title: Weakly nonlinear model for oscillatory instability in Saturn's dense rings.
abstract: Viscous overstability (oscillatory instability) may play an important role in the formation of small scale structure in dense planetary rings such as Saturn's B ring. We investigate the growth and saturation of such modes in local particle simulations. Starting from a hydrodynamic model, we develop a set of ordinary differential equations to model the evolution of the amplitudes of the linearly overstable modes in the nonlinear regime. The NASA/ESA space probe Cassini can make direct observations of these modes in Saturn's rings, including their sizes and temporal development.
authors.affiliation: University of Potsdam, Department of Physics, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salo