Rings under close encounters with the giant planets: Chariklo vs Chiron

TL;DR

This study compares the likelihood of ring survival around the Centaurs Chariklo and Chiron during close encounters with giant planets, revealing Chiron's rings are more vulnerable due to its orbital characteristics.

Contribution

It extends previous analysis to Chiron, quantifying the probability of ring disruption and highlighting the influence of orbital parameters on ring stability.

Findings

Chiron's rings are about six times more likely to be disrupted than Chariklo's.

Chiron's orbit makes it less likely to retain rings compared to Chariklo.

Bodies with high inclination and low eccentricity are better candidates for ring retention.

Abstract

In 2014, the discovery of two well-defined rings around the Centaur (10199) Chariklo were announced. This was the first time that such structures were found around a small body. In 2015, it was proposed that the Centaur (2060) Chiron may also have a ring. In a previous study, we analyzed how close encounters with giant planets would affect the rings of Chariklo. The most likely result is the survival of the rings. In the present work, we broaden our analysis to (2060) Chiron. In addition to Chariklo, Chiron is currently the only known Centaur with a presumed ring. By applying the same method as \cite{araujo2016}, we performed numerical integrations of a system composed of 729 clones of Chiron, the Sun, and the giant planets. The number of close encounters that disrupted the ring of Chiron during one half-life of the study period was computed. This number was then compared to the number of close encounters for Chariklo. We found that the probability of Chiron losing its ring due to close encounters with the giant planets is about six times higher than that for Chariklo. Our analysis showed that, unlike Chariklo, Chiron is more likely to remain in an orbit with a relatively low inclination and high eccentricity. Thus, we found that the bodies in Chiron-like orbits are less likely to retain rings than those in Chariklo-like orbits. Overall, for observational purposes, we conclude that the bigger bodies in orbits with high inclinations and low eccentricities should be prioritized.