Numerical simulations of dense collisional systems

The present use of a local simulation method akin to that of Wisdom and Tremaine (1988) to examine the viscous stability characteristics of dense planetary rings confirms that the viscous instability of the standard elastic model of icy particles should not occur for systems of identical, meter-sized particles, but may indeed occur in dense systems composed of cm-sized ones. In the case of nonidentical particles, small particles become more easily unstable. The layered structure of Wisdom and Tremaine's simulation with self-gravity can be substantially modified if the vertical field is calculated self-consistently; in some cases, a flattening to the central plane may be virtually complete. 21 refs