Dumb-bell-shaped equilibrium figures for fiducial contact-binary asteroids and EKBOs
arXiv:1410.7962 · doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2014.08.002
Abstract
In this work, we investigate the equilibrium figures of a dumb-bell-shaped sequence with which we are still not well acquainted. Studies have shown that these elongated and nonconvex figures may realistically replace the classic "Roche binary approximation" for modeling putative peanut-shaped or contact binary asteroids. The best-fit dumb-bell shapes, combined with the known rotational period of the objects, provide estimates of the bulk density of these objects. This new class of mathematical figures has been successfully tested on the observed light curves of three noteworthy small bodies: main-belt asteroid 216 Kleopatra, Trojan asteroid 624 Hektor and Edgeworth-Kuiper-belt object 2001 QG298. Using the direct observations of Kleopatra and Hektor obtained with high spatial resolution techniques and fitting the size of the dumb-bell-shaped solutions, we derived new physical characteristics in terms of equivalent radius and bulk density. In particular, the growing inadequacy of the radar shape model for interpreting any type of observations of Kleopatra (light curves, AO images, stellar occultations) in a satisfactory manner suggests that Kleopatra is more likely to be a dumb-bell-shaped object than a "dog-bone".
arXiv comment60 pages, 16 figures
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Cited by in corpus (11)
- (216) Kleopatra, a low density critically rotating M-type asteroid
- A Statistical Review of Light Curves and the Prevalence of Contact Binaries in the Kuiper Belt
- Compositional Constraints for Lucy Mission Trojan Asteroids via Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
- Physical properties of centaur (54598) Bienor from photometry
- A possible dynamically Cold Classical contact binary: (126719) 2002 CC249
- Extreme asteroids in the Pan-STARRS 1 Survey
- Orbital Stability Close to Asteroid 624 Hektor using the Polyhedral Model
- Regularization of the Hill four-body problem with oblate bodies
- Surface Gravity of Rotating Dumbbell Shapes
- Close-to-fission dumbbell Jupiter-Trojan (17365) Thymbraeus
- Direct contact binary planetesimal formation from gravitational collapse