Revisiting the Capture of Mercury into Its 3:2 Spin-orbit Resonance

Abstract

We simulate the despinning of Mercury, with or without a fluid core, and with a frequency-dependent tidal model employed. The tidal model incorporates the viscoelastic (Maxwell) rebound at low frequencies and a predominantly inelastic (Andrade) creep at higher frequencies. It is combined with a statistically relevant set of histories of Mercury s eccentricity. The tidal model has a dramatic influence on the behaviour of spin histories near spin-orbit resonances. The probabilities of capture into high-order resonances are greatly enhanced. Exploring several scenarios, we conclude that the present 3:2 spin state was achieved by entrapment of an initially prograde cold Mercury when its age was less than 20 Myr, i.e., well before differentiation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA619176

Entities

People

  • Benoit Noyelles
  • Julien Frouard
  • Michael Efroimsky
  • Valeri V. Makarov

Organizations

  • United States Naval Observatory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Celestial Mechanics
  • Crossings
  • Eccentricity
  • Frequency
  • Information Operations
  • Mechanics
  • Motion
  • Physical Properties
  • Physics
  • Probability
  • Quantum Properties
  • Resonance
  • Rotation
  • Spin-Orbit Interaction
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Orbital Debris