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S. Musotto (UCLA & Dept. Astronomy, Padova), F. Varadi, W. Moore (UCLA & IGPP), G. Schubert (UCLA)
We will present the results of numerical simulations of the coupled orbital, rotational and tidal evolution of Io. Previous simulations based only on the coupling of orbital and rotational dynamics have shown the presence of forced and free librations for Io, similarly to the librations that have been observed for the Moon, but with a much shorter period. The effect of tides is to damp out the amplitudes of the free librations, therefore simulations including tides will be carried out to determine the most likely rotational state of Io as the end state of the tidal evolution. We will model tides using the classical approach employing a delayed elastic response and using a dynamical integration of the equations of motion within the body. For the dynamical model, a two-layer Maxwell-viscoelastic model of Io will be used. The results using the two techniques will be compared with analytical results derived from perturbation theory.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35 #4
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.