A study of centaur (54598) Bienor from multiple stellar occultations and rotational light curves

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Rizos, J. L., Fernández-Valenzuela, E., Ortiz, J. L., Rommel, F. L., Sicardy, B., Morales, N., Santos-Sanz, P., Leiva, R., Vara-Lubiano, M., Morales, R., Kretlow, M., Alvarez-Candal, A., Holler, B. J., Duffard, R., Gómez-Limón, J. M., Desmars, J., Souami, D., Assafin, M., Benedetti-Rossi, G., Braga-Ribas, F., Camargo, J. I. B., Colas, F., Lecacheux, J., Gomes-Júnior, A. R., Vieira-Martins, R., Pereira, C. L., Morgado, B., Kilic, Y., Redfield, S., Soloff, C., McGregor, K., Green, K., Midavaine, T., Schreurs, O., Lecossois, M., Boninsegna, R., Ida, M., Cam, P. Le, Isobe, K., Watanabe, Hayato, Yuasa, S., Watanabe, Hikaru, Kidd, S.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Rizos, J. L.
Fernández-Valenzuela, E.
Ortiz, J. L.
Rommel, F. L.
Sicardy, B.
Morales, N.
Santos-Sanz, P.
Leiva, R.
Vara-Lubiano, M.
Morales, R.
Kretlow, M.
Alvarez-Candal, A.
Holler, B. J.
Duffard, R.
Gómez-Limón, J. M.
Desmars, J.
Souami, D.
Assafin, M.
Benedetti-Rossi, G.
Braga-Ribas, F.
Camargo, J. I. B.
Colas, F.
Lecacheux, J.
Gomes-Júnior, A. R.
Vieira-Martins, R.
Pereira, C. L.
Morgado, B.
Kilic, Y.
Redfield, S.
Soloff, C.
McGregor, K.
Green, K.
Midavaine, T.
Schreurs, O.
Lecossois, M.
Boninsegna, R.
Ida, M.
Cam, P. Le
Isobe, K.
Watanabe, Hayato
Yuasa, S.
Watanabe, Hikaru
Kidd, S.
author_facet Rizos, J. L.
Fernández-Valenzuela, E.
Ortiz, J. L.
Rommel, F. L.
Sicardy, B.
Morales, N.
Santos-Sanz, P.
Leiva, R.
Vara-Lubiano, M.
Morales, R.
Kretlow, M.
Alvarez-Candal, A.
Holler, B. J.
Duffard, R.
Gómez-Limón, J. M.
Desmars, J.
Souami, D.
Assafin, M.
Benedetti-Rossi, G.
Braga-Ribas, F.
Camargo, J. I. B.
Colas, F.
Lecacheux, J.
Gomes-Júnior, A. R.
Vieira-Martins, R.
Pereira, C. L.
Morgado, B.
Kilic, Y.
Redfield, S.
Soloff, C.
McGregor, K.
Green, K.
Midavaine, T.
Schreurs, O.
Lecossois, M.
Boninsegna, R.
Ida, M.
Cam, P. Le
Isobe, K.
Watanabe, Hayato
Yuasa, S.
Watanabe, Hikaru
Kidd, S.
contents Centaurs, distinguished by their volatile-rich compositions, play a pivotal role in understanding the formation and evolution of the early solar system, as they represent remnants of the primordial material that populated the outer regions. Stellar occultations offer a means to investigate their physical properties, including shape, rotational state, or the potential presence of satellites and rings. This work aims to conduct a detailed study of the centaur (54598) Bienor through stellar occultations and rotational light curves from photometric data collected during recent years. We successfully predicted three stellar occultations by Bienor, which were observed from Japan, Eastern Europe, and the USA. In addition, we organized observational campaigns from Spain to obtain rotational light curves. At the same time, we develop software to generate synthetic light curves from three-dimensional shape models, enabling us to validate the outcomes through computer simulations. We resolve Bienor's projected ellipse for December 26, 2022, determine a prograde sense of rotation, and confirm an asymmetric rotational light curve. We also retrieve the axes of its triaxial ellipsoid shape as a = (127 $\pm$ 5) km, b = (55 $\pm$ 4) km, and c = (45 $\pm$ 4) km. Moreover, we refine the rotation period to 9.1736 $\pm$ 0.0002 hours and determine a geometric albedo of (6.5 $\pm$ 0.5) %, higher than previously determined by other methods. Finally, by comparing our findings with previous results and simulated rotational light curves, we analyze whether an irregular or contact-binary shape, the presence of an additional element such as a satellite, or significant albedo variations on Bienor's surface, may be present.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2405_17235
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A study of centaur (54598) Bienor from multiple stellar occultations and rotational light curves
Rizos, J. L.
Fernández-Valenzuela, E.
Ortiz, J. L.
Rommel, F. L.
Sicardy, B.
Morales, N.
Santos-Sanz, P.
Leiva, R.
Vara-Lubiano, M.
Morales, R.
Kretlow, M.
Alvarez-Candal, A.
Holler, B. J.
Duffard, R.
Gómez-Limón, J. M.
Desmars, J.
Souami, D.
Assafin, M.
Benedetti-Rossi, G.
Braga-Ribas, F.
Camargo, J. I. B.
Colas, F.
Lecacheux, J.
Gomes-Júnior, A. R.
Vieira-Martins, R.
Pereira, C. L.
Morgado, B.
Kilic, Y.
Redfield, S.
Soloff, C.
McGregor, K.
Green, K.
Midavaine, T.
Schreurs, O.
Lecossois, M.
Boninsegna, R.
Ida, M.
Cam, P. Le
Isobe, K.
Watanabe, Hayato
Yuasa, S.
Watanabe, Hikaru
Kidd, S.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Centaurs, distinguished by their volatile-rich compositions, play a pivotal role in understanding the formation and evolution of the early solar system, as they represent remnants of the primordial material that populated the outer regions. Stellar occultations offer a means to investigate their physical properties, including shape, rotational state, or the potential presence of satellites and rings. This work aims to conduct a detailed study of the centaur (54598) Bienor through stellar occultations and rotational light curves from photometric data collected during recent years. We successfully predicted three stellar occultations by Bienor, which were observed from Japan, Eastern Europe, and the USA. In addition, we organized observational campaigns from Spain to obtain rotational light curves. At the same time, we develop software to generate synthetic light curves from three-dimensional shape models, enabling us to validate the outcomes through computer simulations. We resolve Bienor's projected ellipse for December 26, 2022, determine a prograde sense of rotation, and confirm an asymmetric rotational light curve. We also retrieve the axes of its triaxial ellipsoid shape as a = (127 $\pm$ 5) km, b = (55 $\pm$ 4) km, and c = (45 $\pm$ 4) km. Moreover, we refine the rotation period to 9.1736 $\pm$ 0.0002 hours and determine a geometric albedo of (6.5 $\pm$ 0.5) %, higher than previously determined by other methods. Finally, by comparing our findings with previous results and simulated rotational light curves, we analyze whether an irregular or contact-binary shape, the presence of an additional element such as a satellite, or significant albedo variations on Bienor's surface, may be present.
title A study of centaur (54598) Bienor from multiple stellar occultations and rotational light curves
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.17235