A pair of Jovian Trojans at the L4 Lagrange point
Article
Article Title | A pair of Jovian Trojans at the L4 Lagrange point |
---|---|
ERA Journal ID | 1074 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Holt, Timothy R. (Author), Vokrouhlicky, David (Author), Nesvorny, David (Author), Broz, Miroslav (Author) and Horner, Jonathan (Author) |
Journal Title | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Journal Citation | 499 (3), pp. 3630-3649 |
Number of Pages | 20 |
Year | 2020 |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Place of Publication | United Kingdom |
ISSN | 0035-8711 |
1365-2966 | |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3064 |
Web Address (URL) | https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/499/3/3630/5918394 |
Abstract | Asteroid pairs, two objects that are not gravitationally bound to one another, but share a common origin, have been discovered in the Main belt and Hungaria populations. Such pairs are of major interest, as the study of their evolution under a variety of dynamical influences can indicate the time since the pair was created. To date, no asteroid pairs have been found in the Jovian Trojans, despite the presence of several binaries and collisional families in the population. The search for pairs in the Jovian Trojan population is of particular interest, given the importance of the Trojans as tracers of planetary migration during the Solar system's youth. Here we report a discovery of the first pair, (258656) 2002 ES76 and 2013 CC41, in the Jovian Trojans. The two objects are approximately the same size and are located very close to the L4 Lagrange point. Using numerical integrations, we find that the pair is at least 360 Myr old, though its age could be as high as several Gyrs. The existence of the (258656) 2002 ES76-2013 CC41 pair implies there could be many such pairs scattered through the Trojan population. Our preferred formation mechanism for the newly discovered pair is through the dissociation of an ancient binary system, triggered by a sub-catastrophic impact, but we can not rule out rotation fission of a single object driven by YORP torques. A by-product of our work is an up-to-date catalogue of Jovian Trojan proper elements, which we have made available for further studies. |
Keywords | minor planets; asteroids: general; methods: numerical; Astrophysics -; Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
Related Output | |
Is part of | Taxonomy and dynamics of small solar system body populations |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 510109. Stellar astronomy and planetary systems |
Public Notes | This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2020 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. |
Byline Affiliations | Centre for Astrophysics |
Charles University, Czech Republic | |
Southwest Research Institute, United States | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q612y/a-pair-of-jovian-trojans-at-the-l4-lagrange-point
Download files
104
total views46
total downloads1
views this month1
downloads this month