abstract: Solar system orbital dynamics can offer unique challenges. Impacts of interplanetary dust particles can significantly alter the surfaces of icy satellites and minor planets. Impact heating from these particles can anneal away radiation damage to the crystalline structure of surface water ice. This effect is enhanced by gravitational focusing for giant planet satellites. In addition, impacts of interplanetary dust particles on the small satellites of the Pluto system can eject into the system significant amounts of secondary intra-satellite dust. This dust is primarily swept up by Pluto and Charon, and could explain the observed albedo features on Pluto's surface. In addition to Pluto, a large fraction of trans-neptunian objects (TNOs) are binary or multiple systems. The mutual orbits of these TNO binaries can range from very wide (periods of several years) to near-contact systems (less than a day period). No single formation mechanism can explain this distribution. However, if the systems generally formed wide, a combination of solar and body tides (commonly called Kozai Cycles-Tidal Friction, KCTF) can cause most systems to tighten sufficiently to explain the observed distributions. This KCTF process can also be used to describe the orbital evolution of a terrestrial-class exoplanet after being captured as a satellite of a habitable-zone giant exoplanet. The resulting exomoon would be both potentially habitable and potenially detectable in the full Kepler data set. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Astrophysics 2013

The spins of planetary bodies are not stagnant; they evolve in response to both external and internal forces. One way a planet's spin can change is through true polar wander. True polar wander is the reorientation of a planetary body with respect to its angular momentum vector, and occurs when mass is redistributed within the body, changing its principal axes of inertia. True polar wander can literally reshape a world, and has important implications for a variety of processes—from the long-term stability of polar volatiles in the permanently shadowed regions of airless worlds like the Moon and Mercury, to the global tectonic patterns of icy worlds like Pluto. In this dissertation, we investigate three specific instances of planetary true polar wander, and their associated consequences. In Chapter 2 we investigate the classic problem of the Moon's dynamical figure. By considering the effects of a fossil figure supported by an elastic lithosphere, and the contribution of impact basins to the figure, we find that the lunar figure is consistent with the Moon's lithosphere freezing in when the Moon was much closer to the Earth, on a low eccentricity synchronous orbit. The South Pole-Aitken impact basin is the single largest perturbation to the Moon’s figure and resulted in tens of degrees of true polar wander after its formation. In Chapter 3 we continue our analyses of the lunar figure in light of the discovery of a lunar ”volatile" paleopole, preserved in the distribution of hydrogen near the Moon's poles. We find that the formation and evolution of the Procellarum KREEP Terrain significantly altered the Moon’s orientation, implying that some fraction of the Moon’s polar volatiles are ancient—predating the geologic activity within the Procellarum region. In Chapter 4 we investigate how the formation of the giant, basin-filling glacier, Sputnik Planitia reoriented Pluto. This reorientation is recorded in both the present- day location of Sputnik Planitia (near the Pluto-Charon tidal axis), and the tectonic record of Pluto. This reorientation likely reflects a coupling between Pluto’s volatile cycles and rotational dynamics, and may be active on other worlds with comparably large, mobile volatile reservoirs. Finally, in Chapter 5 we consider the broader context of these studies, and touch on future investigations of true polar wander on Mercury, Venus, Mars, Vesta, Ceres, and other worlds in our solar system.

No description available.

The Pluto-Charon system has come into sharper focus following the flyby of New Horizons. We use N-body simulations to probe the unique dynamical history of this binary dwarf planet system. We follow the evolution of the debris disc that might have formed during the Charon-forming giant impact. First, we note that in situ formation of the four circumbinary moons is extremely difficult if Charon undergoes eccentric tidal evolution. We track collisions of disc debris with Charon, estimating that hundreds to hundreds of thousands of visible craters might arise from 0.3-5 km radius bodies. New Horizons data suggesting a dearth of these small craters may place constraints on the disc properties. While tidal heating will erase some of the cratering history, both tidal and radiogenic heating may also make it possible to differentiate disc debris craters from Kuiper belt object craters. We also track the debris ejected from the Pluto-Charon system into the Solar system; while most of this debris is ultimately lost from the Solar system, a few tens of 10-30 km radius bodies could survive as a Pluto-Charon collisional family. Most are plutinos in the 3: 2 resonance with Neptune, while a small number populate nearby resonances. We show that migration of the giant planets early in the Solar system's history would not destroy this collisional family. Finally, we suggest that identification of such a family would likely need to be based on composition as they show minimal clustering in relevant orbital parameters.

Orientadora: Silvia Maria Giuliatti Winter / Coorientador: Rodney da Silva Gomes / Banca: Tadashi Yokoyama / Banca: Ernesto Vieira Neto / Banca: Fernando Virgilio Roig / Banca: Nelson Callegari Junior / Resumo : Neste trabalho investigamos a evolução orbital de partículas de poeira que escapam das superfícies de ambos satélites pequenos de Plutão: Nix e Hidra, produzidas através do impacto de micrometeoroides nas superfícies dos mesmos, sob influencia da pressão de radiação solar e dos efeitos gravitacionais de Plutão, Caronte e dos próprios satélites fontes (Nix e Hidra). A taxa de produção de massa dos grãos de poeira micrométricos foi obtida e simulações numéricas foram realizadas para obter o tempo de vida destes grãos no sistema plutoniano. Os grãos ejetados de Nix e Hidra formam um anel de largura de aproximadamente 16.000 km, o que corresponde a distância radial aproximada entre as órbitas de Nix e Hidra. Através das integrações numéricas verificamos que colisões de grãos com os corpos massivos do sistema e escape em _orbitas hiperbólicas constituem os principais mecanismos de perda de material e são determinadas pelo efeito da pressão de radiação solar. Este importante mecanismo de desestabilização de grãos de poeira em Plutão, remove 30% do conjunto inicial de partículas com raios de 1 µ em apenas 1 ano. As demais partículas que permanecem no sistema formam um anel muito tênue com uma profundidade óptica máxima de 4x10¹¹. Exploramos também a possibilidade dos progenitores dos satélites pequenos de Plutão terem sido capturados pelo binário Plutão-Caronte do disco primordial massivo heliocêntrico, no qual Plutão estaria inserido. Encontramos que, para objetos com baixas velocidades de aproximação com o binário, capturas poderiam ocorrer com probabilidade não é negligenciável devido a natureza do próprio encontro: planetesimal e par de objetos massivosNo entanto, os objetos capturados permaneceriam em orbitas bastante excêntricas em relação ao baricentro do binário, assim o tempo tópico de ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this work, we investigate the orbital evolution of the escaping dust from both small satellites of Pluto: Nix and Hydra, produced via impacts of micrometeoroids on the surfaces of the small satellites, under the influence of the solar radiation pressure combined with the gravitational ejects of Pluto, Charon, and the parent-bodies (Nix and Hydra). The mass production rate of micron-sized dust particles is obtained and numerical simulations are performed to derive the lifetime of the ejecta. The ejected particles form a wide ring of about 16,000 km, which corresponds to the radial distance between the orbits of Nix and Hydra. Through the numerical simulations we verified that collisions with the massive bodies within the system and escape into hyperbolic orbits are the main mechanisms of loss of material, which are mainly determined by the solar radiation pressure acting on the grains. This important loss mechanism removes 30% of the initial set of 1 µ sized particles in 1 year. The surviving particles form a ring too faint to be detectable with a derived maximum optical depth of 4x10¹¹. We also explore the possibility that the progenitors of the small satellites of Pluto have been captured by the Pluto-Charon binary from the massive heliocentric planetesimal disk in which Pluto was originally embedded into. Wend that debris with small approximation velocities to the binary can be captured temporarily by Pluto-Charon with non-negligible probability, due to the dynamical perturbations exerted by the binary nature of the Pluto-Charon pair... (Complete abstract click eletronic access below) / Doutor

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-02T11:16:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-03-20Bitstream added on 2014-12-02T11:20:56Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 000791753.pdf: 2751318 bytes, checksum: 273e7cbadcaa9ed81c675b41ad4a9fb7 (MD5) / Neste trabalho investigamos a evolução orbital de partículas de poeira que escapam das superfícies de ambos satélites pequenos de Plutão: Nix e Hidra, produzidas através do impacto de micrometeoroides nas superfícies dos mesmos, sob influencia da pressão de radiação solar e dos efeitos gravitacionais de Plutão, Caronte e dos próprios satélites fontes (Nix e Hidra). A taxa de produção de massa dos grãos de poeira micrométricos foi obtida e simulações numéricas foram realizadas para obter o tempo de vida destes grãos no sistema plutoniano. Os grãos ejetados de Nix e Hidra formam um anel de largura de aproximadamente 16.000 km, o que corresponde a distância radial aproximada entre as órbitas de Nix e Hidra. Através das integrações numéricas verificamos que colisões de grãos com os corpos massivos do sistema e escape em _orbitas hiperbólicas constituem os principais mecanismos de perda de material e são determinadas pelo efeito da pressão de radiação solar. Este importante mecanismo de desestabilização de grãos de poeira em Plutão, remove 30% do conjunto inicial de partículas com raios de 1 µ em apenas 1 ano. As demais partículas que permanecem no sistema formam um anel muito tênue com uma profundidade óptica máxima de 4x10¹¹. Exploramos também a possibilidade dos progenitores dos satélites pequenos de Plutão terem sido capturados pelo binário Plutão-Caronte do disco primordial massivo heliocêntrico, no qual Plutão estaria inserido. Encontramos que, para objetos com baixas velocidades de aproximação com o binário, capturas poderiam ocorrer com probabilidade não é negligenciável devido a natureza do próprio encontro: planetesimal e par de objetos massivosNo entanto, os objetos capturados permaneceriam em orbitas bastante excêntricas em relação ao baricentro do binário, assim o tempo tópico de ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / In this work, we investigate the orbital evolution of the escaping dust from both small satellites of Pluto: Nix and Hydra, produced via impacts of micrometeoroids on the surfaces of the small satellites, under the influence of the solar radiation pressure combined with the gravitational ejects of Pluto, Charon, and the parent-bodies (Nix and Hydra). The mass production rate of micron-sized dust particles is obtained and numerical simulations are performed to derive the lifetime of the ejecta. The ejected particles form a wide ring of about 16,000 km, which corresponds to the radial distance between the orbits of Nix and Hydra. Through the numerical simulations we verified that collisions with the massive bodies within the system and escape into hyperbolic orbits are the main mechanisms of loss of material, which are mainly determined by the solar radiation pressure acting on the grains. This important loss mechanism removes 30% of the initial set of 1 µ sized particles in 1 year. The surviving particles form a ring too faint to be detectable with a derived maximum optical depth of 4x10¹¹. We also explore the possibility that the progenitors of the small satellites of Pluto have been captured by the Pluto-Charon binary from the massive heliocentric planetesimal disk in which Pluto was originally embedded into. Wend that debris with small approximation velocities to the binary can be captured temporarily by Pluto-Charon with non-negligible probability, due to the dynamical perturbations exerted by the binary nature of the Pluto-Charon pair... (Complete abstract click eletronic access below)

Orientador: Silvia Maria Giuliatti Winter / Banca: Valério Carruba / Banca: Rodney da Silva Gomes / Resumo: Neste trabalho analisamos numericamente a região externa do sistema Plutão-Caronte através da insercão de partículas-teste inicialmente em 'orbitas do tipo-P prógradas e retrógradas, no sistema formado por Plutão, Caronte, Nix e Hidra. Destas integracões numéricas foram geradas grades semi-eixo maior em função da excentricidade definindo-se regiões de partículas em orbitas estáveis e regiões de colisão e escape. Na vizinhança dos satélites Nix e Hidra foram identificadas regiões caóticas, em que partículas localizadas dentro desta região têm suas excentricidades e semi-eixo maiores aumentados e escapam ou colidem com um corpo massivo do sistema. Um conjunto de partículas permaneceram em regiões próximas das orbitas de Nix e Hidra, possivelmente coorbitais de Nix e Hidra. Para ambos os casos, prógrado e retrógrado, a região estável"é maior na região externa do sistema, após a órbita de Hidra, dependendo do valor da excentricidade. Também foram realizadas simulações numéricas inserindo satélites hipotéticos massivos além da órbita de Caronte e os efeitos causados nas órbitas de Nix e Hidra foram analisados. Um estudo numérico preliminar dos efeitos da Press˜ao de Radiac¸ ˜ao Solar em partículas com raios de 1μm, 3μm, 5μm e 10μm foi realizado. Este estudo mostrou que partículas sob os efeitos do Arrasto de Poynting-Robertson deca'ıram em 1,45 × 106 anos (partículas de 1μm de raio) e 1,45 × 107 anos (partíıculas de 10μm de raio), enquanto que a Pressão de Radiac¸ ˜ao causou variacões das excentricidades das partículas fazendo com que em alguns casos houvesse colisões com o planeta. / Abstract: In this work we performed a numerical analysis of the the outer region of the Pluto-Charon system by the insertion of a sample of test particles initially in P-type prograde and retrograde orbits, in the system formed by Pluto, Charon, Nix and Hydra. These numerical integrations generated diagrams of semi-major axis versus eccentricity which define regions of particles in stable orbits and regions of collision and escape. In the vicinity of the satellites Nix and Hydra were identified chaotic regions, where particles located in this region have their eccentricities and semi-major axis increased provoking an ejection or collision with a massive body of the system. A set of particles remained in regions near the orbits of Nix and Hydra, possibly coorbitais with them. For both cases, prograde and retrograde, the "stable" region is larger in the outer region of the system, after Hydra's orbit, depending on the value of eccentricity. Numerical simulations were also performed by inserting some massive hypothetical satellites beyond the Charon's orbit and the effects on the orbits of Nix and Hydra were analyzed. A preliminary numerical study of the effects of the solar radiation force on a sample of particles with radii of 1μm, 3μm, 5μm e 10μm was performed. This study showed that particles under the effects of the Poynting-Robertson drag decay on a time scale between 1.45×106 years (particles of 1μm in radius) and 1.45×107 years (particles of 10μm in radius), while the radiation pressure caused variations of the eccentricities of the particles causing in some cases collisions with the planet. / Mestre

Orientador: Silvia Maria Giuliatti Winter / Banca: Ernesto Vieira Neto / Banca: Ricardo Reis Cordeiro / Resumo: Plutão e Caronte, bem como os novos satélites do sistema, Nix e Hidra, são alvos de micrometeoritos, provavelmente originários do cinturão de Kuiper. Os resíduos destes impactos permaneceriam no sistema em órbitas ao redor de Plutão ou Caronte. Este estudo analisa, através de simulações numéricas, a estabilidade das regiões ao redor do sistema binário. Esta análise deu-se através de simulações numéricas para o problema restrito de três corpos. Foram numericamente integradas órbitas para partículas ao redor de Plutão, ao redor de Caronte e ao redor do baricentro do sistema. Dessas integrações numéricas foram geradas grades a x e, definindo-se regiões: de estabilidade, de escape e de colisão. A região estável ao redor de Plutão vai até aproximadamente 8200km, ao redor de Caronte se estende até 2900km e ao redor do baricentro do sistema binário, órbitas Tipo-P, a região estável inicia-se a partir de 49000km. Estes valores estão de acordo com a teoria de Holman e Wiegert (1999). As regiões de estabilidade de Plutão Caronte foram também amplamente estudadas através do uso da Superfície de Secção de Poincaré (SSP). Um conjunto de cerca de 230 SSP foi obtido. Foram gerados diagramas de Cjxx, Cj é o valor da Constante de Jacobi, derivados das SSP para a região interna aos corpos massivos do binário e externa a eles. Estes diagramas representam a síntese da análise da estabilidade por meio das SSP. Neles ficam determinadas as regiões estáveis às partículas no sistema. Cojuntos especiais de SSP foram gerados para análise das ressonâncias 1:6 e 1:4, pois estas, em especial, estariam relacionadas aos novos satélites. Verificou-se que estes satélites estão em regiões estáveis, mas não em ressonância de acordo com o dados até hoje conhecidos. / Abstract: Pluto and Charon and the two new discovered satellites, named Hydra and Nix, are targets of micrometeorites which were probably originated from the Kuiper belt. A sample of particles can be generated from these collision and be trapped in orbit around Pluto or Charon. This work analyses, through numerical simulations, the stable regions around the binary system. This analysis took into account the Restricted Three Body Problem. From these numerical simulations diagrams of a x e were generated defining, stable, escape and unstable regions. Stable regions around Pluto (width about 8200km), around Charon (width about 2900km) and around the baricentre of the binary system (after a semi-major axis about 49000km) were obtained. These values are in good agreement with the work by Holman & Wiegert (1999). These stable regions were also analysed by using the technique of POincaré Surface of Section (PSS). A sample of about 230 PSS was obtained. In all these PSS chaotic and stable regions and also the resonance locations were identified. Diagrams of Cj x x, derived from the PSS, were obtained. They represent the synthesis of the stability region acquired from the PSS. A particular set of SSP was generated in order to analyse the evolution of 1:4 and 1:6 resonances. The new satellites, Hydra and Nix, are located in stable regions although, they are not in resonances with Charon, as can be seen in the grade a x e. / Mestre

Le 14 juillet 2015, la sonde New Horizons a survolé Pluton et a révélé un monde glacé débordant d’activité. Pour interpréter les observations, nous avons développé deux modèles numériques, l’un simulant les interactions surface-atmosphère des espèces volatiles sur des milliers d’années, l’autre dédié au climat 3D complet de Pluton. Avec ces modèles, nous analysons les cycles annuels et paléoclimatiques des glaces. Nos simulations reproduisent la distribution des espèces volatiles observées à la surface de Pluton, ainsi que leur abondance dans l’atmosphère. Nous montrons que l’insolation sur Pluton et la nature de son atmosphère favorisent la condensation d’azote au fond du bassin Sputnik Planitia, comme observé. Nous simulons, sur des échelles de millions d’années, des écoulements glaciaires de la calotte de glace dans Sputnik Planitia, ainsi que la formation de glaciers de méthane à l’équateur, des résultats très cohérents avec les observations. Nous nous intéressons ensuite à l’état de l’atmosphère de Pluton en 2015 avec le modèle 3D, caractérisant les régimes de vents, formation des nuages, températures, etc.... Nos derniers résultats mettent en évidence la sensibilité de la circulation générale à la distribution de la glace d’azote à la surface et suggèrent une rétro-rotation dans l’atmosphère de Pluton, induite par les flux de condensation-sublimation de l’azote dans Sputnik Planitia. Nous montrons également que plusieurs phénomènes sont à l’origine de la couche limite froide observée dans Sputnik Planitia. Enfin, en reproduisant les processus qui mènent à la formation de la brume organique, nous parvenons à expliquer l’extension de la brume observée au pôle nord. / On July 14, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto and revealed an active frozen world.These observations call upon modelling efforts to complete their analysis and understand the mechanisms at play on Pluto. For this purpose, we have developed two numerical models of Pluto’s climate: a 2D model dedicated to the study of Pluto’s surface and a 3D model of Pluto’s atmosphere. We analyse the annual and paleoclimatic volatile cycles. Our simulations reproduce the distribution of the volatile observed on Pluto’s surface and their abundance in the atmosphere. We show that the solar insolation on Pluto and the nature of its atmosphere favour the condensation of nitrogen in the Sputnik Planitia basin, as observed. We simulate the glacial activity of the Sputnik Planitia ice cap on a timescale of millions of years, as well as the formation of methane glaciers at the equator. Our results are in agreement with the observations. We then focus on Pluto’s atmosphere in 2015 with the full 3D model where we performed a comprehensive characterization of the atmosphere: wind regimes, cloud formation, temperatures etc. ...We demonstrate the sensitivity of the general circulation to the distribution of the nitrogen ice on the surface and show that Pluto’s atmosphere currently undergoes retrograde rotation, induced by the condensation-sublimation of nitrogen in Sputnik Planitia. We also show that several phenomena originate at the cold boundary layer observed deep in Sputnik Planitia. Finally, by reproducing the processes that lead to the formation of organic haze, we simulate haze transport in the atmosphere and explain the greater extension of the haze observed at the north pole.

This master thesis purposes is create localization system using software defined radio. The purpose of this thesis is to create new localization system, which will be independent of existing systems. To create a localization system, we will use ADALM-PLUTO device to send and receive radio signals. This work contains a decription of serval possibilities how to create the localization system and description of their comunication.