Physics – Geophysics
Scientific paper
Sep 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009dps....41.5607s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #41, #56.07
Physics
Geophysics
Scientific paper
Small asteroids in the Near-Earth and Main Belt populations are subject to the YORP effect, which can cause them to spin at rapid rotation rates. If an asteroid is a rubble pile or contact binary it can undergo a ``fission'' event whenever its rotation rate is sufficient for any two of its components to enter orbit about each other. Spin periods for the fission of a body with bulk density of 2 g/cm3 range from 2.3 hours up to 4.6 hours or longer, depending on the shape and mass distribution between its components.
We find that any contact binary asteroid spun to fission immediately enters a period of chaotic, unstable orbital evolution (CMDA 104: 103-128, 2009). This result holds for all relative sizes and shapes between the components, and even applies to the case of two spheres orbiting each other. If the size ratio of the components is less than 0.6 the fissioned system will have a positive energy and the components can escape from each other after a brief period of orbital interaction where rotational energy from the components is transferred into orbital energy, resulting in a reduced rotation rate for at least one of the components. For systems with a size ratio greater than 0.6 a fissioned binary system is unable to escape unless sufficient energy is added to the system by some exogenous process such as Binary YORP or YORP, or unless one of the bodies undergoes a subsequent fission process due to an increase in its spin rate due to gravitational interactions between the bodies.
These results place strong constraints on the initial and eventual evolution of any binary system formed by rotational fission.
This research was supported by a grant from NASA's Planetary Geology and Geophysics Program.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Orbital Stability of Fissioned Contact Binary Asteroids does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Orbital Stability of Fissioned Contact Binary Asteroids, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Orbital Stability of Fissioned Contact Binary Asteroids will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1333831