Confined tumbling state as the origin of the excess of slowly rotating asteroids
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , , , , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866909514263953408 |
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| author | Zhou, Wen-Han Michel, Patrick Delbo, Marco Wang, Wenchao Wang, Bonny Y. Ďurech, Josef Hanuš, Josef |
| author_facet | Zhou, Wen-Han Michel, Patrick Delbo, Marco Wang, Wenchao Wang, Bonny Y. Ďurech, Josef Hanuš, Josef |
| contents | The rotational distribution of asteroids as a function of their size is used {as a diagnostic of} their physical properties and evolution. Recent photometric surveys from the Gaia mission, allowing observation of asteroids with long spin periods (for example $\geq 24$h), found an excessive group of slow rotators and a gap separating them from faster rotators, which is unexplained by current theories. Here we developed an asteroid rotational evolution model capable of reproducing the observed distribution. {We suggest that this distribution is regulated by the competition between collisions and internal friction dampening of "tumblers" -asteroids with unstable rotation vectors, and that the slow rotator group is mainly populated by tumblers.} {We constrain the product of the rigidity and quality factor, which relates to the body's viscosity, to $μQ \sim 4 \times 10^9~$Pa. This number, two orders of magnitude smaller than the one assumed for monolithic boulders,} implies that {rubble pile} asteroids could have a porous structure or a thick regolith layer, and undergo stronger tidal effects. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_19631 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Confined tumbling state as the origin of the excess of slowly rotating asteroids Zhou, Wen-Han Michel, Patrick Delbo, Marco Wang, Wenchao Wang, Bonny Y. Ďurech, Josef Hanuš, Josef Earth and Planetary Astrophysics The rotational distribution of asteroids as a function of their size is used {as a diagnostic of} their physical properties and evolution. Recent photometric surveys from the Gaia mission, allowing observation of asteroids with long spin periods (for example $\geq 24$h), found an excessive group of slow rotators and a gap separating them from faster rotators, which is unexplained by current theories. Here we developed an asteroid rotational evolution model capable of reproducing the observed distribution. {We suggest that this distribution is regulated by the competition between collisions and internal friction dampening of "tumblers" -asteroids with unstable rotation vectors, and that the slow rotator group is mainly populated by tumblers.} {We constrain the product of the rigidity and quality factor, which relates to the body's viscosity, to $μQ \sim 4 \times 10^9~$Pa. This number, two orders of magnitude smaller than the one assumed for monolithic boulders,} implies that {rubble pile} asteroids could have a porous structure or a thick regolith layer, and undergo stronger tidal effects. |
| title | Confined tumbling state as the origin of the excess of slowly rotating asteroids |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.19631 |