Abstract

For Enceladus the frequency of small-amplitude oscillations about the synchronous rotation state is approximately one-third the orbital frequency. Near this commensurability a period-three bifurcation occurs; on a surface of section a period-three chain of secondary islands appears near the synchronous island center. Forced libration in this resonance may be large and would imply large tidal heating. This paper explores the possibility that Enceladus is or once was locked in this period-three librational resonance, and that the observed resurfacing of Enceladus is a consequence.

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