Vanishing torque from radiation pressure

Details Vanishing torque from radiation pressure Vanishing torque from radiation pressure

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008a%26a...480....1n&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 480, Issue 1, March II 2008, pp.1-3

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

8

Minor Planets, Asteroids

Scientific paper

Context: Pioneering works on the effect of solar irradiation on the rotation of small objects in interplanetary space raised the possibility that the radiation pressure from solar photon absorption could modify the objects' spin states. Later numerical studies found that the torque from radiation pressure, when averaged over spin and orbital periods, vanished for all studied asteroid shape models. Aims: We demonstrate that the average torque from radiation pressure vanishes for any surface shape deformation. Methods: We have calculated the torque analytically. The main assumption of our calculation is that the object rotates around its principal axis of inertia. Results: We show that the average torque vanishes for any surface shape deformation because the individual radiation-pressure contributions from configurations separated by π in orbital longitude cancel each other out. Conclusions: Unlike the thermal radiation and reflection of solar photons from surface, which can produce important effects over planetary timescales, the radiation pressure cannot change asteroid rotation.

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