Simulation of Impact-induced seismic shaking on asteroid (25143) Itokawa to address its resurfacing process

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Jin, Sunho, Ishiguro, Masateru
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Jin, Sunho
Ishiguro, Masateru
author_facet Jin, Sunho
Ishiguro, Masateru
contents The surface of asteroid (25143) Itokawa shows both fresh and mature terrains, despite its short space weathering timescale of approximately 1000 years, as inferred from recent studies. Seismic shaking triggered by the impact that formed the 8-meter Kamoi crater has been proposed as a possible explanation for the diversity. This study aims to examine whether the seismic shaking induced by the impact could account for the observed spatial variations in space weathering and further constrain the internal structure of Itokawa. Assuming that the Kamoi crater was formed by a recent impact, we conducted three-dimensional seismic wave propagation simulations and applied a simplified landslide model to estimate surface accelerations and boulder displacements. Our results show that even a low-energy case (1 % of the nominal seismic energy) produces surface accelerations sufficient to destabilize the surface materials. The simulated boulder displacements are consistent with the observed distribution of space weathering degrees even on the opposite hemisphere. We estimate the seismic diffusivity to be 1000-2000 m2 s-1 and the seismic efficiency to be in the range of 5.0 x 10-8 to 5.0 x 10-7, implying that Itokawa's interior contains blocks tens of meters across and acts as a strongly scattering medium.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_13727
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Simulation of Impact-induced seismic shaking on asteroid (25143) Itokawa to address its resurfacing process
Jin, Sunho
Ishiguro, Masateru
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
The surface of asteroid (25143) Itokawa shows both fresh and mature terrains, despite its short space weathering timescale of approximately 1000 years, as inferred from recent studies. Seismic shaking triggered by the impact that formed the 8-meter Kamoi crater has been proposed as a possible explanation for the diversity. This study aims to examine whether the seismic shaking induced by the impact could account for the observed spatial variations in space weathering and further constrain the internal structure of Itokawa. Assuming that the Kamoi crater was formed by a recent impact, we conducted three-dimensional seismic wave propagation simulations and applied a simplified landslide model to estimate surface accelerations and boulder displacements. Our results show that even a low-energy case (1 % of the nominal seismic energy) produces surface accelerations sufficient to destabilize the surface materials. The simulated boulder displacements are consistent with the observed distribution of space weathering degrees even on the opposite hemisphere. We estimate the seismic diffusivity to be 1000-2000 m2 s-1 and the seismic efficiency to be in the range of 5.0 x 10-8 to 5.0 x 10-7, implying that Itokawa's interior contains blocks tens of meters across and acts as a strongly scattering medium.
title Simulation of Impact-induced seismic shaking on asteroid (25143) Itokawa to address its resurfacing process
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.13727