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Abstract:
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Saturn's ring system is the largest, brightest, and diverse in our solar system. For these reasons, it is also the most studied. The dusty particles in the rings are mainly composed of water-ice; their sizes follow a power-law distribution, and they orbit Saturn in a Keplerian motion. On the other hand, it is well-known that sputtering by charged particles and meteoroid bombardment of material from the rings create an extensive neutral cloud of water products in the inner magnetosphere. To explain the dynamics of the dust grains in Saturn's rings, a model is developed in which the gravitational field between neutral dust grains has a stochastic behavior simulated by a Monte Carlo Method. Our results show that the grains tend to gain energy over the time. Three energization regions are identified: a) High (Cassini Division, A-ring); b) Low (B and E rings), and c) Intermediate (C-ring).
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