Orbital properties of binary minor planets

Abstract

Many binary minor planets (BMPs; both binary asteroids and binary Trans-Neptunians objects; TNOs) are known to exist in the Solar system. The currently observed orbital and physical properties of BMPs hold essential information and clues about their origin, their evolution and the conditions underwhich they evolved. Here we study the orbital properties of BMPs with currently known orbital solutions (the BMPs mutual orbits and not the BMP orbits around the sun). We find that BMPs are typically highly inclined relative to their orbit around the sun, with a distribution consistent with an isotropic distribution. BMPs not affected by tidal forces are found to have high eccentricities with non-thermal eccentricity distribution peaking at intermediate eccentricities (typically 0.4-0.6). The high inclinations and eccentricities of the BMPs suggest that BMPs evolved in a dense collisional environment, in which gravitational encounters in addition to tidal and secular Kozai affects played an important role in their orbital evolution.

submitted to ApJ, 3 figures 2 tables, mutual inclination calculation corrected, the conclusions didn't changed

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• Characterization of Seven Ultra-Wide Trans-Neptunian Binaries
• An Automatic Method for Extreme-Ultraviolet Dimmings Associated with Small-Scale Eruption
• Wind-shearing in gaseous protoplanetary disks and the evolution of binary planetesimals
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• Binaries are softer than they seem: Effects of an external potential on the scattering dynamics of binaries
• The Wide-Binary Origin of The Pluto-Charon System
• Equilibrium Configurations of Synchronous Binaries: Numerical Solutions and Application to Kuiper-Belt Binary 2001 QG298
• On the existence of regular and irregular outer moons orbiting the Pluto-Charon system
• The Orbit of Transneptunian Binary Manwë and Thorondor and their Upcoming Mutual Events