Abstract
We have recently shown that submicron dust particles sporadically elevated above the ring can provide an effective angular momentum exchange between the ring and Saturn. In this paper we show that perturbations in the ring mass density can become unstable through this effect. Dust elevated from the ring settles back onto the ring at a different radial distance. If the ring density there is less than that at the point of elevation the torque exerted by the dust will cause the underdense material to move in the radial direction toward the dense material. If the average radial displacement Δ of the dust satisfies the resonance condition Δ = λ (n + 1 4 ) the density fluctuation of wavelength λ may grow. The range of unstable wavelengths is determined by the dust charge, the displacement Δ, and the fluctuations of these quantities. We suggest that some of the ringlets in the B-ring may be due to this instability.
Published Version
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