Evolution of Asteroid Rotation States Subject to the YORP Effect

Details Evolution of Asteroid Rotation States Subject to the YORP Effect Evolution of Asteroid Rotation States Subject to the YORP Effect

Oct 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.0506s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #5.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.416

Physics

Geophysics

1

Scientific paper

An analytical theory for the secular evolution of an asteroid's rotation rate and obliquity is presented and applied to a number of known asteroid shapes. The theory is an analytic function of the asteroid shape, requires no numerical averaging, and incorporates the parameterized effect of surface thermal inertia through an approximate model based on Rubincam (JGR 100: 1585-1594, 1995). The theory enables a systematic approach to understanding the evolution of obliquity and spin rate under the assumption that the spin period is shorter than a few days. As part of the theory a precision analytic model of the torque acting on an asteroid as a function of its shape is developed, which enables precision modeling of asteroid rotation evolution and may allow for estimation of asteroid radiometric properties based on observed changes in rotation rate and obliquity. The theory is an extension of the theory reported in (Scheeres, Icarus 188: 430-450, 2007).
Applying the model and theory to a number of known asteroid shapes we define some canonical models for asteroid YORP coefficients. The definition of these models can be used to perform investigations into the expected evolution of the spin statistics of populations of asteroids. We also explore the sensitivity of the YORP effect to small changes in asteroid shape, which can play an important role in the long-term evolution of asteroids spun to their fission limit. When spinning close to the fission limit energy minimizing changes in the component configurations of an asteroid may occur which can change the net YORP rotational acceleration and cause the asteroid to enter a period of rotational deceleration, as has been posited for Itokawa (Scheeres et al., Icarus 188: 425-429, 2007).
This research was supported by a grant from the NASA Office of Space Science's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program.

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