Our analysis allows derivation of criteria for two-planet coplanar systems where the SDT effect can reverse tidal damping, and may preclude the effect’s being significant for realistic systems. For the specific case quantified by Correia et al., the effect is strong because of the large adopted tidal time lag, which may not be appropriate for the assumed Saturn-like inner planet. On the other hand, the effective

URL:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10569-013-9518-3

VPL Research Tasks:
Task C: The Habitable Planet