Inertial modes in convective planets & their indirect detection: using Saturn's rings as a seismograph, Fernando Peña (Saint Mary's University, Canada)

Inertial oscillations occur inside rotating convective bodies, restored by the Coriolis force. They may explain a variety of phenomena, e.g., tidal circularization of hot Jupiters and binary stars, and spin-down of neutron stars. In this talk, after an introduction to the inertial oscillations, I will discuss another situation where inertial modes may be relevant: the rings of Saturn where some unexplained density wave features may be result of inertial modes inside the planet. If this hypothesis is correct, we can use Saturn's rings as a seismograph for the planet interior.