The crater-induced YORP effect

Abstract

The Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect plays an important role in the rotational properties and evolution of asteroids. While the YORP effect induced by the macroscopic shape of the asteroid and by the presence of surface boulders has been well studied, no investigation has been performed yet regarding how craters with given properties influence this effect. We introduce and estimate the crater-induced YORP effect (CYORP), which arises from the concave structure of the crater, to investigate the magnitude of the resulting torques as a function of varying properties of the crater and the asteroid by a semi-analytical method. The CYORP torque can be comparable to the normal YORP torque when the size of the crater is about one-tenth of the size of the asteroid, or equivalently when the crater/roughness covers one-tenth of the asteroid's surface. Although the torque decreases with the crater size, the combined contribution of all small craters can become non-negligible due to their large number when the commonly used power-law crater size distribution is considered. The CYORP torque of small concave structures, usually considered as surface roughness, is essential to the accurate calculation of the complete YORP torque. Under the CYORP effect that is produced by collisions, asteroids go through a random walk in spin rate and obliquity, with a YORP reset timescale typically of 0.4 Myr. This has strong implications for the rotational evolution and orbital evolution of asteroids. Craters and roughness on asteroid surfaces can influence the YORP torques and therefore the rotational properties and evolution of asteroids. We suggest that the CYORP effect should be considered in the future investigation of the YORP effect on asteroids.

arXiv comment13 pages, 7 figures. Accepted by A&A

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Cited by in corpus (9)

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• The Yarkovsky effect on the long-term evolution of binary asteroids
• Rapid formation of binary asteroid systems post rotational failure: a recipe for making atypically shaped satellites
• A semi-analytical thermal model for craters with application to the crater-induced YORP effect
• Spin states of X-complex asteroids in the inner main belt -- I. Investigating the Athor and Zita collisional families
• The binary Yarkovsky effect on the primary asteroid with applications to singly synchronous binary asteroids
• Confined tumbling state as the origin of the excess of slowly rotating asteroids
• Exploring rotational properties and the YORP effect in asteroid families
• Positive YORP effect induced by lateral heat conduction in a crater