Free Unstable Modes and Massive Bodies in Saturn's Outer B Ring

TL;DR

This study reveals free, self-excited wave modes and embedded massive bodies in Saturn's B ring, suggesting viscous overstability as a key mechanism and providing new insights into ring mass density and structure dynamics.

Contribution

First observations of unforced self-excited wave modes in Saturn's B ring, linking them to viscous overstability and identifying embedded massive bodies.

Findings

Detection of unforced wavenumber-3, 2, and 1 modes.

Estimated surface mass density of ~44 g/cm^2 or higher.

Identification of embedded massive bodies and a moonlet.

Abstract

Voyager images and Cassini occultation data have previously shown that the behavior of the outer edge of Saturn's massive B ring is determined only in part by a static response to the 2:1 inner Lindblad resonance with Mimas. In Cassini images of this region, we find, in addition to the expected wavenumber-2 forced distortion, evidence for unforced self-excited wavenumber-3, wavenumber-2, and wavenumber-1 normal modes. These are the first observations to suggest substantial wave amplification in Saturn's broad rings. Moreover, the presence of these free modes strongly implicates viscous overstability as their underlying cause and, by inference, the cause for most if not all of the unforced structures throughout the high-mass-density B ring and in other high-mass-density regions in Saturn's rings. Analysis of each of the inferred waves reveals a consistent lower bound on the average surface mass density of ~ 44 g/cm^2 for the outer 250 km of the ring, though the true surface density could be as high as 100 g/cm^2 or higher. Interference between the forced and free wavenumber-2 modes yields a total wavenumber-2 pattern that varies in amplitude and orientation with a characteristic period of ~ 5.5 years. We also find localized disturbances, including 3.5-km-tall vertical structures, that provide circumstantial evidence for embedded massive bodies in the Mimas resonance zone. The presence of such bodies is supported by the presence of a shadow-casting moonlet ~ 0.3 km wide near the ring's edge.