Formulation of the Residual Gravity Field and Prediction of the Mercury's Shape.

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  • 残留重力場の定式化と水星形状の予測

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Abstract

Shapes of celestial bodies are governed by some forces: the self-gravitation, the centrifugal force due to the rotation, the tidal force, and so on. Assuming the hydrostatic equilibrium, the bodies tend to have spherically symmetric shapes under the self-gravitation alone. The re maining forces except the self-gravitation cause departures from the spherical symmetry. Anacceleration field, which is subtracted the self-gravitation from the gravity field, is referred to as the residual gravity field, and is formulated in this study. Regarding the physical surfaces of the bodies as equipotential surfaces, the deformations of the shapes due to the residual gravity are discussed based on the hydrostatic equilibrium. As an application of the formulation, the Mercury's shape is considered by using the relation between the core flattening and the zonal harmonic coefficient J2. It is predicted that Mercury has an almost spherical shape.

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