Status Report

Interrelation Between the Physical Properties and the Orbital Evolution of the Near-Earth Asteroids: A New Numerical Approach

By SpaceRef Editor
August 21, 2003
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Astrophysics, abstract
astro-ph/0308110


From: Mihailo Cubrovic <cygnus@eunet.yu>
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 00:38:03 GMT (184kb)

Interrelation Between the Physical Properties and the Orbital Evolution
of the Near-Earth Asteroids: A New Numerical Approach


Authors:
Mihailo Cubrovic

Comments: 11 pages Preliminary version

Report-no: Petnica Papers 2002


Possible connections between the physical properties of Near-Earth Asteroids
and their orbital evolution was explored, with emphasis on binary asteroids.
The main hypothesis, suggested from the observations, is that the Near-Earth
population contains considerably higher percent of binaries compared to the
Main Belt. Typical evolution paths for different types (in sense of physical
properties) of binary Near-Earth Asteroids were also explored, as well as the
distribution of these types among different areas in the space of orbital
elements. The simulation covered simultaneously both orbital evolution and
evolution of physical properties, which is the main improvement in comparison
to the previous researches of this kind. Orbital integration was performed with
a second-order symplectic integrator based on the classical concept of mixed
variables (MVS) and optimized for close approaches. Physical evolution due to
tidal forces and collision/disruption events were described with TREESPH
hydrocode, which combines N-body integration and Smoothed Particle
Hydrodynamics equations. The results show typical evolution paths of some
Near-Earth Asteroids: contact binaries, separated binaries, asteroids with a
satellite, fast rotators. Slow rotators (like 4179 Toutatis) have not been
detected. Possible explanation s lie in specific (possibly cometary) cosmogonic
origin of these objects and strong non-gravitational influences but other
explanations also cannot be written off. Of course, larger ensemble and longer
interval of integration would make the results of this simulation more certain.

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