The YORP effect for meter-sized asteroids

IF 3 2区物理与天体物理 Q2 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Icarus Pub Date : 2025-09-04 DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116794

Conor J. Benson, Daniel J. Scheeres

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The spin states of meter-sized asteroids should evolve rapidly due to the Yarkovsky–O’Keefe–Radzievskii–Paddack (YORP) effect. While these asteroids are very challenging to observe, artificial geosynchronous (GEO) satellites are convenient analogues given that they are driven primarily by solar torques, evolve rapidly, and are easy to observe. These artificial objects could provide insight about the evolution of their natural counterparts. Recent studies of YORP for defunct GEO satellites with full and tumbling-averaged models have uncovered rich dynamical structure with tumbling cycles, angular momentum sun-tracking, and tumbling resonances. Applying the tumbling-averaged YORP models to meter-sized pseudo asteroids, we find that the solar torque structure yields sun-tracking precession in many cases, particularly for asteroids with at least some elongation. Precession about the sun line results in the long-term obliquity averaging to roughly 90°. As a result, the sun-tracking behavior could potentially shut off Yarkovsky drift for these asteroids and thereby limit their mobility out of the main asteroid belt. For some asteroid shapes, tumbling cycles with alternating spin up and spin down are also observed. These tumbling cycles offer a possible avenue to prevent spin-driven disruption of meteoroids.

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米大小的小行星的YORP效应

由于Yarkovsky-O 'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack （YORP）效应，一米大小的小行星的自旋态应该会迅速演化。虽然观察这些小行星非常具有挑战性，但人造地球同步（GEO）卫星是方便的类似物，因为它们主要由太阳扭矩驱动，发展迅速，并且易于观察。这些人造物体可以让我们深入了解它们的天然同类的进化过程。最近对已停用GEO卫星的YORP进行了全面和翻滚平均模型的研究，揭示了翻滚周期、角动量、太阳跟踪和翻滚共振等丰富的动力结构。将翻滚平均YORP模型应用于米大小的伪小行星，我们发现太阳扭矩结构在许多情况下产生太阳跟踪进动，特别是对于至少有一些伸长的小行星。围绕太阳线的岁差导致长期倾角平均约为90°。因此，太阳跟踪行为可能会阻止这些小行星的亚尔科夫斯基漂移，从而限制它们在主小行星带之外的流动性。对于某些形状的小行星，还观察到交替向上和向下旋转的翻滚周期。这些翻滚的循环提供了一种可能的途径，以防止自旋驱动的流星体破坏。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Icarus 地学天文-天文与天体物理

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

18.80%

发文量

356

审稿时长

2-4 weeks

期刊介绍： Icarus is devoted to the publication of original contributions in the field of Solar System studies. Manuscripts reporting the results of new research - observational, experimental, or theoretical - concerning the astronomy, geology, meteorology, physics, chemistry, biology, and other scientific aspects of our Solar System or extrasolar systems are welcome. The journal generally does not publish papers devoted exclusively to the Sun, the Earth, celestial mechanics, meteoritics, or astrophysics. Icarus does not publish papers that provide "improved" versions of Bode''s law, or other numerical relations, without a sound physical basis. Icarus does not publish meeting announcements or general notices. Reviews, historical papers, and manuscripts describing spacecraft instrumentation may be considered, but only with prior approval of the editor. An entire issue of the journal is occasionally devoted to a single subject, usually arising from a conference on the same topic. The language of publication is English. American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these.