Calculating the Yarkovsky Effect for Main-Belt Asteroids using the Rotating, Cratered Thermophysical Asteroid Model

Details Calculating the Yarkovsky Effect for Main-Belt Asteroids using the Rotating, Cratered Thermophysical Asteroid Model Calculating the Yarkovsky Effect for Main-Belt Asteroids using the Rotating, Cratered Thermophysical Asteroid Model

Jan 2012

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21942501f&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #425.01

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The thermal inertia of a rotating asteroid causes its infrared radiation to reach a maximum on the "afternoon” side, and thus an imbalance in emission of thermal photons. This excess creates a net momentum transfer, imparting a force on the asteroid known as the Yarkovsky effect. This paper presents a method for calculating the Yarkovsky effect using the Rotating, Cratered Thermophysical Asteroid Model (RCTAM) to generate infrared fluxes and effective temperatures across the asteroid's surface. The RCTAM constrains diameter, north-pole orientation, and dimensionless thermal inertia parameter - these determine the Yarkovsky force's magnitude and direction. Net change in angular momentum per orbit is established using the best-fit set of parameters to calculate the torque from the Yarkovsky effect at 12 points along the asteroid's orbit. The Yarkovsky effect is believed to cause the gradual injection of main-belt asteroids into orbital resonances with Jupiter and Mars. The method detailed in this paper enables calculation of the timescale necessary to move an asteroid into these resonances.
This project was supported by grant NSF-PHY 0850501 from the National Science Foundation as part of the University of California Los Angeles's Physics and Astronomy Research Experience for Undergraduates.

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