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<p>Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, is presumed to be a trans-Neptunian object that became gravitationally bound to the giant planet and is one of the highest-priority candidate ocean worlds for exploration. Its capture and orbital circularization may have caused intense heating that led to internal differentiation and the formation of a metallic core. In this work, we argue that this ‘hot start’ may lead to Triton hosting an active dynamo today, driven by ongoing convection within its metallic core. Using thermal evolution models, we explore three potential regimes of core crystallization to assess their impact on the likelihood of dynamo action. Our nominal model, with solid iron sulfide crystallizing from the top of the core down, implies that Triton, like Ganymede, may possess an ongoing dynamo that generates a magnetic field with a strength of the order of ~1 μT at the surface. If confirmed, the existence of a dynamo would provide a unique constraint on Triton’s internal structure, composition, capture history and evolution. Strong dynamo fields would complicate efforts to characterize the subsurface ocean via magnetometry with a single flyby. A dedicated mission to the Neptune system would allow for more detailed measurements of Triton’s complex magnetic environment and putative ocean.</p>

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A modern dynamo at Triton as a consequence of its capture by Neptune

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月1日

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  • Lana J. Tilke,
  • Kevin T. Trinh,
  • Joseph G. O’Rourke

摘要

Triton, Neptune’s largest moon, is presumed to be a trans-Neptunian object that became gravitationally bound to the giant planet and is one of the highest-priority candidate ocean worlds for exploration. Its capture and orbital circularization may have caused intense heating that led to internal differentiation and the formation of a metallic core. In this work, we argue that this ‘hot start’ may lead to Triton hosting an active dynamo today, driven by ongoing convection within its metallic core. Using thermal evolution models, we explore three potential regimes of core crystallization to assess their impact on the likelihood of dynamo action. Our nominal model, with solid iron sulfide crystallizing from the top of the core down, implies that Triton, like Ganymede, may possess an ongoing dynamo that generates a magnetic field with a strength of the order of ~1 μT at the surface. If confirmed, the existence of a dynamo would provide a unique constraint on Triton’s internal structure, composition, capture history and evolution. Strong dynamo fields would complicate efforts to characterize the subsurface ocean via magnetometry with a single flyby. A dedicated mission to the Neptune system would allow for more detailed measurements of Triton’s complex magnetic environment and putative ocean.