Satellite Survival through Gas Redistribution in a Low-viscosity Disk
Abstract
We investigate satellite survival through gas redistribution in a dense circumplanetary disk with a low dimensionless viscosity parameter α∼ 10−6. The model combines modal Lindblad excitation, launch-dependent shock deposition, 3D effects, and an instantaneous Rayleigh adjustment that conserves angular momentum and suppresses sharp density gradients. An isolated Ganymede-mass satellite depletes the disk outside its orbit and stalls under a calibrated three-dimensional Lindblad torque. This behavior is consistent with the non-feedback branch of Rafikov's stalling criterion. The inward migration stalls near 15 Jupiter radii (RJ) when the gas depletion exterior to the satellite's orbit reduces the outer torque by the amount required to balance the torque of the undepleted inner disk, even when we adopt a transport prescription that begins smoothing density gradients halfway to Rayleigh marginality. Likewise, two Callisto masses form an extended depleted region and stall in nearly steady orbits before a late close encounter; however, a self-consistent disk response to satellite eccentricity remains to be modeled. A simulation of a Ganymede-mass satellite adds a specified source of unsaturated local angular momentum deposition by buoyancy torques, reducing the late radial oscillations indirectly caused by non-local shock deposition. Lastly, we redistribute gas while conserving angular momentum to proactively inhibit Rossby-wave unstable pressure bumps at the gap edges. We find that this approach preserves gap clearing and strong migration suppression for Ganymede and the two Callisto masses. In the pressure-adjusted run, the two Callisto masses are captured in a 7:5 resonance and retain eccentricities below 0.06.
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BibTeX
@misc{mosqueira2026satellite,
title = {{Satellite Survival through Gas Redistribution in a Low-viscosity Disk}},
author = {Ignacio Mosqueira},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.23965},
eprint = {2609.23965},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.23965},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Satellite Survival through Gas Redistribution in a Low-viscosity Disk
AU - Ignacio Mosqueira
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.23965
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.23965
AB - We investigate satellite survival through gas redistribution in a dense circumplanetary disk with a low dimensionless viscosity parameter α∼ 10^−6. The model combines modal Lindblad excitation, launch-dependent shock deposition, 3D effects, and an instantaneous Rayleigh adjustment that conserves angular momentum and suppresses sharp density gradients. An isolated Ganymede-mass satellite depletes the disk outside its orbit and stalls under a calibrated three-dimensional Lindblad torque. This behavior is consistent with the non-feedback branch of Rafikov's stalling criterion. The inward migration stalls near 15 Jupiter radii (R_J) when the gas depletion exterior to the satellite's orbit reduces the outer torque by the amount required to balance the torque of the undepleted inner disk, even when we adopt a transport prescription that begins smoothing density gradients halfway to Rayleigh marginality. Likewise, two Callisto masses form an extended depleted region and stall in nearly steady orbits before a late close encounter; however, a self-consistent disk response to satellite eccentricity remains to be modeled. A simulation of a Ganymede-mass satellite adds a specified source of unsaturated local angular momentum deposition by buoyancy torques, reducing the late radial oscillations indirectly caused by non-local shock deposition. Lastly, we redistribute gas while conserving angular momentum to proactively inhibit Rossby-wave unstable pressure bumps at the gap edges. We find that this approach preserves gap clearing and strong migration suppression for Ganymede and the two Callisto masses. In the pressure-adjusted run, the two Callisto masses are captured in a 7:5 resonance and retain eccentricities below 0.06.
ER -