The quantum mechanics of Hyperion

In this thesis I examine the quantum mechanics of a satellite rotating about a fixed axis with gravitational gradient torques, and compare it to the classical expectation values and probability distributions. The differences between quantum and classical expectation values scale as a power law in ti, so Hyperion's expectation values should be classical . The quantum probability distributions require either environmental interactions or coarse graining to appear classical. Both methods lead to quantum classical differences that are laws in ti, so the two effects are similar but not equivalent. Hence environmental interactions are not required to explain Hyperion's classical lirnit. I also examine the Floquet states of the system and show that their average distribution is the classical distribution for late times, and extend this model into 3D in both quantum and classical mechanics. However, I find that the classical limit of 3D quantum rotations cannot be numerically investigated presently.