Constructing a refined model of small bodies in the solar system - I. The Jovian Trojans

Abstract

Aim. We construct a new arc model to represent the global perturbation induced by the Jupiter Trojans for the development of the modern planetary ephemerides. Methods. The Jupiter Trojans are divided into two groups: (1) the 226 biggest ones with absolute magnitudes $H<11$, have well determined masses and are treated as individual bodies; (2) the remaining small ones with $H⩾11$, are modeled by two discrete arcs centered at Jupiter's L4 and L5 points, respectively. Then we derived the parameters characterizing the arcs, such as the total mass, the mass ratio, and the spatial distributions. Uncertainties on the fitted parameters have also been taken into account. Results. We find that the total mass of all the Jupiter Trojans, including the undiscovered ones, is most likely about $1.861\times 10^{-5}$ Earth mass. Then the global perturbation of the trojan population induced on the Earth-Mars distance is numerically estimated to be about 70 m during the 2014-2114 time interval. We also give a simple analytic expression. For the satellites of Mars and Jupiter, however, the change of the distance between the Earth and a satellite can be much more significant, reaching on tens of thousands of meters over one century, due to perturbations of the Jupiter Trojans.

arXiv comment10 pages, 13 figures, accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysics

References in corpus (10)

• Capture of Trojans by Jumping Jupiter
• Population and Size Distribution of Small Jovian Trojan Asteroids
• The Size Distribution of Kuiper Belt Objects
• WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Jovian Trojans: Preliminary Results
• WISE/NEOWISE Observations of the Jovian Trojan Population: Taxonomy
• The Properties of Jovian Trojan Asteroids Listed in SDSS Moving Object Catalog 3
• Coagulation Calculations of Icy Planet Formation at 15--150 AU: A Correlation Between the Maximum Radius and the Slope of the Size Distribution for Transneptunian Objects
• Albedos of Small Jovian Trojans
• A ring as a model of the main belt in planetary ephemerides
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Cited by in corpus (7)

• Testing the Strong Equivalence Principle: Detection of the External Field Effect in Rotationally Supported Galaxies
• Asymmetry in the number of L4 and L5 Jupiter Trojans driven by jumping Jupiter
• On the Presence of a Universal Acceleration Scale in Elliptical Galaxies
• Calibration of the angular momenta of the minor planets in the solar system
• The invasion of a free floating planet and the number asymmetry of Jupiter Trojans
• Apsidal asymmetric-alignment of Jupiter Trojans
• A new multiple-arc model of the resonant Kuiper belt objects -- Plutinos