Long-term dynamical evolution of dusty ejecta from Deimos

We re-assess expected properties of the presumed dust belt of Mars formed by impact ejecta from Deimos. Previous studies have shown that dynamics of Deimos particles are dominated by two perturbing forces: radiation pressure (RP) and Mars’ oblateness (J2). At the same time, they have demonstrated that lifetimes of particles, especially of grains about ten of micrometers in size, may reach more than 10 4 years. On such timescales, the Poynting–Robertson drag (PR) becomes important. Here we provide a study of the dynamics under the combined action of all three perturbing forces. We show that a PR decay of the semimajor axes leads to an adiabatic decrease of amplitudes and periods of oscillations in orbital inclinations predicted in the framework of the underlying RP+J2 problem. Furthermore, we show that smallest of the long-lived Deimos grains ( radius ≈ 5 – 10 μ m ) may reach a chaotic regime, resulting in unpredictable and abrupt changes of their dynamics. The particles just above that size ( ≈ 10 – 15 μ m ) should be the most abundant in the Deimos torus. Our dynamical analysis, combined with a more accurate study of the particle lifetimes, provides corrections to earlier predictions about the dimensions and geometry of the Deimos torus. In addition to a population, appreciably inclined and shifted towards the Sun, the torus should contain a more contracted, less asymmetric, and less tilted component between the orbits of Phobos and Deimos.