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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20693 |
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| _version_ | 1866914109457432576 |
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| author | Madeira, Gustavo Morgado, Bruno Pereira, Chrystian Ramon, Giovana Sfair, Rafael Braga-Ribas, Felipe |
| author_facet | Madeira, Gustavo Morgado, Bruno Pereira, Chrystian Ramon, Giovana Sfair, Rafael Braga-Ribas, Felipe |
| contents | A recent stellar occultation revealed that the Centaur (2060) Chiron hosts a broad disk extending beyond ~200 km from its centre, embedding three ring-like structures (Chi1R, Chi2R, and Chi3R), while a tenuous outer ring (Chi4R) lies beyond the Roche limit. Here, we present a first dynamical assessment of the system's stability through numerical simulations of test particles, accounting for Chiron's triaxial figure. For an equatorial ellipticity of C22~0.02, as inferred from the most recent shape estimates, our simulations reveal a chaotic inner zone extending to ~260 km, where particle lifetimes reach up to a year, while particles beyond ~260 km can remain stable for at least a decade. These results suggest that the innermost portion of the disk is ephemeral and can only persist if continuously replenished. For lower ellipticity values (C22<0.012), however, the entire disk is located within the stable region, regardless of Chiron's mass. Under the physical parameters currently available in the literature, Chi2R is possibly linked to the 1:3 spin-orbit resonance, while Chi1R cannot be linked to the 1:2 resonance, as previously proposed, since this resonance is unstable. Instead, Chi1R and Chi3R may be associated with the 2:5 and 1:5 spin-orbit resonances, respectively. Both the 1:3 and 1:5 resonances are bifurcated, generating chaotic zones that may explain the gap in Chi2R and the longitudinal asymmetry observed in Chi3R. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_20693 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Dynamical environment and stability around Centaur (2060) Chiron Madeira, Gustavo Morgado, Bruno Pereira, Chrystian Ramon, Giovana Sfair, Rafael Braga-Ribas, Felipe Earth and Planetary Astrophysics A recent stellar occultation revealed that the Centaur (2060) Chiron hosts a broad disk extending beyond ~200 km from its centre, embedding three ring-like structures (Chi1R, Chi2R, and Chi3R), while a tenuous outer ring (Chi4R) lies beyond the Roche limit. Here, we present a first dynamical assessment of the system's stability through numerical simulations of test particles, accounting for Chiron's triaxial figure. For an equatorial ellipticity of C22~0.02, as inferred from the most recent shape estimates, our simulations reveal a chaotic inner zone extending to ~260 km, where particle lifetimes reach up to a year, while particles beyond ~260 km can remain stable for at least a decade. These results suggest that the innermost portion of the disk is ephemeral and can only persist if continuously replenished. For lower ellipticity values (C22<0.012), however, the entire disk is located within the stable region, regardless of Chiron's mass. Under the physical parameters currently available in the literature, Chi2R is possibly linked to the 1:3 spin-orbit resonance, while Chi1R cannot be linked to the 1:2 resonance, as previously proposed, since this resonance is unstable. Instead, Chi1R and Chi3R may be associated with the 2:5 and 1:5 spin-orbit resonances, respectively. Both the 1:3 and 1:5 resonances are bifurcated, generating chaotic zones that may explain the gap in Chi2R and the longitudinal asymmetry observed in Chi3R. |
| title | Dynamical environment and stability around Centaur (2060) Chiron |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20693 |