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Further explorations of cosmogonic shadow effects in the Saturnian rings
Abstract
The mass distribution in the Saturnian ring system is compared with predictions from the cosmogonic theory of Alfven and Arrhenius (1975) in which matter in the rings was once a magnetized plasma, with gravitation balanced by centrifugal force and by the magnetic field. As the plasma is neutralized, the magnetic force disappears and the matter can be shown to fall in to a distance 2/3 of the original. This supports the cosmogonic shadow effect, also demonstrated for the astroidal belt and in the large scale structure of the Saturnian ring system. The relevance of the comogonic shadow effect for parts of the finer structures of the Saturnian ring system is investigated. It is shown that many structures of the present ring system can be understood as shadows and antishadows of cosmogonic origin. These appear in the form of double rings centered around a position a factor 0.64 (slightly 2/3) closer to Saturn than the causing feature.
Alfvén in his early work on the origin of the solar system (1942–1946) noted a pronounced band structure in the gravitational potential distribution of secondary bodies, and suggested this feature to be directly related to the formation process. When the critical velocity phenomenon was later discovered, a close agreement was found between the planet-satellite bands on one hand, and the critical velocity limits of the major compound elements in the interstellar medium on the other, suggesting a specific emplacement mechanism for the dusty plasma which presumably constituted the solar nebula.
Since the originally perceived band structure was outlined in a qualitative fashion, an attempt is made here to analyze the distribution by a statistical technique, testing the significance of clustering of the observational data in the bands. The results show that, with proper scaling of the parameters, such a band structure indeed appears, with features closely similar to those originally conceived. Some deviations are indicated by the cluster analysis, however; their significance is discussed in terms of process involved in the formation of the solar system.
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