Rhea gravity field and interior modeling from Cassini data analysis

The observed excess J2 (gravity oblateness) was investigated using a combined analysis of gravity and topography, under different plausible geophysical assumptions. The observed gravity is consistent with that generated by the observed shape for an undifferentiated (uniform density) body. However, because the surface is more likely to be water ice, a two-layer model may be a better approximation. In this case, and assuming a mantle density of 920 kg/m3, some 1-3 km of excess core oblateness is consistent with the observed gravity. A wide range of moments of inertia is allowed, but models with low moments of inertia (i.e., more differentiation) require greater magnitudes of excess core topography to satisfy the observations.