Three fast-spinning medium-sized Hilda asteroids uncovered by TESS

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Takács, Nóra, Kiss, Csaba, Szakáts, Róbert, Plachy, Emese, Kalup, Csilla E., Szabó, Gyula M., Molnár, László, Sárneczky, Krisztián, Szabó, Róbert, Bódi, Attila, Pál, András
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Takács, Nóra
Kiss, Csaba
Szakáts, Róbert
Plachy, Emese
Kalup, Csilla E.
Szabó, Gyula M.
Molnár, László
Sárneczky, Krisztián
Szabó, Róbert
Bódi, Attila
Pál, András
author_facet Takács, Nóra
Kiss, Csaba
Szakáts, Róbert
Plachy, Emese
Kalup, Csilla E.
Szabó, Gyula M.
Molnár, László
Sárneczky, Krisztián
Szabó, Róbert
Bódi, Attila
Pál, András
contents Hilda asteroids, which orbit in a 3:2 resonance with Jupiter, serve as key indicators of dynamical processes in the early solar system. Their spin rates, an important probe of these mechanisms, can constrain their density and collisional evolution, offering valuable insights into their origin. In this paper, we report on the identification of three fast-rotating Hilda asteroids with spin periods in the 3.2--3.7 h range using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. These rotation periods are significantly shorter than the previous $\sim$5.0 h shortest rotation periods obtained from ground-based observations in the $\sim$10 km size range, and are comparable with the $\sim$3.0 h breakup limit of Hildas a few km in size, derived from the FOSSIL survey. These fast-rotating asteroids require either considerable cohesion (in the order of a few kPa), or densities $ρ$ $\gtrsim$1.5 $gm^{-3}$, in contrast to the typically assumed $ρ$ $\lesssim$1 $gm^{-3}$, to prevent rotational break-up. C-type asteroids, which are common in the outer main belt, have densities of $ρ$ $\approx$1.5 $gm^{-3}$ and are known to comprise a small but notable fraction of Hildas. The observed occurrence rate of the $\leq$4 h rotation periods may be explained by the 10-15% fraction of C-type asteroids, likely mixed into these populations from the outer main belt during giant planet dynamical interactions in the early solar system.
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
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spellingShingle Three fast-spinning medium-sized Hilda asteroids uncovered by TESS
Takács, Nóra
Kiss, Csaba
Szakáts, Róbert
Plachy, Emese
Kalup, Csilla E.
Szabó, Gyula M.
Molnár, László
Sárneczky, Krisztián
Szabó, Róbert
Bódi, Attila
Pál, András
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Hilda asteroids, which orbit in a 3:2 resonance with Jupiter, serve as key indicators of dynamical processes in the early solar system. Their spin rates, an important probe of these mechanisms, can constrain their density and collisional evolution, offering valuable insights into their origin. In this paper, we report on the identification of three fast-rotating Hilda asteroids with spin periods in the 3.2--3.7 h range using data from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite. These rotation periods are significantly shorter than the previous $\sim$5.0 h shortest rotation periods obtained from ground-based observations in the $\sim$10 km size range, and are comparable with the $\sim$3.0 h breakup limit of Hildas a few km in size, derived from the FOSSIL survey. These fast-rotating asteroids require either considerable cohesion (in the order of a few kPa), or densities $ρ$ $\gtrsim$1.5 $gm^{-3}$, in contrast to the typically assumed $ρ$ $\lesssim$1 $gm^{-3}$, to prevent rotational break-up. C-type asteroids, which are common in the outer main belt, have densities of $ρ$ $\approx$1.5 $gm^{-3}$ and are known to comprise a small but notable fraction of Hildas. The observed occurrence rate of the $\leq$4 h rotation periods may be explained by the 10-15% fraction of C-type asteroids, likely mixed into these populations from the outer main belt during giant planet dynamical interactions in the early solar system.
title Three fast-spinning medium-sized Hilda asteroids uncovered by TESS
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.00144