Love numbers

Summary

Love numbers are dimensionless numbers that measure how much an elastic planet deforms under a tidal or loading potential. For each degree $n$ of the potential, $h_n$ measures the radial displacement of the surface and $l_n$ the horizontal displacement. The number $k_n$ measures the extra potential produced by the redistributed mass. They were introduced by Augustus Love; the number $l$ is also called the Shida number. They encode the elastic structure of the interior and enter the Earth tide, the ocean tide and the period of the Chandler wobble.